Strategy
When small independents learn big companies’ tricks
As of today the contents of my fridge have changed. Bye-bye big name labels and uniform vegetables. Hello real food delivered from local shops by Hubbub. If you haven’t come across them already, Hubbub is roughly what you get when you cross the good bits of buying local with the convenience of ordering from Ocado. [...]
Buy-in? No we don’t.
When we hear the words ‘stakeholders’, ‘engagement’ or ‘buy-in’ at the start of a project our hearts sink. On paper it makes perfect sense to make sure the people who should be involved have their say. But in practice, the process often takes over at the expense of any good ideas.
Jargon isn’t the problem and ‘Plain English’ isn’t the answer.
Every year the Plain English Campaign gives out gobbledegook awards to the worst examples of incomprehensible writing at work. But most writing problems in an organisation can’t be solved with a Plain English crystal mark.
An open letter to Sir Richard Branson
Hello Richard, A lot of newspapers this morning are talking about how you’ve bought Northern Rock for a bargain price at the expense of us taxpayers. We’ll grumble to the chancellor about that. But seeing as you (and some private equity suits) have bought it, we hope some good will come of it. Richard, this [...]
Edit
Sales are down. Research shows you’re squeezed on all sides. It’s getting harder to pigeonhole your customers into a neat ABC1234 PowerPoint. Meanwhile, brighter, smaller, more nimble companies are snapping at your heels and stealing your thunder. So what do you do? Outwit your competitors and start developing newer, shinier products? Or do you edit?
How to sum up your brand in a line
How to describe your brand in a few words. How to make it really, properly, actually different. How to sell it in.
The whatever-you-want-it-to-be society
The Big Society isn’t an idea, it’s a bunch of thoughts lumped together under one woolly label. It’s supposed to be simple and easy to ‘get’, but it’s just confusing. And it’s the kind of mistake strategists and consultants make all the time.
Ah, now we get it.
Take a brand, an ‘insight’, some half-baked positioning and a crowbar. Put them together and what happens? This…
NatWest has commitment issues
We will aim to. It’s the number one cop-out favoured by over-cautious lawyers, scaredy cat copywriters, and commitment-phobic executives the world over. So it’s a bit surprising to see it’s got a starring role in NatWest’s latest campaign – ahem – Our commitment to becoming Britain’s most Helpful Bank.