Blonde Or Brunette?

Still or sparkling? Red or white? Stuffed crust or deep pan? These questions might give people a reason to choose in the moment, but they are not the foundation of a lasting relationship. You don’t win in the long run by simply being one of the alternatives. You win by being ‘the one’. What will…

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Why We Advertise

Ad spending is set to increase this year. And yet, some of the smartest and fastest growing companies on the planet elect to grow their businesses through word of mouth, by delighting their customers. So, why do we still buy banner ads? Is it because……? 1. Our products and services don’t create difference for our…

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Don’t Make Me Click, Make Me Care

There’s no denying it calls to action are important and increasingly so in a world of infinite choices. We have less and less time to give people a reason to choose us. Calls to action matter, not just because we want people to do what we want them to do when they visit our websites,…

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What If Your Customers Could Talk?

When was that last time you couldn’t wait to click on a banner ad? Marketers will spend $500 billion on advertising this year. Someone clearly believes advertising is working, even if it’s not. We still think that marketing is how we talk to people about ourselves. Marketing is giving people something to talk about. Image…

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Attention Is A Two Way Street

Do you know what’s really ironic? Businesses spend thousands of dollars, manpower, head space and creative energy trying to get the attention of potential customers, and when they get it they waste it. The question for all of us, (not just in business but also in life) is how can we expect what we’re not…

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You Don’t Have To Matter To Everyone

We weren’t meant to be sitting next to each other. The European blonde, who didn’t want to be separated from her boyfriend for 10 hours overnight between Perth to Dubai, asked if I would mind moving to the middle seat in the row behind. So this is how I got chatting to a the chap…

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7 Marketing Strategies That Work Better Than Advertising

Marketing used to mean advertising. If you wanted to sell something awareness on a mass scale was the shortcut. Remarkability or transparency didn’t have to be baked into your product. But we’ve come a long way from the days of Mad Men and the blurred line between getting noticed and being believed. Today anyone can….…

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Is It Time To Stop Advertising?

Last week I passed a moving kid at the side of the road, where cars sped by at 80km per hour. He was wearing a red sandwich board that screamed, “BUY ONE GET ONE FREE,” and had clearly been given instructions to dance about to attract more attention. I was 200 metres past him when…

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