In brand strategy, I often see teams move forward when they feel pretty confident — when their odds of being right seem just above 50%. But here’s the truth: Being barely right isn’t good enough in high-stakes decisions. The real value comes from pushing that confidence way higher...
Brand or Performance?Long-term or short-term?Storytelling or selling? The binary is broken. Thinkbox’s "Profit Ability 2" study (with Ebiquity, EssenceMediacom, Gain Theory, Mindshare, and Wavemaker), is based on a rigorous analysis of £1.8 billion in ad spend across 141 brands, 14 categories, and 10 media channels. And the big...
Let’s face it: this isn’t the same marketing landscape we were operating in even a year ago. 💸 Budgets are tighter.🧑💼 Teams are leaner.🛍️ And customers? They’re more cautious, selective, and value-driven than ever. In this environment, there’s one area that smart brands are doubling down on: Customer...
Here’s a simple but powerful question I ask every time I review a media plan with a brand team: 👉 How did the idea inform this media strategy? Most media plans start with audience behavior:What do our customers watch? Where do they scroll? When are they most...
For years now, many in the advertising world have been ringing the death knell for television. “TV is dying,” they say. “Nobody watches anymore.” “It’s all about digital now.”But what if I told you that a lot of what’s been said about the value of...
As a branding strategist, I don’t typically advocate isolating marketing as a siloed function—at the executive level, business goals should transcend departmental boundaries. Whether it's revenue growth, customer loyalty, or market leadership, the goal is the goal. How we get there should be driven by...
Strategy can feel intimidating — especially when you’re new or facing a messy project. That’s where a Strategy On A Page becomes invaluable. It distills the key elements of your strategy into one clear, structured format, making the process less overwhelming and easier to navigate. If you’re...
At the recent IPA Effectiveness Conference, Dr. Grace Kite presented some eye-opening research that should grab the attention of anyone responsible for marketing budgets. When you combine really great creative with really great media planning and buying, you can achieve up to a 4x uplift in...
You know that feeling when someone gives you five different directions to get to the same place — and you end up completely lost? That’s exactly what happens when I see a strategy packed with multiple insights. Let’s be real: A great strategy needs ONE insight — no...
We’ve all heard it: “TV advertising isn’t what it used to be.” In the age of TikTok, YouTube, and programmatic everything, it’s easy to think TV is yesterday’s news — expensive, clunky, and hard to measure compared to sleek, digital-first campaigns. But here’s the truth:TV has actually gotten...