STOP CHASING AWARENESS. START BUILDING SALIENCE.
Congratulations. Your brand has 80% awareness.So what? Will they actually think of you when it matters? When they’re in the aisle, staring at Google, or telling their colleagues in the office what to order? Awareness vs. Salience: Know the difference Marketers love awareness, but it can be a bit of a vanity metric and, at…
In this market, CMOs have to talk like CFOs
CMOs are under more pressure than ever to prove that marketing is not just an arts-and-crafts department but a core driver of revenue. If you can’t fluently explain how your campaigns move the needle on margin, deal size, or velocity, then you’re out of the loop. Brand building AND balance sheets The marketing metrics of…
Better, or Just Busier?
We’re drowning in content. In a world obsessed with reach, reels, and relentless “engagement,” it feels like marketing has confused motion with progress. More blogs, more videos, more emails, more noise. But is any of it better? Or are we just busier? Attention deficit The common belief is that attention spans are shorter than ever.…
Don’t let your creative brief sabotage your campaign
A third-party agency recently complimented me on the quality of a creative brief I’d submitted. Whilst I’d like to give myself a pat on the back and consider myself to be the godfather of a good brief (ok, I do), the truth is that most marketers don’t take creative briefs seriously enough. They rush through…
What it REALLY means to understand your customer
Understanding your customer is one of the most overused and under-executed phrases in marketing. Everyone claims to do it, but few actually bother. In reality, most marketers operate on assumptions, biases, and their own experiences rather than genuinely understanding their customers. The truth? If you’re not obsessively focused on your customer, truly knowing them, studying…
Punch above your weight
Let’s face it, your marketing budget is never as big as you want it to be. Meanwhile, your CEO wants “something viral,” your finance director wants to cut spend, and your competitors seem to have bottomless pockets. But more budget doesn’t mean better marketing. Some of the best marketing and advertising campaigns aren’t the result…
When kfc ran out of chicken
Ever noticed how people sometimes rave about a company more after something goes wrong, so long as it’s handled well? It’s a quirk of human psychology called the service recovery paradox, the idea that customers who experience a problem (and see it resolved brilliantly) often become more loyal than if nothing had gone wrong in…
There’s never a time to give up quality
A recent BBC News report suggested that advertising agency creatives face a long-term worry that their skills may not be in high demand in years to come, as consumers become more accepting of low-quality output, particularly on digital channels. However, it’s dangerous to assume this new-found acceptance is permission to sacrifice creativity or production quality.…
Daniel Fox 