Embrace the art of improvisational listening
Max DickinsWe spend too little time listening and too much time preparing to speak. By focusing more on others’ words and less on our own response, we can make more progress collaboratively.
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To win the biggest legal battle in marketing, Google must show who its competition really is
Mark RitsonGoogle might have an 80% share of the search market, but as the investigation by the US Department of Justice will no doubt show there are now many more ways people find information online.
If you want a bigger marketing budget, focus on creating cash flows
JP CastlinIn the finance world, creating value means generating cash flows that exceed the cost of capital, so this is how marketers need to frame their internal communications.
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To end associations with the Proud Boys, Fred Perry needs to do more than stop selling them shirts
Mark RitsonRestricting US sales will only strengthen the neo-fascists’ bond with the shirts they use as a uniform. The brand needs a big ad campaign to show it stands for the opposite ideology.
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TikTok is nothing new – to marketers, it’s just another ad platform
Mark RitsonAlthough its strapline, ‘Don’t Make Ads, Make TikToks’, touts it as revolutionary, TikTok will soon reveal itself to be another ‘traditional’ ad business, as its own media strategy makes clear.
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Stop paying agencies for their time and start paying for their output
Robin BonnArmed with a new perspective on accountability, marketers have an opportunity to be more innovative, get more done faster and help create a healthier industry.
Foresight is about actions, not just trends
Andrew GeogheganNormality is an illusion – consumer behaviour is always in flux and the marketer’s challenge is to assess which trends are worth anticipating and acting on.
Marketers misunderstand the two tasks of online advertising
Grace KiteConfusion over the twin functions of digital advertising could lead marketers into flawed decision making, especially when ads used to signpost customer journeys are treated as if they can generate demand.
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It’s time for ‘share of search’ to replace ‘share of voice’
Mark RitsonShare of voice is a key metric for setting budgets and predicting growth, but digital media make it impossible to calculate accurately. Understanding your share of search queries is a simple and elegant alternative.
Marketers must be at the centre of transformation, not at the edges
Ben RhodesMarketers are often guilty of focusing on superficial innovations – they should be at the heart of efforts to develop totally different digital business models.
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‘Funnel juggling’ is the answer to marketing effectiveness
Mark RitsonIt’s well established that brands need both long- and short-term marketing to be effective, but you’ve still got to decide between the three options for how to use them.
Content design breeds user confidence
Ben DavisJust as consumer confidence is so important at the moment, digital services need to breed user confidence. That’s where content design plays a role.
Brands must stop funding lies and hate
Tanya JosephIf brands are serious about not letting their money fall into the hands of climate change deniers, white supremacists and conspiracy theorists, now is the time to take a discriminating approach to brand safety.
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Read the nation’s mood before you commit to your Christmas campaign
Mark RitsonAt our first Covid Christmas, consumer sentiment could range from weary resignation to a desire for escapism, and brands will have to set the right tone.
Mark Read’s ‘ageist’ remarks point to a more worrying problem for WPP
JP CastlinThe economics of agencies mean they often have to hire a large group of juniors to work on the cheap but they should start putting a premium on experience, even within digital.
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‘Bothism’ is the cure for marketers’ fascination with pointless conflict
Mark RitsonMarketing theory is a constant battle between opposing viewpoints, but an open mind and accurate data set will show you usually need to adopt both perspectives.
B2B companies need an ‘injection of marketing mentality’ in the boardroom
Rory SutherlandTo innovate and grow, B2B firms need more marketing representation at non-exec level. More psychological forms of differentiation are required, and illustration that not everything that is costly is necessarily a cost.
Your employer brand means just as much to consumers
Helen EdwardsNow may seem the right time to prioritise customer-facing brands, but in this crisis your employer brand is critical to staff motivation and consumers’ perceptions of your company’s ethics.