Twenty lessons from 2020: Finding our new normal

My last four blogs have looked at the lessons we can learn from 2020, focusing on Marketing, Business, The Economy and Society. What's very clear is that thousands of people, and hundreds of businesses, will sadly not survive, so we must look for green shoots and silver linings if we are to learn and to heal. This last year, horrendous as it was, provided a unique and incredible opportunity to get off the treadmill, [...]

By |2021-01-12T15:29:59+00:00January 12th, 2021|Marketing Strategy, Business Strategy & Development, Corporate Social Responsibility, Brands & Branding, Management|Comments Off on Twenty lessons from 2020: Finding our new normal

Twenty lessons from 2020 – Part Four: Society

Following the first three parts of my 20 Lessons from 2020 - on marketing, business and the economy – part four is a slightly longer read, and looks at lessons 15 through 20, what we can learn from society.  The next and final part will summarise what we can all learn from 2020 and where we might go from here. 15. Zoom kept us together I couldn’t write a Top 20 without reference to Zoom. It’s been so prevalent, I [...]

Twenty lessons from 2020 – Part Three: The Economy

The first two instalments of my 20 Lessons from 2020 looked at marketing and business. This piece focuses on the lessons we can learn from the changes to our economy, highlighting three of the sectors, and the one demographic, that have been hardest hit. 11. Will streaming finally kill off the multiplex? In the late 80s, the death knell sounded for cinema as annual admissions hit an all-time low (around 54m p.a). But it [...]

By |2021-01-12T15:19:39+00:00January 11th, 2021|Interim Management, Business Strategy & Development, Brands & Branding, Retail & Hospitality, Management, Marketing Strategy, Customer Service & Experience|Comments Off on Twenty lessons from 2020 – Part Three: The Economy

Twenty lessons from 2020 – Part One: Marketing

Well here we are, the start of a brand new year, although for many of us the only evident change is the number on the bathroom scales…  Ever the optimist, I wanted to look back at some of the events of last year and see what lessons we can learn as we head bravely into 2021.  So here’s part one of my 20 Lessons from 2020, starting with a game on my home turf, marketing. 1. [...]

By |2021-01-11T15:04:35+00:00January 11th, 2021|Advertising, Digital Marketing & Social Media, Management, Marketing Strategy, Customer Service & Experience, Interim Management, Brands & Branding|Comments Off on Twenty lessons from 2020 – Part One: Marketing

The inconvenient truths

I recently watched a programme where a group of obese people shared their stories and sought to understand each other’s points of view whilst staying together in a house.  Amongst the group was a disruptive ‘body positive’ woman who literally closed her ears to the painful truths the group shared.  Not surprisingly, her business model was based on denying the significant medical evidence that obesity had a detrimental effect on health. Also not surprisingly, [...]

By |2019-11-04T13:28:14+00:00November 4th, 2019|Brands & Branding, Feminism, Sexism, Gender Equality, Advertising, Marketing Strategy, Corporate Social Responsibility|Comments Off on The inconvenient truths

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?

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 marketing practice haven’t changed despite the industry’s current obsession with the Emperor’s New Clothes, or all-that-is-digital. His recent piece on the ‘death’ of the sales funnel, is a prime example, and something I’ve been saying for a while now. It [...]

Deep Fried Crickets and Beetroot Yogurt, Anyone?

One of the things I love most about working with the hospitality sector is their constant drive to innovate. Bars and restaurants are always on the hunt for the Next Big Thing, and even those extreme ideas, which start life in the scientific kitchens of chefs like Heston Blumenthal, eventually filter their way down to more everyday establishments. I’ve been looking through some trend reports to see what’s predicted for 2015. Baum & Whiteman’s excellent summary [...]

By |2017-01-04T19:51:26+00:00January 12th, 2015|Business Strategy & Development, Retail & Hospitality|Comments Off on Deep Fried Crickets and Beetroot Yogurt, Anyone?

To Tip Or Not To Tip? That Is The Question…

A recent survey claimed almost two thirds of Britons were “unwilling” to pay a service charge and many are confused about tipping etiquette. There’s worse news for bartenders, as 98% would never tip for a drink. Is it a cultural thing, or is it down to a generation growing up with fast food and takeaways? I know I always (inwardly) question exactly why I’m tipping my hairdresser or taxi driver, when all they’ve done is [...]

By |2017-01-04T19:51:26+00:00December 15th, 2014|Customer Service & Experience, Retail & Hospitality|Comments Off on To Tip Or Not To Tip? That Is The Question…
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