My articles typically explore the relationship between people, brands, media and technology. These have mostly appeared in Market Leader, which is the quarterly journal of The Marketing Society. Most articles are available on WARC.com. Search “Julian Saunders”
I am also a regular writer for Aurora- which combines in one publication the likes of Market Leader, Marketing Mag and Campaign in Pakistan.
If you want a pdf copy just mail me on julians@joinedupcompany.com
The articles- most recent first:
The medium is still the message. The way digital media are traded today means that advertisers can no longer control where their messages are seen. That is not good as our brains judge everything contextually – where you are seen says a lot about who you are. This piece explores why this matters and what advertisers might do about it Aurora October/November issue 2018
The world in 1998 and 2018 For the 20 th anniversary of Market leader i went back to the major predictions made by The Economist made 20 years ago and compared them with their most recent. ( I am one of those nerds who has a 25 year library of their futurist publication The World in…). Some revolutions, it turns out, are much slower than you think: 20 years ago the rapid adoption of electric cars was predicted. Some technologies move ahead quickly and others more slowly – such as the battery. Market Leader Spring 2018
A tale of pickle, puppet shows and Punjabi wrestling. My experiences of the hospitality of working and travelling in Pakistan and why the image of the country abroad is at ods with the reality of the society Market Leader Winter 2018
What’s not going to change. Plenty of pundits argue that we are living at a time of especially fast change- and, when you look at your smartphone, both the design and the apps on it, it’s true that you are looking at a particularly Darwinian market. But that is probably not true of most other markets- not least because human beings are particularly unsettled by rapid change – or a least the perception of it. This article lays out the counter indications and their causes Market Leader Summer issue 2017
How to manage marketing services. This article was commissioned by Market Leader in response to surveys showing a decline in trust between clients and agencies. It argues that no good can come from a decline in trust and that clients have it in their power to create the circumstances in which good relationships can flourish- it sets out a practical programme for how to do it. Market Leader Winter 2016
Should brands be creators on Youtube ?– YouTube has evolved into an “everything channel” much loved and heavily used by millennials. But how easy is it for brands to run their own YouTube Channel successfully- and should they try ? If so which sorts of brands should consider it ? In this piece I have boiled down two years of learning about YouTube from my time advising clients whilst working at Google. Market Leader Spring issue 2016
Can we handle the consequences of technology ?- key tech trends for 2015 and the mismatch between the pace of technological change and the capacity of the human brain to make rational decisions. Covers AI, Drones and insights from Behavioural Economics. Aurora Nov/Dec 2015 issue http://aurora.dawn.com/news/1141337/utopia-and-dystopia
The Surprise Generating Machine-my predictions for the future of the digital revolution. 10 years on from the publication of my book The Communications Challenge (APG 2004), what did I get right and wrong and what are my predictions for the future ? There are 4 lessons and 7 predictions –Market Leader Summer 2015 (This was one of the top downloads globally from WARC.com in 2015.)
How lofty is your brand ?– Why brands are increasingly presenting themselves as acting for the public good- using what is called Higher Purpose Branding (HPB) to build trust and reputation. The history of why HPB went mainstream and how it will develop in the future.Aurora May/June 2015 issue
Fear and opportunity in the big data revolution-what does big data mean as experienced by consumers and what sorts of innovations can we expect as a consequence of the new sources of data being produced by the so called Internet of Things. Aurora March/April Issue 2015
Changing gears– how the digital revolution has fundamentally changed how people go about buying cars and how marques are communicating now Aurora August/September Issue 2014
Worth the tweet – a review of Nick Bilton’s book about Twitter which gives us an insight into that hotbed of innovation that is Silicon Valley Aurora-June issue 2014
Please Please please can we ban the C word. How sloppy use of language can lead to flabby thinking and an expression of my particular dislike for the word “Content” ( the c word in question). Market Leader 2014
Letter from Karachi- reflections on Islam and how to build a mass following. A discussion of how the 5 Pillars of Islam represent powerful ideas – rooted in behavioural psychology- about how to build a mass following. Market Leader 2013
Partnerships with entertainment brands come of age. Why partnerships with entertainment brands (such as sports clubs or films or ever arts institutions like The Tate) are powerful in helping brands to create social currency and talkability.Market Leader 2012 (Co- authored with Jon Reay)
Storytelling in a digital world. Now a hot topic- I like to think that this piece was ahead of its time, but truth be told storytelling goes deep into advertising history. Market Leader 2011
How has the Internet really changed consumer culture? This piece explains why the deep driver of change is the collapse of transaction costs (the time and money it cost you to communicate) to almost zero. Market Leader 2010
Going Social: how companies will all soon need a strategy for social media. Social media can play many functions for organisations and should be rescued from just being see as a tool to push out marketing messages. Market Leader 2010
Mind your language: How paid owned and earned is now the new way of defining media. How this new way of talking about media ( not new now of course) is useful in helping you to map out and manage communications opportunities. Directory Summer 2010
Marketing for next to nothing: what the for free revolution of the web means for marketing. Now the investment can be in the quality of the idea and not the media spend. Market Leader 2009
Growing up digitally: change drivers in marketing Market Leader 2006.
Drowning in Choice- the revolution in communications planning: A summary of the key ideas in my book – The Communications Challenge ( APG 2004) Market Leader 2004
Back to the future -Why media agencies are becoming new centres of creativity. This is probably the published piece that has had most impact on thinking. It was quoted extensively in “Advertising Works and How”- a book reviewing the most influential thinking and case histories over the past 25 years by The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising. Admap 2002