Category Archives: brands

The psychological trick all politicians should know

What do all the following have in common ? Love it or hate it (Marmite) Probably the best lager in the world (Carlsberg) and this famous ad for VW: They are all highly successful examples of the pratfall effect    which is this:- Displaying weakness increases empathy and like-ability. Imperfection and making mistakes are the stuffContinue reading “The psychological trick all politicians should know”

The uses of behavioural economics- a primer for those new to it

I have spent about a decade working on the application of BE to behaviour change/running courses on it ( since doing work for UK govt via the late lamented COI). This piece (published first in Aurora) offers a basic briefing on its application to communications. Key thought in a 100 words or less: we deludeContinue reading “The uses of behavioural economics- a primer for those new to it”

Calling all brand owners, take back control!

Programatic trading of media is clever automated technology that is spawning (AI enabled) services which will automate the creation of ad messages as well – more efficiency and cost reduction then. (This does not matter a lot as most ads- online- are fairly formulaic response/offer type stuff already) But Programatic also attacks one of ourContinue reading “Calling all brand owners, take back control!”

Smart Googling: how to get important knowledge painlessly

So many useful business books and so little time – was the thought that occurred to me as I was teaching this week. Here are my top tips for students in extracting the useful knowledge in these books with minimum cost and maximum ease. (Publishers should avert their eyes at this point) Google- “title ofContinue reading “Smart Googling: how to get important knowledge painlessly”

The post truth business

My review of Sean Pillot de Chenecey’s new book on the marketing society website – a book to dip into but don’t attempt to read it. Here is my text:- The author attacks his topic on page 1: – “A weakening of the vital trust connection between brands and consumers is causing enormous problems for businessesContinue reading “The post truth business”

Content marketing – is it right for your brand?

Sir Martin Sorrell has made his first investment at his new company in a shop called Media Monks- which “is a creator of agile and dynamic digital content” What Sir Martin does, the industry talks about. So, let’s not break the habit of a lifetime Is this a hot investment ? Why is Content anContinue reading “Content marketing – is it right for your brand?”

THE BIG TENSION- the insight behind successful brands today

(This article was first published in Directory – and is reproduced with their kind permission) Son (25) and daughter (23) have returned home after university: the perfect opportunity for this planner for some close-up observation of two millennials with their always- to-hand smartphones and dirty, untidied bedrooms. I pause at this point to give someContinue reading “THE BIG TENSION- the insight behind successful brands today”