Strategy
1,155 posts
Make It Look Like Duarte
It’s possible to hire someone to create a slide deck in the style of Duarte for less than the hourly rate of a half decent designer. It’s no longer good enough to have technical skill in a world where a client can access a million freelancers online and hire based on price and need. Yes,…
Want To Make And Impact? Just Add Context
The path to success is littered with great ideas that don’t fly. Even a good idea won’t catch on if people don’t see the value in it. It’s not enough to have an idea that might change everything, you have to find a way to help people buy into it. The truth is it doesn’t…
Rethinking The Great Email Smash And Grab
The world has conditioned us from toddlerhood to understand that ‘most’ is what matters. Even a two year old instinctively knows that having just one more chocolate chip cookie than his sister is a good thing. Life teaches you that the people with the most win and so the quest for more begins pretty
What If You’re Neither Closer, Faster Or Cheaper?
There was no size 12 in stock, but there were two identical black dresses showing on ‘the system’, one in the City store the other equally far away (but not there in reality as it turned out). In a world of infinite choices where faster and cheaper is two clicks away, and free overnight shipping…
The Future Of Branding And Marketing
The great brands of the future, will be built by those who have worked hard to gain the insight that enables them to whisper “we see you” to their customers. Shouting “notice us” just doesn’t cut it anymore. Image by Palo.
Intangibles Have A Real World Value
Once upon a time earphones were ‘functional black’, until Apple changed everything by adding a layer of meaning to what was once a commodity worth nothing more than a few dollars. By making earphones ‘accessory white’ Apple gave iPod owners a way to be noticed and to belong. The most famous roof lin
Thinking Beyond Customer Needs
The couple at the cafe order two teas and one cake with two forks. The story the woman has told herself is that they are sharing the cake she ordered. Halving the damage. The guy quietly sips his tea as she slices the cake into squares and begins eating the smaller pieces, picking around the…
Emotional Points Of Difference
Singapore’s Changi Airport doesn’t have the most runways (in fact it only has two), but it does have nature trail complete with sunflowers and butterflies. It’s also known as one of the best airports in the world. The tiny bakery in Hastings on Hudson has a rolling pin for a door handle. Even before
The New Marketing Mix : 4 Different Ps
The original Marketing Mix was introduced sixty five years ago. It was a framework for considering how to grow a business and gain market share. The mix consisted of four Ps, price, product, promotion, and place, a list of ingredients that every marketer must pay attention to in order to ensure that
3 Questions Every Innovator Needs To Ask
Microsoft is discounting it’s ‘Surface’ tablet just to get traction in the market. Even with all their innovation and marketing firepower Microsoft can’t make people care enough to switch, or belong. Innovation isn’t just about making something that works well, (I’ve never used a Surface, but I’m gu
The Competition Isn’t Your Competition
Bread Society is a beautiful artisan bakery in Singapore (the website doesn’t do it justice). At the back of the store the bakers roll, and knead and prove in full view, whilst just in front an assistant packages delectable breads. Self serve cabinets filled with Chocolate Melon Brioche, Honey Lemon
What Are Your Metrics?
It’s easy to count Facebook likes and numbers of Twitter followers. And we’ve found ways to justify the ‘return on investment’ of a billboard that’s passed by 20,000 people every day. It’s easy to advocate for doing things that we can measure. A metric of any kind feels safe, and it’s got deniabilit
Great Marketing: Begin With The End In Mind
The owner of my local beauty salon works really hard to make people feel special once they are through the door. She’s made improvements to the business in all sorts of ways since she took it over a year ago. This week I got an email from her, along with all the other people on…
The Attention Of Everyone And The Audience Of No One
It’s very tempting to create catch all messages, delivered in a way that will reach the most people. Logic says that if you have the attention of everyone, then you’ve got to reach someone. The problem with aiming for an audience of everyone is that while your message might be seen and heard, it doe
Offers Vs. Offerings
Every July, (winter here in Australia, maybe summer where you are) and six months out from Christmas the big chain stores have an all caps ‘TOY SALE’. The toys are unremarkable, and they are marketed in an unremarkable, 20% off, when they’re gone they’re gone kind of way. The lesson is don’t miss ou
10 Things A Brand Does
A brand….. 1. Creates meaning around your product or service. 2. Determines what you sell, where and when. 3. Dictates the price range you can sell at. 4. Influences the kind of customers you can sell to. 5. Changes how people feel about commodities. 6. Sets expectations. 7. Affects the kind of staf
Measurable Or Important
In marketing as in management what we can measure gets done. But do metrics enable us to tick the right boxes, or are we ignoring what’s really important? When I was pregnant with my second son, the local health authority set about improving patient waiting times at antenatal clinics. Performance in
The 20 Keys To A Brand Story
A brand story is more than a narrative. The story goes beyond the copy on a website, the text in a brochure, or the presentation used to pitch to investors. Your story isn’t just what you tell people. It’s what they believe about you based on the signals your brand sends. The story is a…
Why Starbucks Wins
You could have made a cup of instant coffee at home for a few cents this morning. Or you could even have splashed out on a flavoured Nespresso, brewed in your kitchen at 60 cents a shot. So why did you go to Starbucks and pay eight times that price for a commodity? A marketer…
Return On Relevance
Have you noticed how you react lately to unsolicited email or a cold call? Our interruption tolerance threshold is decreasing at a rapid rate and businesses and advertisers know it. In Australia we even have a do not knock register. Are people demanding one where you live? The people you want to spe
