“When one door closes, another opens. But we often look so regretfully upon the closed door that we don’t see the one that has opened for us.” Helen Keller Businesses can glean some encouragement from this remarkably resilient woman.  Plenty of doors will close on attempted new product developments, new customer pursuits, and new advertising...Continue Reading

I love Marketeers who challenge convention, so I would love to have someone like Oscar Wilde on my marketing team. Imagine his view on … Advertising Effectiveness: I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying. Pricing Strategy: Too many people today know the price of everything and...Continue Reading

Milton Keynes has just turned 50, #LoveMK is all over the place … and a song has captured the remarkable stuff that ‘gets under your skin’ and makes this city a brand in its own right. Have a listen ‘We’re Lovin’ MK’ was written by John Hawkes, sung by Jenny Murray and produced by Steve...Continue Reading

The purest treasure mortal times afford is spotless reputation; that away, men are but gilded loam or painted clay.   William Shakespeare (Richard II) A brand’s reputation, if good and ideally flawless, drives its value upwards and distances it from its competitors. If flawed, it’s pretty difficult to justify why people should pay much for a...Continue Reading

“I don’t know anything about music. In my line [of work], you don’t have to.”  Elvis Presley. Elvis had a sense of humour and no doubt he was kidding when he said that, but there is a bit of truth in jest.  After all, he wasn’t a musician in the prescribed traditional sense, yet he was...Continue Reading

The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.   Aristotle. There is so much that marketing can learn from great artists, philosophers and writers. This timeless observation from Aristotle is as relevant today as it was when he wrote it in the 300’s BC. Brands are not...Continue Reading

This year, I’ve had a look at Brand America through the lens of 12 archetypes including Explorer, Lover, Innocent, Jester, Caregiver, Hero, Outlaw, Creator, Everyman, Magician, Sage; and this last one, The Ruler Archetype. The Ruler is the boss, the ultimate role model, the leader.  I like to think of it as more than a...Continue Reading

The Sage archetype is the expert, the scholar, the thinker.  It’s the one who uses intelligence and analysis to understand the world.  The dark side of this archetype is that it can be so focused on studying and researching that it fails to act …this is also known as the ‘Ivory Tower’ mentality, a concept...Continue Reading

The Magician archetype is about transforming situations, making dreams come true and being a catalyst for change.  They are the most charismatic of leaders, the visionaries and the healers. The epitome of this archetype in defining Brand America is President Barack Obama and I’m convinced this will become even more pronounced as time passes and...Continue Reading

The Everyman archetype is the egalitarian who believes in the inherent worth and dignity of all and is defined by a sense of belonging and desire to fit in.  Everyone matters, just as they are.  It is the regular guy (or gal) next door, the realist, the common person and the good neighbor.  It’s blue...Continue Reading