I say potato, you say pot-ahhhh-to, dahling…

I love meeting people in marketing. Particularly ones who, with a great deal of self importance, introduce themselves as someone who is an expert because they are a fellow of something, studied somewhere or have some letters after their name. If you can add the three little beauties ‘MBA’ as well, chances are I’ll have [...]

You got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them. Know when to walk away, and know when to run….

I know what you’re thinking, but trust me, this isn’t really a post about Kenny Rogers (as much as I might wish it to be). Quick back story. I was actually walking to the train station this morning and I pressed the play button on my iPhone. It randomly selected some Kenny Rogers. Me being [...]

Last I checked, you and Tesco didn’t have a lot in common…

Last week I was asked to speak to a small group of business owners who are currently in the (torturous?) process of trying to grow their own businesses. They were covering marketing that week, and I was brought in for a couple reasons (eye candy,? Ability to creatively curse?), but the primary one was to [...]

I call it simple for a reason…

It’s all in the title, right? It’s been a nice time away, but I’m back now, and that means that I’m back to putting my thoughts down on a (semi) regular basis. To kick off 2011, I thought I’d do a little bit of the old ‘back to basics’ routine. It’s time, I thought to [...]

I do what I do when I do it (episode 1 – The Introduction)

People are always asking me what goes into one of our marketing strategies. A lot of times it’s because they are looking to get as much advice as they can for free, so I don’t normally elaborate too much. Until you pay me, that is. But lately it’s occurred to me that I should share [...]

Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?

I have to admit – normally when I hear that phrase it’s in some sort of ‘b’ movie and it’s being uttered by a concerned parent or grandparent to their, somewhat wayward, daughter. But that’s not the story for today. No, today it’s a perfect summary of one of my pet peeves – doing speculative [...]

Treat ‘em mean and keep ‘em keen

This may be a bit of a schizophrenic post, as I’m trying to reconcile competing emotions and ideas into one (oh so subtly named) article. You can probably guess, but the underlying message/topic today is about customer service and communication. I like Apple. A lot. I have a 100% Apple office, and I’m what I [...]

Lost in Translation

All marketing is local. There, I’ve said it. I like reading up on Franchise opportunities. They all boast about having ‘world-class marketing’ (where did that phrase come from anyway? It sounds like some sort of weird advert for hoovers) systems in place that will guarantee that their franchisees will make tons and tons of money. [...]

Jack of all trades, master of f*ck all.

I’m sorry if this seems like another rant. I really am. I’m suddenly aware that these posts are making me seem like the grumpy old man waving his walking stick at the kids and shouting at them to “get off my damn land!” I’m really a very nice person. Honest. I like puppies and everything. [...]

It’s not the what – it’s the how, why and where.

That is very, very, true. When I talk to people in business, and I mention I am in marketing, most people assume I am a designer of some sort or another. “So you build websites?” I get asked a lot, or “So you can design me a business card or brochure?” Yes, but that’s not [...]