Category Archives: marketing

Stuff and Things is now a Podcast

Quick version: What started as a blog has finally morphed into a book and now a limited-run podcast. Watch here: YouTube. Listen here: Spotify Longer, wordier version: I’ve been podcasting since 2008. Admittedly, with a somewhat substantial 16-year intermission. Back when I was at FivebyFive, we were the embodiment of professional fearlessness – always readyContinueContinue reading “Stuff and Things is now a Podcast”

Huh! and Huh? What to expect when you read Stuff and Things

Remember that friend who starts telling a story, gets distracted halfway through, then ends up somewhere completely different? That’s basically this book, but in written form. You can buy now in print or digital formats on Amazon. And for a limited time, it’s free on Kindle Unlimited.

Some lovely people have said some rather lovely things

Some lovely people have said some rather lovely things about Stuff and Things. Real people who I admire and am grateful for their kind words for my ramblings.Thank you Chris Baréz-Brown for continuing to be an inspiration and a wonderful human. Andi Catt for always being someone to talk openly and honestly to and forContinueContinue reading “Some lovely people have said some rather lovely things”

Stuff and Things – I wrote a book

It’s everyone else’s fault really. They kept telling me to write a book. So I did. Here it is. https://youtu.be/f0mVgzUZ81E Stuff and Things. The title pretty much self-completed when I started this blog thing many moons and 568 posts ago in 2007 and called it “[bluurb] stuff and things i thought you might like toContinueContinue reading “Stuff and Things – I wrote a book”

Key Takeaways: CMO role and Customer Focus

The Richmond Marketing Forum in London recently kicked off with a fabulous keynote featuring Naomi Walkland, CMO of Motorway, Jessica Myers, Chief Customer Officer of The Very Group and Rosie Hanley, Marketing Director at John Lewis. Having been surrround-sounded by political debates in the media where debate has been re-framed as shouty, aggressive, finger-pointing, talkingContinueContinue reading “Key Takeaways: CMO role and Customer Focus”

More room for thinking, less room for meeting.

Busy-ness is a curse. Best seen in your calendar bursting with back to back meetings. How many have a real purpose? How many even have an agenda attached to them? Does everybody invited even need to be there? The January meeting fest has begun and given me a headache. In the US there are 55ContinueContinue reading “More room for thinking, less room for meeting.”

From driveway envy to driveway curiosity

We’ve been doing a bit of consultancy work into the high net worth (HNWI) and the ultra HNWIs in the second half of this year. One of the areas that always comes up is ownership and role of cars. It used to be quite easy, but change is happening fast. Here’s some thoughts. Oh andContinueContinue reading “From driveway envy to driveway curiosity”

tiny explosive ideas with tiny explosive coffee

Stop thinking about the “big” idea. The big idea that marketing searches for elusively. We’ve all sat in meetings searching for the big idea. Written briefs that demand a big idea. Followed a path of big media that will fuel a big idea. And moaned that either the agency can’t come up with the bigContinueContinue reading “tiny explosive ideas with tiny explosive coffee”