The Myth of the Personal Digital Brand
I wrote on Saturday about The Fight Our Youth Face, discussing the problem that too much choice for our young people has a paralysing effect, and that there isn’t a strong focus on transferable skills. We talked a while ago about ‘building the kingdom’ – looking at how a strong team is made up of [...]
A Video After I Voted
If you can’t see the video, click here, or watch it directly on YouTube. In this video I just share a few branding thoughts and community thoughts over voting. I wrote two very popular posts last month, one called My Vote For Sale: Price Engagement, which was about my disillusionment about the lack of engagement [...]
My Vote For Sale. Price: Engagement.
Yes, that’s right. My vote in the UK General Election is for sale. It just costs engagement. When I announced this on Twitter at the end of last week, my friend Martin Howitt immediately replied that my vote should be based on principles – it is a duty and a decision that is not like [...]
How Apple Creates Suspense, Why Satisfaction Doesn’t Matter, and A Lesson From Star Wars
I spoke a while ago on the idea of what I’m calling ‘brand mystery’ – we looked at JJ Abrams’ TED Talk and Lost, and how he tells a story by suspense. He never provides the complete picture, and this is what keeps you hooked. This is contrary to what one copywriter thought when he [...]
Pepsi and a Thought About Cause Marketing, Authenticity and Commonality
Yesterday we discussed Amazon and the challenge intangibles and digital products have with perceived value. I must say, the comments yesterday were rich and deep, and it’s really got me thinking. I’ll be picking up this theme again very soon – if you haven’t said a word there yet, please do leave a comment on what [...]
Handing Off vs Signing Off
One of the most significant challenges in 2010 and realtime is the inability for agencies to function in the traditional mode of signing things off. PR, Marketing and Ad agencies typically, when writing copying, releasing images, video, etc, for a client, have it all signed off. This is a way of providing protection – for [...]
Sucker For A Story. A Bigger Sucker For A Mystery
This image enthrals me. Why? Because it doesn’t just tell a story. It also doesn’t tell the story: are these two people talking, or have they just met? What are they meeting for? What is that moon-like thing? What does this image mean and stand for? By mentally filling in the gaps, I look at [...]
Experience: Today's Currency
When you go into Starbucks what are you buying? A product? A good? A service? Or are you indeed buying something far greater than coffee? The idea of experience in marketing is not at all a new one, and indeed the general public can now observe that more often than not, the notion of experience [...]
