Category Archives: Challenger thinking

Brands get public spirited big time

There are emerging trends and then there are fully emerged trends If you take the  Cannes 2013 awards as a guide  then the idea that brands should take on public spirited causes is now a fully emerged trend I mean by this not just a commitment to being responsible  in the way they do business.Continue reading “Brands get public spirited big time”

Cameron needs to bring back the adpeople

The big thing that the advertising people understand (that the PR’s don’t often) is that success comes from the long view. Tactics will not be enough to win- you need long term strategy too. The branding game is all about trying to occupy a position for a brand in the mind of consumers (or citizens) andContinue reading “Cameron needs to bring back the adpeople”

The sad decline of iTunes

Here is something i have just noticed- I haven’t bought any music from Itunes for over two months and i used to be hooked And i have a new obsession. airbnb– the website marketplace where you can book accommodation in other people properties. I am currently using it to find a place in NYC. IContinue reading “The sad decline of iTunes”

Tips on sports promotion from Barry Hearn #under the spotlight

To The Marketing Society for an Under the Spotlight evening to hear Barry Hearn speak about his career as a sports promoter. Great fun and full of insight and useful lessons about life and business His career started by accident – he was FD of a fashion firm-which he had  joined from KPMG (very respectable!)-Continue reading “Tips on sports promotion from Barry Hearn #under the spotlight”

Spot inevitabilities:advice for budding entrepreneurs

I went to a reception last week at Wayra- a Telefonica funded incubator -” a digital start up accelerator with a global network of 13 academies in 12 countries” is how they describe themselves).It was courtesy of the kind people at The Foundation who hosted the evening (Telefonica have put seed funding into 20 startContinue reading “Spot inevitabilities:advice for budding entrepreneurs”

What women really want

I was just going through old VHSs and doing a clear out when i came across this- me on the tele with Gabby Roslin on The Big Breakfast (Chris Evans had just left the show) talking about what women want.Gabby reduced it all to one word – sex. My attempts to suggest otherwise were fruitlessContinue reading “What women really want”

My favourite campaign this year is..

Here is my Favourite campaign of the year Courtesy of a Canadian Beer called James Ready Everything is good about this-low cost,interactive and makes you feel good about the people who make the beer. There is a clear brand positioning and a creative idea that can run and run It seems that local and community based isContinue reading “My favourite campaign this year is..”

What publishers can learn from porn #edbookfest

Nick Biltons newish book ( which I have as an eBook)  sets out to study what we can learn from the porn industry (among other things) His reason? The industry always been innovative and adaptable (premium phone lives and web chats got an early boost from porn)and so they might act as a testing groundContinue reading “What publishers can learn from porn #edbookfest”

is this what the big society might mean ?

A partnership between brands and local government? Brands have money. They want to be seen as trusted and rooted in the lives of their buyers,especially as this is a time when ‘glossy’ doesnt play in the west ( it does in China right now) and people are anxious and hunkering down Local government has veryContinue reading “is this what the big society might mean ?”