Russell Davies has written a good piece this week about his change from working in agencies and marketing departments to working at the Government Digital Service.
Some choice quotes:
“it’s been surprising to me how much ‘marketing thinking’ has come to dominate the way large organisations look at the world. It’s sad. That bag of assumptions – brand, audiences, messages etc – has become corporate orthodoxy just as the point it becomes least useful.”
and
“That’s why, when I got to GDS I found the obsession with user needs so refreshing and helpful – not just users, but user needs. That’s a big important distinction. One that sometimes gets lost in a warm bath of user-centricness.”
also
“If your primary focus is on user needs then your task is simple – work out the specific thing people are trying to do and then make it as simple and quick for them as possible.”
and
“more organisations realise that the key to long-lasting, commercially pleasant relationships is great digital service delivery – not message delivery”
Make time to read it all at http://russelldavies.typepad.com/planning/2013/10/activities-not-audiences.html