What’s this about?
Thoughts, musings and the occasional rant, all in the spirit of playing BIG and getting BALLSY.
War of the words
As a dyslexic, I have a love and hate relationship with words.
I love them for the stories they can tell. How they evoke emotions, transport people to new places. But I hate them for how hard I find to spell them. I hate that when I'm passionate about something my mind often leaves out the core word, so the entire meaning of the sentence is lost (sorry if I have done this to you, at least you know I'm really enthusiastic ;) )
Tips from the challengers.
Yesterday l attended a Bread & Jam and Copy Club event where I was lucky enough to hear from Nicola Matthews, Tony’s Chocolonely, Kasia Bigda Mr Lee’s and Charlotte Moulson Olivia’s about building a challenger brand. Here are the key take-outs:
Because the World needs brands that care.
This is our why, it’s what gets us out of bed in the morning, it’s why we only work with purpose-driven brands who share our belief that businesses can and should be used as a driving force for change and good.
Not all sales channels are created equally.
Last week I went into a supermarket. Bare with me… after spending the last 18 months, exclusively ordering groceries online, this was a little bit novel and a little bit exciting. Bare with me on this…
I'll have a side of mould with that.
The fast-food category, like many other others, has merged into one. Glossy ads of airbrushed burgers showing a perfect patty, salad and bun ratio. So last year, it was a massive shock to see a mouldy burger plastered across the main billboard in Times Square.
Pssstt… it’s not about you.
Everywhere I look, I feel that someone is trying to sell me something, make me fitter, make me smarter, make me more beautiful…. All of these brands are shouting about them, themselves, themselves and what they do. Every single one are missing a trick, to at actually attract customers they need to reframe their messaging and rather than focusing on them and their product, focus on who the customer is and the problem that they are solving for them.
From blue liquid to powerful story telling: the evolution of Bodyform.
There's a huge difference between selling a product vs building a brand. When asked to elaborate on what we mean by this, we say that it comes down to feeling. A brand makes you FEEL something, it invokes an emotion, a connection with you and the item.
They call it Puppy Love.
Jinx is an organic dog food business, understands the power of a shareable idea, that extends beyond a media placement.
The counterintuitive secret to success.
When it comes to designing a marketing strategy that converts eyeballs into sales, 97% of brands fail at the first hurdle. They operate the classic ‘close your eyes, spray, prey and hope that something sticks with someone’ technique. Money, time and energy is wasted. Gone in a puff of smoke.
Reflect, reset and celebrate.
I want to share an exercise that I have been doing at the end of each week to reflect and reframe. This has been forcing me to celebrate the wins and successes (no matter the size), learn from the challenges and set my intentions for the week ahead. It is allowing me space and perspective to think about success holistically rather than just obsessing over a never-ending to-do list. Honestly, it is a game changer.
Want to build your D2C offering?
Click through to document where will learn about how Graze has built a business being fixated on solving problems, how building a brand is a relationship business, not a transactional one. It will cover the power of Data and how when it comes to D2C there are no rules; you have the opportunity to build an experience that is bespoke to your brand and the problem that you solve.
The LinkedIn post that pis*sed me off, a lot.
I read something on LinkedIn that pissed me off. This may have been a rather intense reaction, but it really irked me and illustrated the massive delta in the two types of businesses that exist.
Extra: the fresh start we all need.
This week, I have been talking to a client about the importance of tapping into the social narrative to create marketing campaigns that stand out and are relevant. And I shared the latest campaign by Extra Gum.
D2C is so much more than a sales channel.
There is a topic that keeps coming up time and time again in the discussions that I am having with founders, as I record the Sprowt-cast podcast. This is how D2C (Direct to customer) distribution offers so much opportunity beyond being a sales channel.
BrewDog, I’m not angry, i’m so disappointed
Yesterday’s open letter to BrewDog from past employees broke my heart.
BrewDog is a business that I have heralded for many years. I love how they have challenged the beer category, ripped up the rule book when it comes to marketing and were using their brand as a means to making a positive difference in the world.
But all is seemingly not as it looks on the surface.
How Covid19 levelled the playing field.
This week, as I received my new yoga pants, made from recycled sea plastic, I have been thinking about how Covid has levelled the playing field for new brands entering the market. What???! I hear you ask, how can small brands compete directly with the big brands with huge multi-million-pound budgets.
Nudie: It’s all in their Jeans.
It might seem like a bit of an over-exaggeration, but I believe that finding a good pair of jeans is akin to finding your soul mate; they make you feel great and stick around for a very, very, very long time. With Nudie jeans I have met my soul mate.
Selling is not a dirty word
When you say the world sales many people will shudder. There is a strong likelihood that the word will conjures up an image of an untrustworthy second hand car dealer, someone wanting to ‘screw’ you over in a win-loose arrangement.
As a result, people go into business fearful of the sale And if you are not asking for the sale, then it is highly unlikely that you are ever going to get it.
No more meat sweats with THIS™ meat free, meat.
THIS™ is a plant-based meat alternative. It was created when two meat-lovers, on a mission to re-evaluate their reliance on meat. After realising that no suitable substitute existed, the duo set about creating a meat-free, meaty alternative that tastes and acts as real meat.
Build a brand DON’T sell a product.
Building a unique brand is the number one difference between the businesses that thrive and those that disappear into obscurity.