Posts Tagged ‘brand storytelling’
Average Marketing
Average marketing….. Starts with the business’s emergency, not with the customer’s wants and needs. Focuses on short-term tactics, rather than on long-term business goals. Is designed to persuade not to connect, inspire or delight. Invites the customer to buy, instead of to belong. Speaks to everyone and so engages with no one. Is only measured…
Read MoreUncommon And Unmistakable
A colleague in the university sector was attending a marketing event. The presenter’s first slide showed a university’s promotional materials—complete with the typical ‘DREAM LARGE’ and ‘DESIGN THE FUTURE’ type tagline. He then polled the audience, asking if they knew which university it was. A ten minute debate ensued. Many delegates thought it was definitely…
Read MoreWhat Are You Here To Do?
When Deborah Thomas, newly minted CEO of Ardent Leisure, was asked if she knew how to operate a roller coaster, she probably gave an inward sigh along with her considered response. “I’m not here to operate the roller coaster; I’m here to make sure that people queue up and want to spend their money to…
Read MoreThe Shortcut To More
It’s probably safe to assume that at some point in the past few months you’ve wondered how to get more traffic, customers, subscribers, Facebook likes, retweets, awareness, sales, exposure and on and on. Because the job of traditional marketing is to convince and convert, we are used to beginning our marketing journey there. What if…
Read MoreCompany Culture And The Ripple Effect
By the age of six months, a baby begins to understand that his actions can affect his environment. It’s amazing how as adults we quickly unlearn this. As business leaders when we talk about shaping or changing company culture we sometimes forget to own the fact that we are the culture. Culture is not something…
Read MoreWhy We Need To Think About Value Before Ideas
The cafe was tiny and packed. “What’s your revenue plan?” guy one asked. “To get more eyeballs to my site and then bring in the advertisers.” replied guy two. “Oh right.” said guy one, as he awkwardly looked away. 8 Questions to help you to focus on creating value 1. Who needs your product? 2.…
Read MoreShortcuts Are Overrated
A map works even though the cartographer hasn’t described how every step should be taken. We get to where we want to go when we have a good reason for going there. Tactics are useless without a strategy. Shortcuts are overrated. Results take time. Why hurry? Image by Franco Folini.
Read MoreThe Purpose Of Clever Packaging
If you love chocolate as much as I do you’ve probably heard about the Mast Brothers scandal. The artisan chocolate makers are accused of not being completely transparent about their process when they launched in 2007 and of pulling the wool over customers eyes with “clever packaging”. Transparency aside for a moment, because of course…
Read More3 Things Your Product Story Must Do
When we market our products to customers we often use a persuasive tone designed to convince. We describe by leading with features and benefits. We try hard to give customers reasons to choose, forgetting that most purchasing decisions are not rational, but emotional. In short we forget why people buy. Three things your product story…
Read MoreMeaningful Work
We’ve all witnessed a version of this in action. The speciality restaurant vowing to serve free range, grass fed and organic. The gift shop committed to selling local and artisanal. The designer who refuses to work with fast food companies. Uncompromising—until they think about scaling or they hit a bump in the road of their…
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