Category Archives: brands

“Knowing what’s important”

Was how Charles Handy defined “wisdom” at a recent event- it has stayed with me It is particularly needed at the moment – as many in marketing are transfixed by new technologies and have persuaded themselves of two things a) change is pervasive and b) change getting quicker. This second statement has been taken axiomaticContinue reading ““Knowing what’s important””

The march of the matchmakers.

(Book review published in Market Leader: September 2016) Here are a few hours in the life of a modern everyman I picked up my IPhone and Googled the location of my coffee meeting. Then I summoned an Uber and, on the way, planned my holiday on Airbnb. At our meeting we checked out a YouTubeContinue reading “The march of the matchmakers.”

APG Strategy V Robots

Another excellent conference and excellent value Here are  a few  things i took away Steve Hilton may sound modern (took his shoes off in public/wore T-Shirt etc)  but his ideas are really a reworking of ideas launched by the levellers in the 16th Century, and developed by Romantics in the 19th century- he wants thingsContinue reading “APG Strategy V Robots”

How Getty could have predicted Trump and Sanders

Getty sell their images to agencies who are designing campaigns and so what buyers search for reveals something of the zeitgeist.Agency creative teams have well developed instincts for what is fresh and current. Forget the focus groups, analyse Getty search tends. “Stand out from the crowd”,”rebellious” and “bold choices” have spiked in search on theirContinue reading “How Getty could have predicted Trump and Sanders”

Should brands become creators on YouTube?

I spent a happy two years at Google thinking about and advising brand owners about this question. Here is my advice, just published in the spring issue of Market Leader ( which is the UK Marketing Society’s quarterly journal) PDF attached Julian Saunders

Smart googling

Aurora magazine recently asked me where and how i look for insights online, so i thought i would share. Here are five I find really useful (heavily influenced i guess from working at Google ) ThinkwithGoogle (www.thinkwithgoogle.com) a treasure trove of think pieces and case histories about good digital marketing .  Google trends http://www.google.com/trends: whatContinue reading “Smart googling”

The fight for your eyeballs

is the business model of media owners down the years- and that battle has now moved to your smartphone. Winning apps find ways to “scratch your itches”many times a day. Facebook  is the most energetic in enticing you back to their platform with a continuous flow of digital addiction-it started with “poking” for me andContinue reading “The fight for your eyeballs”

Are things really getting quicker and quicker ?

‘Tis the season to hear the rousing voice of Noddy Holder in a retail environment wishing us a Merry Christmas and for marketers to opine that this year, as in all previous years, change is getting quicker and quicker. If this was true then by now change would be so fast that our eyes wouldContinue reading “Are things really getting quicker and quicker ?”

Experience/Service innovation through tech

Just back from the Marketing Society Annual conference where much of the talk was about how technology +data are leading to innovation. It’s all about brand building through better more personal experiences, services and speed of new products to market ( with advertising getting barely a mention.) What are good examples of this? Here is oneContinue reading “Experience/Service innovation through tech”