What’s a magic notion? You already know. You already know because everything you know – from the ideas and beliefs you cherish to the products and services you use every day… all of these things were originally the product of magic notions. I believe a magic notion really is magic. It appears, seemingly, from out of nowhere. It transforms the world around it. It turns our preconceptions on their heads. And it opens up new, previously unimagined ways of thinking, being and doing. It is destructive, but also creative. It is subversive, sometimes even threatening, but it is also liberating....

These days, consumers have more choice than ever before, through more diverse channels - from storefront to mail order to online. Expectation is higher than ever. Companies that fail to live up to that expectation find customers leaving without comment - the majority of dissatisfied customers will not complain, they will simply change suppliers. Those businesses that introduce an exceptional level of customer service are differentiating themselves from the competition in an increasingly saturated marketplace. Which is why it is so surprising that business, to a large extent, is still failing to address the issue of customer service. According to...

I actually wrote this blog last year but was persuaded by my business partner, to just leave it. Now we are having exactly the same conversations, internally as well as with clients and I cannot be silenced anymore.   What is wrong with Happy Christmas?   My business partner says, “No, it’s Season’s Greetings, we don’t want to offend anyone.”   Who are we going to offend?   So the question is - would anyone be offended if a company card said “Have a Merry Christmas”? We are wishing good will to all. Every shop we walk past from as...

Within many organisations, I sense there is a growing readiness to challenge everything and to ask searching questions.You have no doubt heard this in your own organisations: “Why are we doing it that way?”,  “Are we in the right markets?” or “How can we make this better, cheaper, faster, etc?” Marketers who sit at the centre of their organisations can lead this process. They can help their companies evolve and change to continue to prosper or, in some cases, even survive.However the challenge can now come from any source. Internally, a more diverse group of functions might feel empowered to...

 When a company is taken over – what should happen to the swallowed company’s brands?   Mergers and acquisitions have characterised many B2B markets for at least the last 10 years – the recent Dow takeover of Rohm and Haas, and BASF’s takeover of Ciba show how valuable consolidation is perceived by senior management, even in the current credit crunch environment.   Much of the communication  relating to the rationale of any merger focuses on “synergies”, and we all know what that means. But what about the brands acquired? When a company’s history stretches back over decades, it’s clear...

Are business customers interested in the green credentials of a product or service in the current economic climate?...

Are business customers interested in the green credentials of a product or service in the current economic climate?...

One of the defining characteristics of the B2B world is the extent to which it is segmented or sectorised. Brands that are world-beaters in one sector are virtually unknown elsewhere. In the B2C sector, meanwhile, big brands still can and do bludgeon their way to universal awareness – for example, even though I don’t have kids, I still know that Huggies sell nappies. But there are exceptions to this rule – B2B brands whose fame spreads far beyond their customer base or audience. I was reminded of a classic example this week on a trip down the M1 from Leeds...

"Do you know who we are?” he said, as if I was a complete idiot. No actually, we’ve spent the last six months trying to arrange this meeting because you’re so important we needed MI5 security clearance to leave a message on your voicemail…Yes, we ‘know who you are’.But as I sat listening to a very (self) important marketing director waxing lyrical about his importance, it became clear that, ironically, he had no idea who he was. Certainly not at a corporate brand level. At the micro, ‘What am I doing for lunch today?’ level, this guy was focused. But...

For a while at Base One we’ve been questioning the logic of the single big idea as the basis of a brand’s campaigns. Having spent years creating consistent and compelling campaigns around a single idea, why change? It’s been proven to work and buyers are still buyers surely? Well yes, and no. The fact is that Buyers are changing as this extract from a post by Chris Tacy, Chief Innovation Officer at Brand Experience Agency, Method implies:  … now we have an entire new demographic who have grown up not having to take it. And as a result, the...