Colin Lewis: All marketing is data-driven marketing
Data-driven marketing drives results, proves value and delivers insight, but don’t fall into the trap of thinking it can’t be used to enhance creativity too.
Colin Lewis: Could a computer write a prize-winning ad campaign?
There is potential for artificial intelligence to be used in advertising – particularly copywriting – as it has a very definite pattern and structure, but AI-created ads are unlikely to win any awards for creativity just yet.
A marketer’s view of martech
Beware of letting the tail wag the dog: technology is integral to modern marketing but tools are no replacement for strategy.
Colin Lewis: China makes customer experience in the West feel outdated
Scale, speed and convenience give Chinese brands a lead over their UK counterparts in customer experience – and they’re starting to leave us behind.
Colin Lewis: It’s tempting to be cynical but ‘agile’ is the real deal
Agile might be a much derided buzzword but when marketers take their cues from software developers and begin to work in an ‘agile’ way it can offer big benefits to ways of working.
Colin Lewis: 5G is about to usher in yet another new marketing era
The move from 4G to 5G has been likened to the shift from typewriter to computer and it will have profound impacts on businesses, consumers and marketing.
Colin Lewis: Just because brands can doesn’t mean they should
Landing customers with unexpected price hikes and made-up fees might increase revenues in the short term but the long-term damage could be devastating.
Colin Lewis: Think Black Friday is big? It’s nothing compared to China’s Singles’ Day
Black Friday may seem like a big event in the UK retail calendar but it cannot compete with the sheer scale of Alibaba’s Singles’ Day, which racked up more than £24bn in sales this year and is rapidly becoming a key strategic plank of brands’ plans.
Colin Lewis: Marketers need strategic knowledge, not just tactical tips
The future of marketing study must still focus on a grounding in strategic principles, while the hands-on teaching of tactical tools must be constantly updated.
Colin Lewis: The secret of direct-to-consumer success is owning the whole experience
Direct-to-consumer brands are shaking up the consumer goods market by owning the whole customer experience, rather than simply the product, and there are aspects of how they operate that all brands could learn from.
Colin Lewis: FMCG has become a breeding ground for underperformance
The big FMCG companies might still get the kudos from marketers, but on results, innovation, insight and diversity they have taken their eyes off the ball and let nimble disruptors in.
Colin Lewis: To identify real trends, imagine looking back on them from the future
It’s often hard to look at trends objectively if you’re living through them, but marketers have got to ask themselves whether what they know today will be proven false tomorrow.
Adidas reduces focus on short-term metrics as it looks to protect brand health
Adidas is changing the way it works internally and with agencies so it can focus better on its media and marketing strategies and look after the long-term health of the brand.
Vodafone brings together marketing and digital teams as it renews focus on innovation
The move comes as the mobile operator reveals its 5G roll-out and tie-up with cloud gaming company Hatch as it hopes a focus on services will help it win in the battle for customers.
Pret confirms the end of the Eat brand to ‘turbocharge’ Veggie Pret
Pret has bought its high street rival Eat as it looks to service growing demand for vegetarian and vegan options.
NatWest tackles ‘patronising’ way banks talk to women in new campaign
The bank is trying to tackle the “huge” financial confidence gap between men and women with a campaign that apologises for past behaviour and promises to smash stereotypes, but it’s already proving polarising.
