It Matters

The sign had been hastily scrawled in blue biro. The letters gone over and over again to make them more visible to the passer-by. A short cut, that in the end didn’t give the benefit of a short cut at all. It matters that your investment in recruiting doesn’t stretch to buying a sharpie to…

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The Heart Of Customer Loyalty

Despite everything we know about the benefits of fostering customer loyalty, most of our marketing is designed to change what people think or do in the short term. We change the label from white to yellow to get a millisecond more attention. We offer discounts on product lines we want to shift and when we…

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The Way We Do Things Matters

My boys are lucky enough to have eaten pasta in Rome, croissants in Paris and hamburgers in New York. Yet, when the conversation turns to food memories, the one they treasure most is eating potatoes next to the Aga in a friend’s kitchen in Scotland. They remember the story of the potatoes freshly dug from…

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Why People Choose This And Not That

A lifetime ago, before adblockers and Netflix we sat through TV ads that suggested (often questionable) tangible benefits. Washing-up liquids gave us hands as soft as our face, and chocolate makers created treats we could eat between meals without ruining our appetite. These ads sold us a story about how we could be better versions…

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Quiet Success

Success for my parents, was having a fair day’s work to do, for a fair day’s pay. Success was having money left in your pay packet at the end of the week after the bills were paid. Success was having the wherewithal to take care of your family and contribute to your community—often in ways…

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What’s Your Big Idea?

Every great brand leads with one big idea. The big idea is what the brand stands for—it’s core belief. Articulating the big idea is harder than you think, living it every day is even harder than that. The brands that do have a much easier time differentiating themselves from the competition. Here are a few…

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Where Do You Want Your Story To Land?

This is the story of two independent bookstores located on the same street, separated by a walkway and three cafes. The bigger store has a more spacious feel. They display most of their books face out in clearly labeled categories. New releases are showcased in easily accessible, neat piles on tables. The whole place has…

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Are Your Business Goals And Actions Aligned?

He pushed the door. It was only when it didn’t give that he noticed the handwritten “back in ten minutes” sign. John was already twenty minutes into his lunch break. He just didn’t have time to hang around to buy the new picture book he’d promised he would read to his daughter tonight. He swore…

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Your One And Only Shot

Dave volunteered to fill in for another gym instructor at the last minute. He arrived late for class and was greeted by a full house of enthusiastic morning gym goers, weights at their feet, water bottles at the ready. He hit his first obstacle within minutes. The gym didn’t supply the workout music and there…

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A Question Of Attention

Have you noticed that more email marketers are trying to attract your attention at the weekend? Many weekly digests now hit inboxes outside office hours in the hope of getting traction when people are less busy. As marketers we’re using every trick in the book to capture attention in order to further engagement, and so…

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