Clever Vs. Consistent

The advert for cheap flights to L.A. simply read: Brad is single Los Angeles. From/one way, incl taxes. £169* It was clever of the marketing department to pick up on the news that’s top of mind and there’s no doubt the ad got plenty of attention in the moment. Maybe the airline even sold some…

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Here Today, Here Tomorrow

In a digital business world where it’s believed everything can be measured there is an assumption that an action will result in a reaction. Much of our marketing is now created with the expectation that it will deliver an immediate (albeit short-term) reward. Of course, the best marketing doesn’t work this way. Immediate payoffs rarely…

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Kickstart Your Marketing Strategy With The Right Question

The advert at the tram stop tells passers-by to use this brand of mouthwash if they want to ‘wake up with a bang’. How did the company make the leap from their product to that story—the one they believe their prospective customer wants to hear? Every brand story or marketing strategy starts a question. That…

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Marketing Constants

If you’re running a business, you’ll hear some version of the following every other day. Things have changed. And there’s no doubt that they have. Things have changed since the Internet became ubiquitous, since Facebook launched, since newspaper advertising died, since the iPhone, Amazon.com, ad blockers and on and on. But what hasn’t changed? People.…

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The Three-Act Structure For Brand Stories

Every movie you’ve ever watched follows a three-act structure. The screenwriter sets the scene, introducing us to the hero and the main characters. We get a glimpse of his world, relationships and challenges. In the second act, we see the hero attempt to solve his problems or overcome obstacles. In Toy Story, we’re introduced to…

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Common Ground

One blustery Saturday morning last month our entire neighbourhood woke to a marketing blitz. Every single home in every street had been targeted. The instructions to the leaflet dropper had been clear. Don’t post the flyer in the letterbox (where people won’t be looking for mail at the weekend). Place each one on the doorstep…

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10 Questions To Ask Before You Do Any Marketing

It’s fun to think about getting our products and services in the hands of the people we want to serve. In our rush to increase brand awareness we often overestimate the importance and impact of short-term, tactical marketing decisions. It’s possible to put things in perspective by answering some questions about your objectives before you…

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The Real Role Of Storytelling In Marketing

When we think about using storytelling as a marketing tactic we often get confused about the purpose of the story. Most marketing tries to tell the story of the product. We invite prospective customers to pay attention to our widget by describing what it does or why it’s better and think we’re telling a story.…

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Lessons From The Best In B2B Brand Storytelling

It’s easy to think of great examples of B2C (business-to-consumer) brand storytelling. The list of B2C companies that leverage storytelling to engage with their customers’ grows daily. The perception in many B2B (business-to-business) companies is that it’s easier to engage with customers through story when you’re selling running shoes with a dose of ‘Just Do…

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Are Your Marketing Goals Aligned With Customer Objectives?

As marketers, we often skip the important step of assessing our marketing goals against customer objectives. As a consequence, we fall in love with our message and forget to question what it is the customer needs to know or wants to hear. It’s not hard to check if this is true of your company—simply answer…

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