Nike's Breaking2 – marketing stunt or sporting history? Only time will tell
As brand activations go, Nike's Breaking2 clearly went the extra mile. An extra 26 miles 385 yards to be precise.This was three years in the planning, involving Nike recruiting world-class athletes to...
View ArticleThe Queen was wrong to trivialise 'soul-baring' – it's good...
A new, evolved royal brand is emerging like a butterfly from its chrysalis, and soul-baring is an innate part of its being.Far from the young royals being out of step with their ‘private projects’,...
View ArticleCorbyn's Labour manifesto: when is a leak not a leak?
Jeremy Corbyn has always insisted that Labour policy be decided by consultation and debate. With the leaking of a draft of the party’s manifesto, Labour has launched its most ambitious act of policy...
View ArticleThe real power of statistics in a post-truth world
We are constantly being bombarded with messages, and brands are struggling to be heard in this cacophony of chaos. Spin doctors encourage us to do more and more extreme stunts in a desperate attempt to...
View ArticleWhen is it OK not to get client sign-off on a press release?
To get client sign-off or not, that’s increasingly the big question for PR agencies. In these days of media quicksilver, there’s often no time to argue the toss. But can breaching client approval...
View ArticleMaking the sale: what does it take?
If I asked you to name the top 10 qualities required to be successful at sales, what would you say?Recently I worked with a group of 20 professionals representing a range of industries to discuss this...
View ArticleEd Vaizey: Local election campaigning hasn’t changed in 100 years – but it’s...
US elections are the most time-consuming and expensive in the world. The presidential campaign, preceded as it is by the race for the nomination, lasts two years. And when that’s not dominating, there...
View ArticleCan FMCG brands take the power back from TEGs?
The power of the Top End Grocer (TEG) has been a main stay for FMCG brands for a long while. Getting listed, being beaten down on the deal, having to spend marketing budget on in-store marketing you...
View ArticleThe Tories' 'dementia tax' wobble is a reminder that the devil...
Those of you playing along with the Theresa May stock phrases bingo must be close to a full house with the launch of the Conservative manifesto May says a strong economy and delivering Brexit are top...
View ArticleThe new dark art that has mad men on the run
Mad Men are on the run as advertising loses its sovereignty in the dark arts of media manipulation. Time to make way for the Maths Masters in today’s battle for minds.A new form of dark art is being...
View ArticleWhen will the likes of Walkers learn that people do not love brands?
The hijacking of Walkers’ Champions League promo– which asked fans to tweet selfies to be included alongside Gary Lineker – begs the question: how did no one see that coming?As ever in new media land,...
View ArticleUnited can stand down – BA’s flying the flag of failure now
The world’s favourite airline? British Airways certainly wasn’t even Britain’s favourite over the holiday weekend as it stepped forward in the running for PR Raspberry Award of all time.We thought we’d...
View ArticleThe Facebook factor in politics: why big ideas are still more important than...
The long reach of Facebook offers fantastic targeting with nearly 2bn people signed up across the planet and half of them using it daily. In the UK, its influence is also huge: 30m of us are on it. Its...
View ArticleFrom the NHS hack to BA’s IT meltdown, history will keep repeating itself...
As soon as any disaster strikes, history dictates that media coverage follows the same pattern. Experts are wheeled out to speculate on what happened – could it have been prevented, who is to blame and...
View ArticleJeremy Corbyn's general election journey marks a new era in British...
From a Snapchat discussion with grime artist JME to an on-stage appearance with the Libertines and last weekend’s interview on Copa90, Jeremy Corbyn’s election campaigning has been intense. But...
View ArticleWhy artificial intelligence is the PR client from hell
Artificial intelligence is every PR’s nightmare, an amplified version of us that makes it the impossible client.It may be ‘fake’ but its behaviour is all too real. AI is the psychopathic CEO we all...
View Article“If brands champion their people as their most valuable asset, why do they...
Gemma McGrattan of brand engagement agency Synergy Creative explains to The Drum Network why it’s time for large employers to treat employee comms with the same level of care and attention spent on...
View ArticleBrands & activism: The shift from corporation to “community of citizens”
All you have to do is turn on the TV or scroll through your Facebook feed to realize that we’re in the midst of some unique (some would say unfortunate) socio-political circumstances — circumstances...
View ArticleMay Day: what if the Tory election campaign had been an ad campaign….
Theresa May may still be the prime minister (for now, at least) but her previous image as a strong leader has been irrevocably damaged. Watching her election campaign unravel was like watching a car...
View ArticleIn a world of “peak stuff”, how can brands connect with people?
I’ve read a lot recently about “peak stuff” - the idea that consumers are not as interested as they used to be in buying new products, preferring to invest in new life experiences instead of a new...
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