We need evidence-based marketing to save us from fads and fashions
It is all too easy to base marketing strategies on hope, fear, what has worked in the past and what others are doing, but the best marketers will hinge their decisions on the facts. In 1836, French physician Pierre Louis conducted one of the first clinical trials in medicine. At the time, the removal of […]
Apple tropes and movies
The launch of Danny Boyle’s new movie about Steve Jobs, with Michael Fassbender has resulted in another round of articles about Jobs – somehow perfectly timed with a new Apple product launch! The first bug discussion point was the old trop about the degree to which Apple’s success was rooted in Jobs as a ‘brand’. The concept of Apple’s success was definitively rooted in using Steve Jobs as a ‘brand’.
Great Marketing Books – Car Guys vs Bean Counters by Bob Lutz
Reading this book was Nirvana for me. I am obsessed with cars. I am a career marketer. And I find the whole issue of what goes on in organisations – the politics, the posturing and the crazy bureaucracy all totally fascinating. Car Guys vs Bean Counters’ by Bob Lutz, one of the last real “car […]
Google Hangouts
Whilst, crowd sharing is not a brand new concept, more and more brands are forever searching and using all the tools at their disposal to engage their consumers and trying to getting to know them a bit better and reward them in a more intimate way. Here is one way that is proving to be […]
How big brands are winning new customers
How big brands are winning new customers The name of the summit might peak a few excited shopaholic eyebrows, however, this, sadly, is not the holy grail of shoppathons or a gathering of the largest malls in the world. This is however, the summit where retailers from all over the world gather to share and […]
Start an ecommerce business the easy way and get profitable quickly!
You’ve heard it a hundred times and it’s true, there really is no better time to start up an online business. With lots of consumer and enterprise options available, at every price point, it’s no surprise that ecommerce is booming. Irish e-commerce websites spanning retail, travel and charity verticals, which had combined revenue in excess […]
Retail needs to wake up if they want to capture online shoppers.
A comprehensive survey from the USA shows that companies with developed Shopper Marketing plans are growing 50% faster than any other categories they participate in and there is a similar trend across Europe. This continues to highlight the way in which the shopper’s expectations are becoming more demanding in conjunction with the growth of digital. […]
Mobile Marketing is a sure win for 2013!
The Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona this year was packed full of diverse sessions with the headline acts coming from the major European Telecoms operators focused on deregulation and OTT operations. There were a number of key trends at this year’s congress – ‘smart boredom’ (clever ways of coping with the moments of “minor […]
Best Financial Manager on the Planet, your own personal manager
Wally may sound a familiar name to you possibly the a Scott Adams creation made famous on his epic comic strips or Dave Franco’s bricklayer Wally in the Lego movies or even more recently the Wall E, however, none of these well known Wally’s are able to manage your finances as well as this little […]
iBeacon – bringing shoppers more added value
The latest in a round of location based communications. The Apple iBeacon launched with so far, a fair amount of success. The iBeacon is BLE a small low energy blue tooth device which can be placed in locations where consumers may be active for example at the check-out or at a product display and so […]
Advertising is Salesmanship-in-Print. Or maybe ‘Copy’ is salesmanship in print
This concept is so basic and so effective that we don’t even notice it any more. Copy is what we are looking at with all marketing communications. Copy and the written word form the basis of a brand. Yet, then you think of creating a brand, it’s easy to think about pony-tailed advertising managers sitting […]
Branding part 2.
I wrote recently about forgetting about branding. Although it is not strictly true, I do feel that we can get misled. Actually brand and brand building itself is not the issue. Some people think a brand is a logo. Others that it’s something a marketing consultant or designer creates for you. Others think it’s a […]
CityJet launches in London
Over the last couple of months, I have been working on the one of the biggest brand launches of my career. CityJet merged with VLM Airlines earlier this year. The two brands became one in mid-year and, the brand is being launched in its London heartland this week. Lots of outdoor, lots of press and, […]