It seems that rarely a week goes by without a new statistic showing just how low consumer confidence has dropped thanks to Brexit. This isn’t great for brands, but this issue seems fleetingly short term compared to the almost equally prevalent statistics about the fragility of young people. The latest report from the annual UK […]
Recently I was given the opportunity to take on a new role at GSK HQ in London. Living here again after 15 years my first impression is that not much seems to have changed – great curries, crammed Underground, pre-occupation with the royal family, lengthy and repeated discussions on the weather (remains a national pastime) […]
Many brands often believe they have a responsibility to serve a purpose which reaches beyond their business objectives. According to Havas’ Meaningful Brands research, three-quarters of people feel the same way, expecting their chosen brands to make a positive contribution towards wellbeing and quality of life. Brand purpose has many definitions, but in its basic […]
“Today, we declare a new front in the battle for good beer. This is a new chapter in the craft beer revolution. This is all or nothing.” Few campaigns start with such emotive words, but this was how BrewDog co-founder James Watt described the launch of Punk IPA’s audacious push to increase its customers by […]
No one can accuse luxury brands of cutting corners where advertising spend is concerned. On average, they divert 8% of their turnover into funding advertising initiatives. In the US for example, luxury brands invested more than $5 billion in advertising last year, accounting for a significant portion of overall marketing expenditure. Love it or hate […]
It’s already shaping up to be a challenging year for marketers. Brand fatigue among consumers is at a high and 66% of Brits find ads more intrusive today than they did three years ago. Meanwhile, concerns continue around the effectiveness and accountability of ad campaigns and the industry is continually pushed to do more with […]
With the new General Data Protection Regulation around the corner, with just under three months to go, businesses should be aware of the significant changes to data collection – and the opportunities it brings. Research into marketers’ attitudes indicates that three quarters of UK marketers view GDPR as offering opportunity, as when it comes to […]
Something is rotten in the state of advertising, an industry which I have loved since my first day working for the Saatchi brothers 30 years ago. The sad fact is that too many of the recommendations made by agencies are no longer made for the benefit of the client. That is not good for the […]
As smart marketers increasingly understand the value of good content, we’ll see continued growth and innovation in the discipline. The CMA recently reported that 64% of UK clients expect to spend more on content in 2018, and we certainly expect a more structured and long-term approach with more clients producing a documented content strategy – […]
2017 marked a watershed year for digital brand advertising with factors including trust, transparency, safety, measurement, user experience, consolidation, Facebook/Google dominance and the use of data all up for debate. Throw in a wobbly economy, Brexit (ahem), GDPR and the welcome, but as yet un-established changes brought by the Coalition for Better Advertising, and 2018 […]