B2B Marketing Blog
Recently by Scot McKee

Mobile Internet – If not now, when?

August 16, 2010 5:30 PM | By Scot McKee
It would appear, that in matters of debate, I favour the alternative. Having been roundly thrashed proposing 'the future of marketing was digital' at a B2B marketing conference last year, imagine my enthusiasm when I was asked to propose the motion at a recent IDM B2B conference, 'This house believes that mobile marketing will be a crucial channel for B2B brands in the UK in the next 12 months'. I politely declined. My reluctance to take the stage wasn't so much the fear of defeat, it was more a response to the depressing realisation that the B2B industry is catastrophically...
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BA – A brand up in smoke?

June 2, 2010 10:20 AM | By Scot McKee
There has been much backlash against airlines following the Icelandic volcanic eruption, Scot Mckee, MD at Birddog says the brand damage could be permanent I was a victim of the wholly unpronounceable Icelandic volcano eruption that shut the airports. I say ‘victim’, but it’s relative. There are worse places to be stranded than Arizona. In reality, my discomfort was limited to the enforced rationing of underpants. I was surprised to find out how much reliance I placed on the brands I trusted and how well, or badly, they responded. It’s these formative experiences that shape an audience’s perception of a...
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Tomorrow’s digital future today

May 5, 2010 2:12 PM | By Scot McKee
Sue Barnes. Great smile. Great teeth. That’s what I remember about Sue Barnes from 20 years ago. She called me the other day. Sue was a marketing assistant client of mine back then and I was, well, a young legend in the making. She’s now the managing director of a new market research company called Brownsauce and she was hoping to use her contacts to extend the network for her business. We met, we talked, we told each other that we didn’t look any older than we did 20 years ago and we laughed. I asked Sue how she had...
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All mouth, no trousers

April 6, 2010 5:18 PM | By Scot McKee
There has been a vigorous surge of activity in the social media space. You're probably aware of it. But in true B2B style, they (you) are talking about it a lot, but doing naff all. The sticking point, seemingly, is measurement. The sticking point is always measurement in B2B. Talk about it, think about it, talk again, do naff all. Not without cast-iron, watertight and bulletproof case studies that prove unequivocally and beyond reasonable doubt that the measureable ROI outweighs the risk to existing brand equity. We might let someone in the company have a Twitter account. But only if...
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Out with the Old

February 10, 2010 12:08 PM | By Scot McKee
I admit I went to see Miley Cyrus at the O2. Whatever rumours exist to the contrary, it was my kids that wanted to go. They badgered me at least once to buy tickets. I spent the first few tracks ogling a blonde dancer with my daughter's binoculars, and then there was a pause. The music lowered and Hannah, I mean Miley, addressed her adoring fathers. I mean fans. "This Summer I had to, you know, get away from everything and everyone and do some growing up. So I made a movie called ‘The Last Song'," she husked. I...
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BMW me up, Scot

November 24, 2009 3:48 PM | By Scot McKee
Leaving just one customer dissatisfied could damage your brand's reputation more than you might think I used to drive BMWs. It's reasonable to say I was your archetypal BMW 'brand evangelist.' I walked into a BMW showroom a couple of months ago and tried to buy a new one. I was ready to pay the cash equivalent of a small neighbourhood in certain parts of Manchester, but the salesman just wanted me to have a test drive. I had no need of testing, so I left. No big deal. But then the 'tapakata, pakata' noise started, swiftly accompanied by coloured...
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Keeping the lines of communication open

October 7, 2009 5:17 PM | By Scot McKee
I’ve been talking to people about ‘crowdsourcing.’ They’ve listened to me, and then looked at me like I’m a twat. So I started to doubt my own visionary brilliance and thought maybe I’d best shut up. But then again, I’ve never been one to run from a stupidity contest so I thought I’d persevere. In years to come you can all look back and say, “That McKee bloke – genius.” Or, alternatively, “twat.” Crowdsourcing broadly means using the power of many to solve problems. Rather than rely on a single person within an organisation, whole companies their clients and people...
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Hate something, change something, make something better...

September 1, 2009 11:31 AM | By Scot McKee
Our heartbeat quickens, our pulse races, our palms and brow sweat a little… that’s the change we experience when we’re buying a new car. According to Ian Armstrong, manager of customer communications at Honda UK, the science of car buying is every bit as important as the art. Ian was the guest speaker at a recent ‘Brand on the Run’ event, and I was interested to speak to him about the day-to-day marketing activities that happen behind the scenes of the more glamorous Honda TV advertising. I think Honda has been delivering great television advertising for years now. They’ve had...
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You can't beat getting up close and personal with clients

July 8, 2009 10:24 AM | By Scot McKee
Corporate hospitality. Is it going to flourish as companies try to secure the loyalty of their clients in the face of difficult economic conditions, or is it going to die as budgets are cut and redirected to the tried, tested and instantly measurable? I’ve never really been big on corporate hospitality. I don’t have the slightest idea how cricket works. I have a similar problem with the ‘Corporate Golf Days’. So either I’m not personable enough to be invited on corporate hospitality days or I avoid them because they get in the way of getting on with it. But that’s...
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'Alternative' marketing goes mainstream

June 11, 2009 12:50 PM | By Scot McKee
I've always been suspicious of anyone introducing themselves as an 'Entrepreneur'. It's one of those words I find impossible to say out loud. Women don't seem to like the word 'moist', but for me, it's 'entrepreneur'. Eww. I'm less disturbed when the term is used to describe someone else. It's the self-use of the word that bugs me. So, “Richard Branson is an entrepreneur”, is acceptable. “Hello, I'm Bob. I'm an entrepreneur”, isn't. See what I mean? Wanker. So when I was relatively relaxed as introductions were made at a client meeting and the marketing director said, “...and this is...
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