Category: Marketing, branding, advertising & design
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Creativity in data world
What is the future for advertising creativity in a retail world that is more and more being driven by data? John Wanamaker was a US merchant in the 19th to the early party of the 20th century. His most famous maxim still holds true today: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” …
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Generation Z: Is Retail communicating with them in the right way?
Generation Z is the next batch of bright young things; still young at 18 to 20 but soon to be the new influencers. It’s a small window so how can retailers align their thinking to stay on track with Gen Z in the here and now and also keep their loyalty over the longer term?…
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Why Brands Need To Entertain
So, the IPA reports that ad spend continues to go up despite worries about Brexit and potential Trumpageddon. However it’s not all rosy in adland…
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Stop tinkering, start transforming
One of those big fancy London agencies has come up with an interactive poster site driven by artificial intelligence that changes a variety of colour, type and image to change the creative being displayed depending on how passers-by react. www.theguardian.com/media-network/2015/jul/27/artificial-intelligence-future-advertising-saatchi-clearchannel All things to all people. Sounds cool, until you start thinking about it. Just who…
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Keep good company
In 2009 the Advertising Association reported that ad spend fell off a cliff – down by 10% with the only bright area being online advertising growing. Now we’re back in growth the Advertising Association has reported that ad spend is unsurprisingly growing too with an 11.5% growth in TV alone. Interestingly digital spend has slowed…
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Keep it Simple
Life in marketing seems ever more complicated. The recent Cannes Lions (International festival of Creativity if you didn’t know) presents a myriad of awards including categories for Cyber, Mobile, Promo & Activation and Brand Content & Entertainment. As you’d expect there is also Press, Film, Direct and Outdoor but they seem side-lined by the new platforms…
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WHO IS BEST TO LOOK AFTER YOUR BRAND?
FIFA and the world cup is in the news for all the wrong reasons again due to accusations of corruption and dodgy dealing that can only make the beautiful game seem ugly. Those who sell sponsorship of sports, festivals and events argue that it can give your brand instant access to grass roots credibility, celebrity,…
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WHY IS THERE NO GREAT POLITICAL ADVERTISING?
Did you know that political advertising is not subject to the advertising standards authority? It basically means that in press and on posters the parties can do and say pretty much whatever they like. What a fantastic opportunity to have such freedom. Imagine the creative possibilities, the places you could go, the outrageous and compelling…
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WRITING A GREAT CREATIVE BRIEF.
I am as guilty as the next person of writing woolly creative briefs. There’s a real craft to writing a really succinct brief and it’s an equally important part of campaign development as copywriting or art-direction so getting it right is an integral part of a campaign’s success. So here’s my quick and hopefully useful…
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The Future of Marketing?
I have worked in marketing all my career from services to games to advertising. The fundamentals haven’t changed since I first sat my marketing exams in the early ‘90s – although much else has. I’ve always believed that Marketing was the guy in the white hat – we think positively about consumers, want to understand what…
Making brands more distinctive 