EFFECTIVE POS: MAKE A SPLASH NOT A RIPPLE
When I was 17 I entered a beauty pageant in a small rural holiday village, as a man (boy?) dressed as a woman. I borrowed a dress, somehow secured a blond wig and had my make-up (and I use that term loosely here …) applied by some all too willing female friends. Alongside all the […]
THE SHARING ECONOMY: WHAT’S MINE IS YOURS
The Sharing Journey Sharing has always made sense. It is in our nature as humans. We are a tribal people, hunting in a pack, surviving as a group, as cave men and women we learnt how to share our resources. In more recent times during WWII on a global level, when resources were scarce, consumers […]
GOOGLE V JESUS: SILICON VALLEY OR SANDALS?
In 1966 John Lennon was quoted in an interview having said that “The Beatles were more popular than Jesus”. The comment drew an obvious fire and brimstone reaction from religious leaders and the arising controversy threatened the success of their pending US tour. Clearly he didn’t mean he WAS Jesus or had any aspirations to […]
MAKE YOUR CUSTOMERS CRY TEARS OF JOY THIS CHRISTMAS
It’s that time of year again when we celebrate another fantastic 12 months by stuffing our faces with chocolates, mince pies, biscuits, and washing it all down with plenty of wine, beer and whiskey. And oh yes – something about a star and Jesus too I think. Christmas is an emotional time. A time we […]
WHAT YOUR BUSINESS CAN LEARN FROM A PUSH UP BRA
In 1994 a billboard appeared featuring Eva Herzigová wearing little other than her push up bra. 20 years later that “HELLO BOYS” Wonderbra Ad was voted ‘Most Iconic’ by the Advertising community. It represented a brave new confidence for brands, outdoor advertising, and of course prompted plenty of discussion on ethics and social morality. There […]
THINKING WITH THE BOX
Why Supply Chain is the New Cool Kid at School Who as a child doesn’t remember playing with the box? Regardless of what had come inside, sometimes the best part was making a robot head, a car or a small house from the box. Give any two year old an Apple Watch tomorrow and chances […]
WHY YOU NEED A PAIR OF SPARKLY RED HEELS
I’ve always loved the Wizard of Oz. A story with witches, magic, flying monkeys and taking lions. What’s not to like? Seriously. The other day I spent a lazy Sunday afternoon watching this classic movie when it suddenly struck me that the entire story was written as a fantastic retail metaphor. Really (but to be fair I […]
IRRELEVANCE: LEARNINGS FROM A 9 YEAR OLD
Disruption is all around us. There is not an industry or organization that is untouched. In just 18 months, the launch of the Google Maps App wiped out 85% of the market capitalization of the GPS industry. Just 4 years after launching iTunes, Apple became the largest music retailer in the U.S. and took just 7 years […]
WHEN PERSONALISATION GETS CREEPY
This week the privacy debate was again raging on social media platforms, courtesy of the release of Spotify’s new terms and conditions. Aside from wanting access to the location of your device, the contentious issue was around their statement that they would be accessing the users PHOTOS and CONTACTS. Now there is nothing odd about […]
HOW TO BREAK UP WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS
When I was 15 I went camping for 2 weeks with a friend, without our parents. It was our first taste of freedom. We met some teenage girls and in the last few days, romance blossomed as only it does when you are 15. Our holiday over, I left my girl behind, promising I’d see […]