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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, Airbnb and Deliveroo have been held up as great examples of a new way of doing business. Putting the customer experience at the centre, relying on crowd-sourced reviews, shaking the complacency of established brands and service models, moving to a [...]

By |2017-01-04T19:51:25+00:00June 17th, 2016|Corporate Social Responsibility, Brands & Branding, Customer Service & Experience|Comments Off on Disruptive. But not always in a good way.
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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 audiences, but the fact that they're often actively disengaging them. Like many areas of marketing practice, addressing the basics is not rocket science, but it does take work.  Putting yourself in your customer’s shoes will help ensure they’re truly engaged [...]

By |2017-01-04T19:51:25+00:00June 6th, 2016|Retail & Hospitality, Digital Marketing & Social Media, Marketing Strategy, Customer Service & Experience, Business Strategy & Development, Brands & Branding|Comments Off on Licensed to spam?
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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 that we’re all very lucky to have (much like the NHS, but that’s another story). My TV license is half the price of my basic Sky subscription but provides immeasurably more information and entertainment every month. However, this week’s online [...]

By |2017-01-04T19:51:25+00:00May 20th, 2016|Marketing Strategy, Media, Business Strategy & Development, Brands & Branding, Digital Marketing & Social Media|Comments Off on A recipe for marketing failure?
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RIP Orange, We Loved You. A Eulogy.

The future was bright... Now that EE have admitted they are 'phasing out' the Orange brand, I thought I'd repost this blog written in September 2012 - when EE were carefully denying any such plans. It's just unbelievably sad that corporate 'squabbles' and egos led to the demise of one of the most amazing, customer centric brands of the 20th century.... (Original Post 12/09/12). So yesterday, ‘Everything Everywhere’ started their about-turn on the [...]

By |2017-01-04T19:51:29+00:00April 25th, 2014|Marketing Strategy, Business Strategy & Development, Brands & Branding, Advertising|3 Comments
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What’s In A Name? Quite A Lot When That Name Is J. Walter Thompson…

There was a little bit of agency news this week that made me very happy.  Nine years after they dropped it, JWT is reinstating the name J.Walter Thompson. It’s been announced to mark the agency’s 150 year anniversary – the perfect time to celebrate the uniqueness of this once amazing agency. To those saying ‘so what? It’s just a name’, let me explain. Commodore James Walter Thompson was the founder of modern advertising - turning [...]

By |2019-01-08T10:02:05+00:00April 17th, 2014|New Business Pitching & Agencies, Brands & Branding, Advertising|Comments Off on What’s In A Name? Quite A Lot When That Name Is J. Walter Thompson…
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Ad Nauseum? The 12 Deadly Sins of Advertising

Unbelievably, this August marked 25 years since I started my career as a lowly graduate trainee media buyer at J.Walter Thompson.  So to celebrate this milestone, I thought I’d compile the 12 Deadly Sins of Advertising, as no matter how ‘sophisticated’ our industry has become over the years, there are some crimes that just won’t go away... 1.  Pointless Corporate Ads.  Fire up the cliché generator and pick, in any order, sweeping shots of rainforests, [...]

By |2017-01-04T19:51:31+00:00August 29th, 2013|Marketing Strategy, New Business Pitching & Agencies, Brands & Branding, Advertising|1 Comment
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Lessons from the Old School

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been lucky enough to attend several incredibly interesting and diverse events - from a Marketing Society talk by Andrew Cracknell (one of the original, English, Mad Men), through to an event that showcased the very latest in marketing innovations from around the world (the ‘Seek’ event, hosted by Essence Digital). And what struck me most was this; advertising may well have turned into a ‘brave new world’ of digitised, [...]

By |2017-01-04T19:51:31+00:00July 27th, 2013|Marketing Strategy, Brands & Branding, Advertising, Digital Marketing & Social Media|1 Comment
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Survival Of The Fittest? Don’t Make Me Laugh!

The horsemeat scandal and an aggressive piece by Mark Ritson in Marketing Week (Kill the Weak: It's the Marketing Way) has again highlighted exactly what’s wrong with modern business practice.  A basic lack of responsibility and morality which has enabled companies to build and abuse extraordinary levels of power. I know Ritson loves to court controversy, but this time he’s stepped over the line.  His ridiculous assertion, when we are knee deep in another breach [...]

By |2017-01-04T19:51:32+00:00February 17th, 2013|Marketing Strategy, Business Strategy & Development, Corporate Social Responsibility, Brands & Branding|4 Comments
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Merry Christmas Adverts!

'Tis the season to be jolly, so this month - in the great tradition of Campaign’s ‘Private View’ – the MarketingMog has been reviewing the annual crop of retailer Christmas adverts and wondering if any themes have emerged in this depth-of-recession year… First up, John Lewis. The MarketingMog is pretty cynical about these annual schmaltz-fests from a team that seem a little too interested in their own PR, but ‘The Snowman's Journey’ is a definite improvement on last year’s ‘Seven’ inspired [...]

By |2017-01-04T19:51:32+00:00December 13th, 2012|Advertising, Retail & Hospitality, Marketing Strategy, Brands & Branding|1 Comment
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