Why You Need To Abandon The ‘Everyone’ Mindset

I recently got an email that began…. ‘Hi everyone,’ I didn’t make it past the second word and your customers won’t either. We are too busy, distracted, tired, wary, focused, selfish, savvy or [fill in your blank here], to care about something that’s for everyone. The only messages that get through are the ones that…

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What We Value And Reward Defines Us

Brian has a tough gig. He works at a call centre for an Internet service provider. You can probably imagine what his day looks like. When we spoke I could hear background noise that sounded like hundreds of other people in a tiny space doing exactly what Brian was trying to do—close the sale. Brian…

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The Myth Of The Captive Audience

Maybe you read the recent article on Entrepreneur.com about digital advertising trends that included the following passage? “Mobile video viewers are what you might call a “captive” audience. When TV commercials begin, people look down at their phones. On the bus or subway, people focus on their digital screens instead of the ads passing by…

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The Difference Between A Pitch And A Brand Story

A pitch is what you tell the world about you. It’s presented as the polished version of your story. The one you hope people will grasp and believe within a few short minutes as they reach for their wallets. Your pitch and your story are two very different things. So how is a brand storytelling…

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A Lesson In Unlocking Value

When you book a room at the Hilton or the Hyatt you either have a pleasant conversation with someone in a call centre who you will never hear from again, or you get a polite, well-crafted email in your inbox. Your expectation about the experience is based on the photos from the website and the…

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What’s Your Email Marketing Strategy?

Digital is fast and cheap. Now we can save a dollar or two on stamps that are no longer needed, plus the time and energy spent licking them and stuffing envelopes. We don’t even need to walk to the post box to mail our messages. Because it’s easy to reach anyone with an email address…

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We Don’t Buy Things

Once upon a time and not so long ago, almonds were a fatty, to-be-avoided snack. Today they are a protein-rich superfood. Almond sales in the US have increased 220% since 2005. When, and how exactly did almonds change? Of course almonds haven’t changed at all, what has changed is what we believe about them and…

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Changing The Customer

The craft beer industry is flourishing, naturally that’s eating into the market share of the bigger brewers. Budweiser sales in the US have dropped by more than two thirds since 1988 and the company is losing mindshare and market share amongst 21-27 year olds. The solution seems to be to change what that customer believes.…

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When Did Marketing Become About Telling?

In the village marketing was always about showing. Quality was demonstrated and trust was earned. As we outgrew the village and our small circles of trust and influence marketing became about telling. Loyalty was bought and exposure was paid for. But our digital connectedness is taking us back. Back to a world where people can…

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We Don’t Need Better Marketing

When I was growing up in Dublin home baking was the norm. Most families couldn’t afford the luxury of expensive, shop bought cakes, so ironically something like a mass-produced Mr Kipling’s French Fancy was seen as a decadent treat—the kind that was rolled out on a doily when you were having a special guest or…

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