spreading ideas
846 posts
What Do You Want To Be Known For?
The food cart outside the gallery was in the perfect spot to attract the attention of hungry tourists. Judging by the two choices listed on the menu that’s exactly what the owner was thinking too. Now serving Custard Tarts Kale Soup Differentiation starts with the choice to do one thing well. Hedgin
Readiness Is Underrated
Even though traditional advertising is becoming less effective, it can still teach us about timing. The best marketing messages remind the right people about something they already want to do at the right time. So the millinery advert in the fashion magazine reminds women that it’s spring racing sea
The Obvious Advantage
The owner of our local organic store has built a thriving business. It’s the go-to place for people from the suburb who are happy to invest in a story about the benefits of eating well. He’s recently opened a new store in another suburb but hasn’t been able to replicate the success of the first.…
Just Because You Can
The role of the hotel concierge can be a challenging one. The concierge has to think on his feet. He must immediately earn each new guest’s trust, give people what they don’t always know they want and solve problems on the fly. Some people are better at this than others. The good concierge knows the
The Story Of Successful Ideas
Every product or service that becomes the backbone of a thriving business succeeds because it enables someone to do something they want to do, but can’t do. Before Keep Cup, millions more disposable coffee cups ended up in landfill. Before Stripe, it was more difficult for people and businesses to r
Good Is The New Average
Meeting expectations was once enough to mark a business out. If every meal was served piping hot, served in a timely fashion, with a smile—the restaurant owner won. Now, efficiency is expected. It’s the minimum requirement for operating any business. Good is the new average. Only the exceptional wil
Making Sense Of Nike’s Controversial Ad Campaign Decision
Unless you’re an American football fan, you probably hadn’t heard of Colin Kaepernick before August 2016. Kaepernick, an African American, was a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers when he was propelled into the media spotlight for choosing to sit (then later kneel), during the United States nat
The Art Of Differentiation
One day you will find a design you laboured over, taken and copied or several lines of copy you crafted, used and unattributed. And you will rant and rave until you realise, that there are things you can say and do that can’t be copied because those things are only true for you. We spend…
Is The Consumer The Customer?
When the Old Spice ‘Smell Like a Man’ advertising campaign launched eight years ago, it called out an often unspoken truth about sales and marketing. The consumer and the user are not necessarily one and the same. This insight inevitably alters how you tell the story of the products you sell and the
The Best Fit
Sometimes we take on projects or clients that are a bad fit. Work that doesn’t energise us or customers that don’t value us. It’s hard to pay attention to the reasons why things aren’t working out when you’re knee-deep in the situation. But it’s important to try. We discover how we work best by payi
Culture Creation
Our usual Friday morning workout instructor is on holiday for a month. The first sign that something has changed in his absence is a drop in the number of people who attend. The time slot is the same. The workout is identical. But fewer people are motivated to come. We’re not just getting up early…
The Extra Mile
In a challenging marketplace, it’s tempting to compete on value by aligning with what other businesses do. The companies that will win and keep customers in the future are the ones who do the things their competitors won’t do. It’s easier to keep step than it is to go the extra mile. That’s why it’s
The Attraction Retention Conundrum
The line outside the new patisserie snaked around the block. It never seemed to get shorter. The word that they were giving away free muffins on opening day had travelled fast and the owner wasn’t sure she’d have enough for everyone. The launch promotion had worked that was for sure! Now she just ha
Show Your Story
In the early 1960s, a Brooklyn tax clerk, named Jean Nidetch discovered a powerful and underutilised marketing technique. When Jean, who had been overweight for years, lost thirty kilos her friends asked her how she’d done it. She began sharing her diet secrets with half a dozen friends in her apart
Visible Vs. Memorable
When my friend Mark opened his bakery, he was faced with a marketing dilemma. Should he blow his marketing budget on a single print advert that would cost him several thousand dollars or should he invest that money in something else? The promise of brand validation and the creation of mass awareness
Transactions Vs. Experiences
The hotel was nothing to write home about. You couldn’t really fault it either. The facilities, which matched the hotel’s star rating were as described. The room was clean. The bed was comfortable. The staff were efficient and polite. But—you knew there was a ‘but’ coming. The place lacked a spirit
Being Seen And Heard
The numbers vary, but the trend is unmistakable. The average consumer is subjected to more marketing messages every day. In a world where it’s harder to get noticed marketers have responded by trying to be more visible. Being noticed is the goal of most marketing. The irony is five seconds in the sp
Another Time
During a high-intensity workout, the trainer reminds the athlete to treat every set as if it were the last. To train as if this was the only sixty seconds, he would cycle that day. In that moment, with that mindset he increases his effort, his performance intensifies and that changes his results. We
The Slow And Steady Advantage
The salespeople at our local gym usually interact with their customers once. A person who is motivated enough to book a gym tour, followed by the inevitable sales conversation is likely to join. The conversion rate is high. While designing the experience to optimise the quickest route to the sale wo
People Power
When a traveller books a $700 a night hotel room she assumes that she’ll have a five-star experience. She’s expecting more than a better bed, thicker carpets and fancier facilities. When a five-star hotel gets a one-star review, it’s an indication that something went badly wrong. Of course, guests a
