Sixteen years ago today, I set up my own little business … a boutique consultancy called Art in Marketing. It was founded on the principle that great marketing has more to do with creativity and imagination than business formulas and textbook science.  My business got off to a flying start with some big clients like Coca-Cola...Continue Reading

International Women’s Day was first marked in 1911, the year that my maternal grandmother was born.  Grandma had a rough life.  She had a dozen siblings and her family was very poor. Dirt poor. Hard graft defined most of her life, but it never got in the way of pouring out unbridled love onto her...Continue Reading

I think I’ve become a bit hardened lately … fed up with what’s happening in the political arena here, there and everywhere … and not particularly impressed by much in the business & marketing world lately … and then this happened to me on Friday 22nd February. Tony happened to me. If you don’t know...Continue Reading

This is the final part of a little mini series on 3 key values established in me during my growing up years on a farm in Arkansas.  These values have defined my personal and professional life. Value number 3 – Endurance. Some of my most vivid memories come from some of the darkest of times...Continue Reading

This is the second part of a little mini series on 3 key values established in me during my growing up years on a farm in Arkansas.  These values have defined my personal and professional life. Value number 2 – Resourcefulness. The farm was a shared effort between my parents and grandparents.  My parents ran...Continue Reading

My growing up years were spent on a farm.  I was 2 when we moved onto 137 acres located on a dirt road in Arkansas.  And, I was 15 when we left it for town life.  Those 13 years on Rolling Hill Ranch defined me in a lot of ways including how it has influenced...Continue Reading

Art in Marketing was founded on this day, 15 years ago (a crystal anniversary of sorts). So today, we reflect on a few things that we are crystal clear about … Small brands are just as tough to market as big brands … and can be so much more rewarding! You can get a lot...Continue Reading

I had the good fortune of growing up in a quintessentially small town of America called Gentry, Arkansas.  It wasn’t a perfect place by any stretch of the imagination, but one particular aspect of it which holds rather perfectly in my mind was its Main Street. In the 1970s, this Main Street was so much...Continue Reading

Having just returned from Belfast, where the Titanic was constructed and launched, I can’t help but draw out some lessons from the mighty ship. Bigger doesn’t mean better.  The ‘unsinkable’ proposition was flawed, afterall she was made of iron (a lot of it) which sinks. Arrogance stymied the ability to listen to smart people about...Continue Reading

After a year characterised by a lot of negatives (abuse of power, harassment, terrorism, destructive threats, bullying, divisiveness, blatant racism, childishness, foul-mouthed behaviour and downright stupidity), I believe brands would be well served to rise above all the nonsense and do some serious good this year. So here are my tips: 1) Listen for understanding...Continue Reading