Welcome to the MarketingMog Blog
The MarketingMog puts the cat amongst the pigeons.
Time for a more level playing field
Last week, I went along to an agency-hosted panel discussion, which posed the provocative question, ‘Is the business of sport business as usual?’. The event had a great line-up and was really well [...]
Can M&S turn things around? Only if they start listening
Poor old Marks & Sparks. Rarely out of the news, although these days it’s more often gloom and doom in the business pages than a glowing piece in the fashion supplements. Their latest set [...]
Think the ‘Pink Princess’ culture is just harmless fun?
What do you see when you look at the picture above? (Let’s ignore the lipstick and blusher for a moment). Sweet little girls in dress-up outfits? Or the dangers represented by early gender stereotyping? [...]
Kevin Roberts – Don’t Hate The Player, Hate The Game
So Publicis Groupe have suspended Saatchi’s chairman for claiming that the talented women who work in his agency reach a certain point in their careers when they actively turn down a promotion, as they “don't [...]
Live life online? How ‘unconcerned’ are you?
I recently posted a blog about how poor digital marketing practice risks damaging our industry. With new legislation coming down the pipe, and both Apple and Microsoft recently facing down the US Government over data [...]
Sex only sells sex. Let’s hope the tide is turning in Cannes
Many years ago, I was driving through Rome, admiring the scenery, when I was suddenly confronted by the enormous billboard image of a naked, reclining woman. Perched proudly on her tanned bottom was… Let’s [...]
Disruptive. But not always in a good way.
The ‘on demand economy’ and the 'disruptive' brands that are creating and supporting it is the current buzz in the marketing world. In the last week, I’ve attended two presentations where the likes of Uber, [...]
Licensed to spam?
Last week, I wrote a piece about how poor digital marketing practice is damaging our industry. At the heart of this is not just how brands are failing to build meaningful relationships with their [...]
“If it doesn’t sell, it isn’t creative”
Call me King Canute if you like, but I think the digital tide may be turning. There’s definitely a groundswell of considered opinion that marketing’s pre-occupation with their shiny new toy might have been a [...]
A recipe for marketing failure?
Poor, beleaguered BBC. Only our Eton Mess of a Government would think it needs bringing down a peg or two. The rest of us (and much of the world) think it’s a bloody amazing institution [...]
Marketing’s not just dumbed down, it’s in need of some tough love
Great minds think alike. Mark Ritson’s article decrying the dumbing down of our discipline arrived in my inbox just as I was writing this piece. He’s absolutely right. The basics of good [...]
Tipping point?
Back in December 2014, I wrote a blog about the archaic and confusing practice of tipping serving staff in restaurants. I suggested it was time to end the frequent ‘bill shock’ and the lottery [...]