The Diminishing Value Of Access

When a new business opens in your suburb, the first thing they do, with great fanfare, is plaster ‘now open’ signs around the neighbourhood. The ‘we’ve built it, now you’ll come’ mentality is alive and well in every industry. My son, along with thousands of others is in his first year at university. Most of…

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Don’t Sell A Man A Saw, Teach A Man To Build

Mike works at our local ‘big box’ hardware store, alongside people who cut wood, motion directions and stack paint cans. Each weekend Mike sees a steady stream of ‘have a go’ DIY enthusiasts, the kind of guys who were too busy on their way to becoming accountants and lawyers in their teens, to learn how…

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The Purpose Of Innovation In A ‘Needless’ Economy

For the most part in the West we have everything we need. Roofs over our heads, food in the fridge and a lot more besides. Even in the developing world where more people have mobile phones than have access to toilets, it seems that sometimes ‘wants’ trump real needs. So, if we have everything we…

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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 and oversize teapots. Wikipedia…

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People Don’t Buy Features, They Buy Promises

Every day another product, tool or app comes to market. One more shortcut to this or that. Want to save lists, share something, buy, sell, store, capture, talk, listen, watch, wake up or waste time? There’s definitely a feature filled app that can help you do that. As marketers we often get bogged down in…

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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…

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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 early…

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The Future Of Branding And Marketing

The great brands of the future, will be built by those who have worked hard to gain the insight that enables them to whisper “we see you” to their customers. Shouting “notice us” just doesn’t cut it anymore. Image by Palo.

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