didn’t quite agree.
‘I don’t know,’ he said slowly, fiddling with his Mont Blanc fountain pen. ‘It just seems a little…tame.’
‘Tame?’ asked Mollie. She glanced around at the cream walls, the mahogany boardroom table, the crisp attire of the staff. Everything about Empressario screamed tame.
‘I have an idea,’ he began. ‘A vision.’
Greg let out an audible sigh beside her, and slumped lower in his chair. He disapproved of clients who tried to run the show. They were never quite as good at it as they thought they were.
‘I’m thinking we get twenty of our best looking members of staff, a fast beat dance track with, I don’t know, something urban playing. Edgy, but without expletives. Interposed with footage of global stock exchanges. New York, Tokyo, Brazil, Shanghai. I’m seeing piles of money, Euros, Pounds, Yen, Yuan, Brazilian Real. All kinds of Dollars, American, Australian, Canadian, Singaporean.’
‘You want a white collar, middle class take on a gangster rap video?’ asked Greg, voicing what everyone else was thinking. ‘That’s not the kind of promotion that companies in your sector would usually go for.’
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘That’s the beauty of it!’
This had the potential to blow up badly in Empressario’s faces. But how could they get that across politely?
‘It just seems a little…’ Molly sought for a word. Crazy? Ridiculous? ‘Ambitious.’
‘Really?’ he asked. ‘I’m sure you have other clients that request something similar.’
Mollie knew it was her job to provide whatever the customer wanted. But this time she wasn’t sure just what that was. Tim, the guy she’d talked to initially, had been sedate and well mannered. Conservative. His idea had reflected that and also the brand. People didn’t usually gain reassurance that their investment company was going in a steady and profitable direction with the type of visual headache that Calvin was looking to create. She needed to try to create some middle ground between the two visions.
‘We do,’ she admitted. ‘But the clients that we’d do that kind of thing for are usually for companies in the creative field.’
This seemed to irritate him more.
‘What?’ he asked. ‘Are you saying that us finance people can’t be creative? Can’t be innovative?’
‘No, I’m just saying that your market is…different. Your client base is different. What’s suitable for a dynamic company with a young client base might not be suitable for you. Simple, classy and dependable is closer to your target market.’
‘Classy is just another word for boring,’ Calvin complained. ‘What I’m seeing is something modern. Something slick. I’m hearing edgy music, quick changes between shots. Investment firms have this reputation of being boring. Bland. Safe. I want to smash that perception, Mollie. I want Empressario to be a byword for modern, sexy, financial services.’
‘Do people want their financial services to be sexy?’ asked Greg.
‘People these days want everything to be sexy,’ Calvin retorted. ‘It’s bye-bye Shirley Bassey, hello Rihanna. You know what I mean?’
Mollie didn’t think there was one person around the conference table who truly knew what he meant.
‘Look,’ she said. ‘I can see what your vision is, and it does sound…memorable. But it was Tim who initially talked us through this brief, and I suppose I just don’t feel comfortable going so off his original idea without his say so.’
‘Listen lady,’ said Calvin, as if they were in some 1930’s New York jazz bar rather than a conference room breakfast meeting. ‘I appreciate your concern, but while Tim may have been the one to hire you guys, that’s just because he has to approve all financial transactions. I’m the creative one around here, ok? I’m the one who’s going to single-handedly drag this company kicking and screaming into the 21st century. I want modern, young and edgy, ok?’
‘Well,’ said Mollie
‘I don’t know,’ he said slowly, fiddling with his Mont Blanc fountain pen. ‘It just seems a little…tame.’
‘Tame?’ asked Mollie. She glanced around at the cream walls, the mahogany boardroom table, the crisp attire of the staff. Everything about Empressario screamed tame.
‘I have an idea,’ he began. ‘A vision.’
Greg let out an audible sigh beside her, and slumped lower in his chair. He disapproved of clients who tried to run the show. They were never quite as good at it as they thought they were.
‘I’m thinking we get twenty of our best looking members of staff, a fast beat dance track with, I don’t know, something urban playing. Edgy, but without expletives. Interposed with footage of global stock exchanges. New York, Tokyo, Brazil, Shanghai. I’m seeing piles of money, Euros, Pounds, Yen, Yuan, Brazilian Real. All kinds of Dollars, American, Australian, Canadian, Singaporean.’
‘You want a white collar, middle class take on a gangster rap video?’ asked Greg, voicing what everyone else was thinking. ‘That’s not the kind of promotion that companies in your sector would usually go for.’
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘That’s the beauty of it!’
This had the potential to blow up badly in Empressario’s faces. But how could they get that across politely?
‘It just seems a little…’ Molly sought for a word. Crazy? Ridiculous? ‘Ambitious.’
‘Really?’ he asked. ‘I’m sure you have other clients that request something similar.’
Mollie knew it was her job to provide whatever the customer wanted. But this time she wasn’t sure just what that was. Tim, the guy she’d talked to initially, had been sedate and well mannered. Conservative. His idea had reflected that and also the brand. People didn’t usually gain reassurance that their investment company was going in a steady and profitable direction with the type of visual headache that Calvin was looking to create. She needed to try to create some middle ground between the two visions.
‘We do,’ she admitted. ‘But the clients that we’d do that kind of thing for are usually for companies in the creative field.’
This seemed to irritate him more.
‘What?’ he asked. ‘Are you saying that us finance people can’t be creative? Can’t be innovative?’
‘No, I’m just saying that your market is…different. Your client base is different. What’s suitable for a dynamic company with a young client base might not be suitable for you. Simple, classy and dependable is closer to your target market.’
‘Classy is just another word for boring,’ Calvin complained. ‘What I’m seeing is something modern. Something slick. I’m hearing edgy music, quick changes between shots. Investment firms have this reputation of being boring. Bland. Safe. I want to smash that perception, Mollie. I want Empressario to be a byword for modern, sexy, financial services.’
‘Do people want their financial services to be sexy?’ asked Greg.
‘People these days want everything to be sexy,’ Calvin retorted. ‘It’s bye-bye Shirley Bassey, hello Rihanna. You know what I mean?’
Mollie didn’t think there was one person around the conference table who truly knew what he meant.
‘Look,’ she said. ‘I can see what your vision is, and it does sound…memorable. But it was Tim who initially talked us through this brief, and I suppose I just don’t feel comfortable going so off his original idea without his say so.’
‘Listen lady,’ said Calvin, as if they were in some 1930’s New York jazz bar rather than a conference room breakfast meeting. ‘I appreciate your concern, but while Tim may have been the one to hire you guys, that’s just because he has to approve all financial transactions. I’m the creative one around here, ok? I’m the one who’s going to single-handedly drag this company kicking and screaming into the 21st century. I want modern, young and edgy, ok?’
‘Well,’ said Mollie
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