The Number One Way To Create Value In Any Marketplace

In an era when we can push a button on our phones to summon a driver, why is shopping for a television still a nightmare? I doubt that there is a single person in the history of the universe who has enjoyed shopping for a TV. That row upon row of yellow stickered, feature described…

Read More

Two Golden Rules For Choosing Clients

I have a couple of simple rules that I live by when making the decision about which clients to work with. First—if I’m not jumping out of my skin to work with someone and excited by the difference (big or small) their business creates then we’re probably not a good fit. You have to care…

Read More

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…

Read More

Why Attention Is No Longer Our Scarcest Resource

If you want to capture someone’s attention you’ve got about ten seconds to convince them that you are the one. Attention spans are shrinking. People have so many demands, diversions and distractions right there in their pockets every minute of every day that it’s getting harder and harder to hold them. This is the reason…

Read More

Hope Is Not A Marketing Strategy

There’s a tiny market in Potts Point every Sunday. Each week the stallholders show up and hope. They hope that someone who might be their customer will show up too. The stallholders sell things that a passer-by might want, usually things that they could get somewhere else if they weren’t going to buy it on…

Read More

Do It Like You Mean It

I’m not sure if it was the fact that she was reading a hardback book that made me notice the woman at the back of the cafe. When was the last time you saw someone reading a hardback book? When I asked her what she was reading, she flipped it over. Self help—2014 was going…

Read More

The Secret Power Of Promises

Have you noticed that about a month out from Christmas people begin not to be able to promise you anything? “We’ll try to fit you in, but…you know how it is at this time of year. We can’t promise you anything.” Promises are the reason we trust the brands that we trust. Promises are the…

Read More

The Question Your Competitors Forgot To Ask

The foundation of many businesses is a simple what. What do we serve and sell, for how much, at what profit margin? Getting stuck in ‘the what’ puts you squarely in the commodities business. If the value you create is purely tangible then you’re not giving people a reason to care about your brand, or…

Read More

The Real Reason The Microsoft Store Is Empty

Clues about what matters to people and how their emotions drive their choices are all around us and there’s no better time to see evidence of this in action than during the festive season. Slate recently posted two images that tell two very different brand stories. Both photos were taken on what should have been…

Read More