Innovative and creative
Contrary to much common usage, these two concepts are not synonyms, they are very different. Creativity is the process of dreaming up something new, while Innovation is the process of making use of the new stuff. How often has Van Gogh, or Beethoven been accused of...
Scope of Innovation
Fast Company's 50 most innovative companies of 2012, a pretty impressive list, but most are tech companies in one way or another, which I guess reflects the domain of Fast Company magazine. However, I think the omission by implication of a broarder definition of...
Australia Inc. A strategy please!
If Australia was a company, it would be a case study for the need for a coherent strategy as the basis for commercial sustainability. As it is, the place is a shambles, the Directors are held in contempt, clearly they are not listening to management, and have no ideas...
Social Media Triage
During times of stress, when there is too much to do and too little time to do it, we find ways to sort the tasks into categories to better manage our time. In medical terms, Triage. Treat now, can wait till later, no hope so time is better spent elsewhere. Running...
Marketing does not create brands.
How many times have you heard from marketers "my job is to create the brands", (often followed by the "yours is to sell it" when they happen to be talking to sales people) Many marketers use it as the rationale for their existence. Pity it is nonsense. Customer...
Manage, or sell change?
Much has been written about the management of change, and it usually focuses on the challenges, acknowledging just how difficult change really is. When you turn it around, and consider what happens in successful change programs, there is very little management, and a...
Ethical sourcing. Cost or marketing investment?
Why are we so hung up about ethical sourcing of coffee?? What about the electronics industry, and shoes, rare earth minerals, and many others? Who bears the responsibility for the conditions of workers in the supply chains of successful businesses.? Apple is the...
Social life of the brand.
The oldest market research technique in the world is to ask a group "imagine brand X is walking through the door, tell me about him/her". This enables respondents to describe the brand with human terms, words that reflect the human characteristics to which we all...
Governments and marketing
The current Australian government has a marketing problem. Their other problems, trouble with the hung parliament, zealous credit card expenditure by MP's, inability to out-communicate the drivel of the opposition, a rebellious electorate, a failed "moral Imperative"...
Brand loyalty a two way street.
I have been having trouble with bloody Optus, again, my exclusive supplier of communication services. They simply cannot seem to get anything right, clearly the left hand has no idea, and I suspect do not care what the right hand is doing. Their customer service does...