inspiration
205 posts
Stand Out By Telling A Better Brand Story
The summer of 1980 was a terrible time to own a hair salon on Sydney’s Queen Street. The mile long suburban street had over twenty salons to choose from, and haircuts that were once $20, had been steadily knocked down a dollar at a time by each salon in turn. The first salon to discount…
What Would You Do?
My little brother Johnny and I were born just 18 months apart. When he was little he was dubbed ‘a typical boy’ by his teachers. I think that was teacher-code for “school is not for this one”. And in truth it wasn’t from day one. On his first day he cried so hard, and made…
Business Would Be Great If It Weren’t For The Customers
There was no doubt that I could have chosen a better time to go shopping for special flowers, than first thing on Saturday morning in early Spring. The lone florist reluctantly came out from the back room to ask how she could help, then let out a sigh when she realised it wasn’t going to…
Give Them A Reason
Half of the products in your pantry now have a ‘like us on Facebook’ icon on the label. Why should you like a brand of mass produced honey on Facebook? Why does the brand manager think you should care? Marketing is about doing great work that gets noticed. It’s about giving people a reason to…
Make Your Idea Matter
Make Your Idea Matter is finally available to buy on Amazon. Thanks to the people who bought the book yesterday it bagged a Top 3 spot on the Amazon Bestsellers list overnight! It’s taken most of our Australian winter (or your summer), to simply get the book edited, formatted, designed and ready for
How To Start Something
1. Make a plan. A physical plan. Get the ideas out of your head and onto paper. 2. Create a deadline and stick to it. Add the action steps that take you from where you are now to where you want to be. 3. Share your goal, or don’t. Being accountable to someone other than…
Listen To Your Outliers
Not all women love to shop. I am one such woman. So when I fall in love with a product, they’ve got me for life. That’s just one more decision I don’t have to make in the store. Glasshouse is a product I fell in love with years ago. Their fragrances are amazing, an indulgence.…
The Best Brand Stories Are True
As I was overtaken by the van of a solar panel company on the freeway today, I noticed that they weren’t telling the whole truth. If this is the story you’re telling on your website then your company had better be living it too. “It only takes one person to make an eco-conscious difference in…
What Does It Take To Be In The 1%?
”99% of ”brands” are about as inspiring, interesting, and enlightening as a cup of lukewarm tea. Which is exactly why you shouldn’t be.” -Umair Haque So the good news then is that it’s not that hard to be the 1%! I asked Umair what he thought it took to be in the 1 %. He…
Go Where The Others Won’t Go
Have you ever watched someone learning to ice skate? Perhaps you’ve been there too? When people are starting out, hopelessly uncoordinated and a bit scared they do what all the other fearful learners do, they cling to the sides for dear life. It feels a little safer there in amongst the pack. Not st
The Best
The best teacher isn’t always the one who has a class full of students that get the best results. The best designer isn’t always the one who knows the exact amount of white space to leave. The best brand isn’t always the one that makes the most money. The best athlete doesn’t always win. And…
Make More Room For Bravery
When you’re itching to do the thing you really want to do, but don’t, what stops you? The answer is usually fear. Fear has a habit of getting in the way. Fear that people might laugh at you. Fear that your success so far was nothing but luck. Fear that you’ll fail. Fail in whose…
When Will You Draw The Line?
When my mother left school aged just 14 she was sent to the Royal Candy sweet factory, to dip caramel by hand into big vats of icing, (pink or white). On the evening of her first day she told her widowed mother (who was raising 11 children single-handed), that she hated it and she wasn’t…
20 Questions To Answer Before Asking How Much Money Can I Make?
1. Why do I want to do this? 2. What do I care about? 3. What brings me joy? 4. What am I good at? 5. What’s scarce? 6. What problem can I solve? 7. Who needs me? 8. How can I make a difference? 9. How can I deliver value? 10.What can I change?…
They Miss Us Now We’re Gone
The shopping malls are empty and the big department store owners are worried. They’ve finally got the memo. They realise that they can’t out-stock Amazon, or price match the guy from Seoul selling wallets on eBay. So they’re trying to woo us back with loyalty cards, air miles and faster ways to chec
The Sure Thing
If you’ve ever watched surfers you’ll know that they spend far more time reading the waves, than riding them. And despite all of the waiting, watching and experience, they still sometimes choose the wrong wave to ride. In the end they take their best guess, commit and go. And so it goes for ideas to
How To Charge What You’re Worth
The days when you clocked in and out, and got paid by the hour for dipping squares of caramel into big vats of icing, (pink or white—a job my mother did for years), at the factory, are largely gone. You don’t get paid for showing up. And yet that’s how many creative entrepreneurs try to…
The Story Makes The Product Better
For three decades, 10% of the population of the tiny Welsh town, Cardigan, made jeans. 35,000 pairs every week. Then one day the factory died, and the jean artisans could no longer practice their art. They simply had no way to do the thing they did well, until Hiut Denim was founded. Now the company
How Dollar Shave Club Succeeds With A Better Brand Story
How does a startup come on to the scene, take on giant global brands like Gillette, and win? That’s what Dollar Shave Club did, by harnessing the power of great brand storytelling. This is how they did it. By telling the truth, and keeping it simple. With an easy to remember brand name and tagline,…
Being The Most
In the 80’s Starbucks set out to be the most inspiring coffee brand on the planet. When they forgot this in the 90’s and tried becoming the most ubiquitous, they lost their way. If you could be ‘the most’ to people what ‘most’ would you be? Most reliable. Most irresistible. Most ubiquitous. Most lov
