Within synthetic organic chemistry, the field of C-H activation remains an area with significant challenges and many opportunities. Achieving the desired regioselectivity within an organic molecule possessing multiple accessible C-H bonds, which are often present in rather similar environments, is a system-specific challenge that can be approached in several different ways, depending on the desired reaction outcome. One option is to deploy directing groups, typically Lewis basic in nature, which coordinate the metal centre and direct it to the desired site of activation and transformation. These can be functional units that are desired in the final product; in contrast, there are also an increasing number of reactions where the directing group is transient or cleaved after the C-H activation reaction, albeit at the cost of decreased overall atom economy.