The Strategy Blog.
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What does Taylor Swift do right?
On April 2nd 2024 Taylor Swift officially became the 2545th richest billionaire on the planet. (There are apparently a lot of billionaires these days). According to Forbes she is the first musician to achieve this from talent alone (not needing side hustles). A new concept has been named for her. …
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ITS NOT FAIR
Do you ever feel like this? I’ve blogged in the past about the fact that we are part ape and part bee. Not just you and me, but humans in general. It’s the theory of author and social scientist Jonathan Haidt who says that whilst deep down we are still…
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Career stalling? Need a boost? It is all about technique
Misty Raney Bilodeau is one of the stars of Homestead Rescue, a very snackable Discovery Channel makeover show. The twist for this version of the tried and trusted format is that the Raney family turn up at the homes of Americans who have moved off grid. They have left the…
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How best to get what you want: Hard or Soft power?
If you have to choose between having hard or soft power, which should you go for? In 1919 the British Empire was at its largest. It covered a quarter of the land mass of the world, and ruled over a fifth of the population. This was hard power, command and…
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What can we learn from Ronnie the Rocket about winning?
Ronnie O’Sullivan is unlike other legendary sports people in a number of ways. First of all, he’s got huge longevity: he is the only snooker player to have won the world championship as both the youngest, and now the oldest player. Secondly, at the same time as being on top…
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For love or money? What is professionalism?
Nick Dunlap made golfing history in January 2024 when he won The American Express PGA Tour. He is the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event in 33 years. The prize money for the event is £1.5m. However, because he is an amateur golfer (Dunlap is a university student), he…
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A good boss is a servant leader
Happy 2024. As the old year turns into the new year there are often added pressures. Where it is acceptable to move a meeting from June to July or from October to November, moving a meeting from one year to another seems much more epic, and rude, so maybe the…
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Please don’t bore us, get to the chorus.
First lesson of presenting: Say what you’re going to say. Say it. Say what you have just said. I learnt this in my first ever presentation training and it is true not only of presentations, but every time that you want to communicate. Got some feedback for a team member. …
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Breakthrough in the New Communications Economy: Culture and Communities
The final week of November saw a week of breakthrough presentations at EssenceMediacom and EssenceMediacomX from our partners, our teams and a wide set of inspirational people. Everyone was asked to come and deliver their view on how brands can breakthrough in the New Communications Economy (NCE). One clear theme…
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And the winner is…..
“I always was a big believer in things on a global level,” Arnold Schwarzenegger. I was recently invited to be the seconder for the opposition for a motion at The Debating Group event in the House of Commons, this October. The motion in question was: “A strong UK ad industry…
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Orcas and Advertising: how to survive.
It was world menopause day on October 18th. This is one of the newer world days of note. When my mother went through menopause, she, and of course billions of other women throughout history, at least those that lived long enough, had to manage without a day of commemoration. For…
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Farewell Campaign Print Magazine
I started out in a full service creative agency in the 1980s as a TV buyer. Straight from university, with no particular interest in advertising (I was just filling time until I started a law conversion course), I didn’t know about the esteemed industry trade press organ until I met…
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