The Strategy Blog.
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How to get better ideas
Better ideas Creative problem solving is crucial to everyone’s job now. Innovation is part of the day job. Sometimes that means doing new things in new ways. Sometimes that means new things in old ways or old things in new ways. There’s two dominant schools of thought on innovation in…
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Interrogate the evidence
In 1963 the “Profumo Affair” shook the nation. Government minister John Profumo had been accused of “improper conduct”, ie sleeping with a model named Christine Keeler, who simultaneously was also said to be in a relationship with a Soviet diplomat at the height of the Cold War. The press ran…
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Are you feeling positive about 2018?
A small poll of business leaders gives mixed results. With Brexit consequences looming and uncertain negotiations on the horizon there is much insecurity and business leaders don’t like too many variables and the uncertainty that follows. David Wilding of Twitter was out talking to media and agency heads as 2017 wrapped…
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Getting a competitive edge from Artificial Intelligence may require restructure
84% businesses say that AI will give them competitive advantage. 23% say that they’ve currently incorporated it in their processes or service offerings today. These stats come from Diane Black, Director at E&Y, speaking at Datatech’s conference last month. Two points arise from this. First that the potential of AI…
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Panto season is here
Oh no it isn’t Oh yes it is. It’s maybe not generally known that the original folk tales on which one of the greatest hits of panto is loosely based were really quite dark. The Grimm Brothers telling of Cinderella differs from the panto and Disney version in several respects.…
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3 work hacks
“And now for our grand finish: Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’ in the manner of Bach” It’s a clever musical trick. Adapting an existing tune or melody in the manner of another composer. The pre-dinner entertainment at the Marketing Society annual gala consisted of pianists Orit Wolfe and Tal Zilber…
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Be brave
“Comfortable spaces to have uncomfortable conversations” So said, Gemma Greaves, ceo Marketing Society, as she introduced this year’s conference at the Science Museum. In 2016 I praised the conference content but remarked about the lack of gender diversity on stage. As a result Gemma recruited me to her conference panel…
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Feedback
“His team would follow him anywhere, but only out of morbid curiosity” (Source: feedback review from a large US corporation) Feedback is crucial. I always want more feedback on how I’m doing. My ceo Josh Krichefski reminded his board recently to seek feedback frequently and act on it. Feedback at…
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Standing by is no longer an option
Its darker now. Its darker now as autumn takes a hold. Brexit looms. Most businesses are calculating the impact of change; an unpredictable regulatory framework; the potential brain drain to our industry. The latest Bellwether report says that two thirds of marketing companies have frozen their spend. Campaign’s Gideon Spanier…
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Nailing it – how everyone else being wrong can’t be right
500 years ago, on 31st October 1517, Martin Luther nailed a poster on to the door of a church that changed history. Establishing, once and for all, the power of out of home media. Actually, not the point of this blog. Sorry poster fans. 500 years ago Luther nailed a…
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#ThisisSuccess
A good day at work How much are you the victim of SAD? The time shift in late October obviously means more darkness, sooner. Shortly the time will arrive when you may leave for work in the darkness, return home in the darkness, and if you’re in meetings all day,…
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Partnerships: Worth more than the trouble
“Partnerships” are routine considerations for our industry. They are not routine to deliver however. First off, they require some definition. People mean different things by them. Is a simple badging of a sponsorship a partnership? If we work collaboratively with content creators aren’t we in partnership? Or is a true…
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