Media: Paid or earned?
Marketers have long understand that word of mouth advertising is the most powerful form of advertising, now enhanced by social media tools, evolving into the term "word of mouse" to describe the phenomenon. This leads to a further distinction: media that is paid for,...
Another brick ripped from the wall
The wall I refer to is the Australian processed food industry. It is being torn down by the high $A, the strategies of the two retail gorillas who are stocking shelves with housebrands, global sourcing of product, and lack of will by Australian governments and...
The biggest insult.
Surely in this day and age of total and transparent communication, putting out a contrarian view, and having no-one respond is the greatest insult we can make. Putting out a view that is deliberately contrarian takes guts, as you will attract criticism, sometimes...
The disruption of photography
Kodak used to "own" photography, having a massive share of the film market, end to end. No more, Kodak is virtually broke, subject to continuous take-over speculation. The really interesting thing is that one of the assets that makes Kodak valuable to an aggressor is...
Differentiation to making a difference
As a marketer, I have always sought to differentiate my products from those of my competitors in a meaningful way, to add value to the experience of use. In a hyper-connected, multi-branded world, where most people don't care too much despite the billions spend by...
Invest in the process.
A friend of mine, a smart bloke, has coached local soccer teams for ages, and seems to be able to take a bunch of ordinary 15 year olds, and mould them into a winning team. He has done it time and time again. The formula he uses is as deceptively simple, as it is...
The purpose of advertising.
"Advertising is what you do when you cannot get there in person" This has been a pretty regularly heard quote over my 40 years in this business, attributed to Fairfax Cone, one of the founders of Foote Cone & Belding advertising. It remains one of the foundations...
God help the NBN
In the communication revolution going on currently, the infrastructure to carry it all is vital, but how relevant will the 2010 infrastructure be to the world that greets it when it is finally completed roll-out in, when?, what was the last projection? ever?. The...
Pavlov’s customers.
We are in the middle of the post Christmas sales, an orgy of discount opportunities for consumers as retailers rush to clear stock, and take advantage of the behavior consumers exhibit every new year, "buy, buy, grab the discount". Whoops? Have we trained customers to...
What’s coming for 2012?
It is the time of year for predictions and reviews, so here is my shot. Three general predictions, and one very specific one, followed by a review of my predictions of this time last year. The barriers to communication are falling so quickly, that a raft of tools are...