brand framing
442 posts
The Elephant In The Marketing Room
“Although many of us may think of ourselves as thinking creatures that feel, biologically we are feeling creatures that think” —Jill Bolte Taylor I was raised in Dublin, the storytelling capital of the world. There is no place on earth that is more hardwired for story than Ireland, home of Guinness
Value And The Macaron Effect
Let’s face it, a macaron isn’t even a bite. It’s gone before you know it and although your brain knows you’ve had one, your stomach could beg to differ. Macarons have been around for centuries, but I don’t remember seeing the dainty, coloured, every flavoured, sandwiched confections that are ubiquit
No Second Chances
The beautiful city were I live is not known for startling customer service. Sad, but true. I think it might be the side effect of a combination of distance and isolation creating monopolies that have endured, making people complacent. When you were four hours on a plane from anywhere before the Inte
Tiny Markets Of Someone
Mr Ryan owned a corner shop in the tiny Dublin suburb where I grew up. It supported his family and employed his children while they studied for over 20 years. He didn’t seem to worry when yet another big supermarket opened close by. Sure, he knew some of his customers would go there for special…
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,…
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
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 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
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…
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
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
The Fortune Cookie Principle. The Keys To Telling Your Brand Story
I’ve been working to get my new book into your hands for the past nine months, so I’m thrilled to let you know that The Fortune Cookie Principle: The 20 Keys to a Great Brand Story and Why Your Business Needs One is now available on Amazon. The Kindle edition is on sale at the…
The Opportunity Of The Disconnection Economy
If there’s one thing I really hate it’s queuing. You too? And we’re not alone. Innovators are spending their time working on projects to make frustrated one-click, 21st century humans worry less about the time they might be wasting, just waiting. There are red traffic lights with countdowns that enc
You Don’t Need A Marketing Plan
Every business has a plan. Even if it’s written on the back of a Post-it note. The plan talks about the idea. Who it’s for. How to bring it to market, at what cost and how to get the word out. That final piece of the puzzle is your marketing plan, and yes it’s usually…
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.
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…
Why Your Brand Doesn’t Need A Unique Selling Proposition
In the 90s Pampers’ ‘unique selling proposition’ (USP) claimed it was driest nappy on the market. Procter & Gamble prided itself on this benefit, investing heavily in research and development to maintain its USP. In the end that singular focus blinkered the company’s understanding about what mothers
10 Ways To Make People Fall In Love With Your Brand Without Having Donald Draper On The Payroll
In the 60s there was no distinction between advertising and marketing. Everything has changed. 1. Create something that’s not for everyone. If you’re speaking to everyone you’re getting through to no one. Sanuk, shoes that are not shoes. Dollar Shave Club, shave tech for the enlightened. 2. Make a b
