No Big Pitch Required

It was nudging 6pm and Kelly was the last customer at the salon on a cold and dark winter evening. As she pulled out her credit card at the point of sale she noticed a discreet, but pretty display of ‘non toxic’ lipsticks and commented on the gorgeous colours. The therapist showed her the colour…

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The Ideal Customer

The ideal customer Doesn’t worry about what the product costs. Tells her friends about your service. Gives you her undivided attention. Would never consider switching. Always listens when you talk. Doesn’t question the facts. Has an abundance of time. Believes your story. Shares your values. Never complains. Is rational. Responds. You’re never marketing to the…

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What’s Your Customer’s Worldview?

It was 10 am and the queue at the cafe serving coffee that’s less than 48 hours out of the roaster was ridiculously long. The line moved impossibly slowly, and yet not a single person left it to go to one of the many cafes that could serve them a forgettable drink in moments. Leaving…

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The Purpose Of A Billboard

The purpose of a billboard is to interrupt as many people as possible, to create awareness not necessarily impact, to broadcast instead of engage. I’ve passed a lot of forgettable billboards, pleading from the side of highways on my travels this week—maybe you have too. The only ones that left any kind of impact were…

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Betting On Maybe

There are many reasons why Melbourne has been crowned World’s Most Liveable City four years running—great coffee is just one. It’s impossible to walk a hundred metres in any direction without stumbling on a place to grab a ‘good enough’ macchiato, so there’s a lot of competition in the coffee business and no shortage of…

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What Does This Advertising Do?

It’s easy to erect a billboard that broadcasts to everyone—far harder to build a bridge to meaningful engagement with the people who matter. If it’s not helping you to get closer to your customers then it’s not worth doing. Image by Daniel.

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Two Ways To Market

Which marketing is more effective? “Let me tell you about our best ever chocolate cake. All of the ingredients are sourced locally. The butter is hand churned from the milk of Brown Swiss cows and the eggs were freshly laid this morning. We use fair trade organic cacao and the finest quality Belgian dark chocolate.…

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The Secrets To Consistent Marketing

Consistent marketing… Demonstrates a clear understanding about who the product (and thus the marketing) is for. Focuses on the change being created for the customer rather than on what is being sold. Aligns with and reinforces the company’s purpose beyond a single bottom line. Communicates love for and to the customer. Doesn’t feel like marketing.…

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Where Big Ideas Begin

Big ideas never start with a big idea—they start with a small problem, impacting a lot of people, that no one has worked out how (or cared enough) to solve. Slack, Powerwall, Instacart, iTunes, GoPro, Simple and on and on, fall into this category. You have to name the problem before you can begin to…

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Marketing Is How It Feels

In a recent article I read that “….aside from a few television spots and billboards here and there, Apple pretty much ignores marketing and advertising.” This is simply not true. EVERYTHING Apple does, from the massive investment in package design that creates scissorless, video-worthy unboxing experiences, to product names, Genius training, years spent obsessing over…

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