The Strategy Blog.
-
NFI again
May 2012 and once again I am not invited to Google Zeitgeist conference. How on earth am I to stay on top of what the zeitgeist actually is without 3 days in May rubbing shoulders with world leaders and media CEOs? Oh I know, its OK, I can ask an…
-
England is West Brom (not Chelsea)
Imagine that you are about to make a critical senior appointment for your company. In fact an appointment that is widely regarded as the most crucial and high profile in the industry. Getting the right man (or woman) for the job is essential to your immediate future success. You…
-
“I’ll say one thing for him, he has the courage of his ignorance”
This is one of my favourite lines from the classic movie “A Face in the Crowd”, which I watched for the first time this weekend, and which I hugely recommend. Directed in 1957 by Elia Kazan it tells the story of a drifter who finds fame and fortune when randomly…
-
Who do you trust?
I may be harping on for my own reasons about truth at the moment (book available NOW) but with trust in government and business in the UK in decline and well below the global average we need marketing to deliver truthful communications if we expect any kind of lasting competitive…
-
Dancing with the Devil
Last week I was invited to CSTTG (home of creative legend Dave Trott) to debate the future of branded content with Sanjay Nazerali, Director, Marketing, Communications & Audiences, BBC Journalism at the BBC. The debate covered whether the news agenda was liable to being sullied by commercial association. My co-panelist…
-
Friday March 23rd 2012 : The end of segmentation targeting?
The Thinkbox conference last week was a riot of sacred cow shooting. Professor Byron Sharp from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute of South Australia took aim at segmentation noting that for big brands it is not only unnecessary but potentially harmful. He called talking to loyalists “marketing in retreat” and as Maisie…
-
All the best strap lines contain truth telling
Not me claiming this but Rory Sutherland who was speaking at the Economist Summit in early March (The Big Rethink), after Jonathan Salem Baskin and I presented on our new book Tell the Truth (www.amazon.co.uk) Sutherland explained that we discount extravagant claims for good evolutionary reasons. We like trade-offs, they…
-
Constantly changing to stay the same
I love Converse. Back in the 90s I worked on the account and got to know a great deal about its authentic roots. The company was founded in the early years of the 20th century making winterised rubber shoes originally and then athletic shoes. In 1921 the basketball player Chuck Taylor…
-
“Do not regret growing older, it is a privilege denied to many.” (Anonymous)
There is an online survey I occasionally get asked to fill in. It begins with two simple questions. The first asks gender (with a picture – there is a boy in blue and a girl in yellow – I normally get that one right). The second question asks your age…
-
Advertising forms reputation. Reputation puts demands on companies to be more honest.
picture source: jeffjacoby.com Thom Dinsdale @thomdinsdale Thanks to Andy Walsh for forwarding me this Tweet. Interesting isn’t it? It reminds me of The 4891 Theory (the inverse of 1984). In Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece the general public was constantly watched by Big Brother and nothing went unremarked or unpunished. In reality it…
-
“If you don’t get on this wagon now, you’re going to be left behind”
Which wagon now you’re asking yourself. The truth wagon. Martin Lindstrom, author of Brandwashed and Buyology, says that telling the truth to the consumer is the only real way forward in the current age. I of course agree with him in this respect (Tell the Truth – Honesty is your…
-
The Innovation Axiom or the Innovation Trap.
There’s one question for which everyone will give the same affirmative answer at the moment. Do you need more innovation in your business? Imagine saying “No, we have more than enough innovation, in fact we’ve got more innovation than we can manage”. You wouldn’t be much of a manager in…
For your bookshelf
