In 1996, I interviewed Michael Jordan in the changing room at the San Antonio Alamodome as he prepared for the All-Star game. It did not feel like an interview with a normal human being. An audience with the Pope springs to mind, or some other deity with wings (those Nikes) and an unworldly hang-time.

At the time, “His Airness”, who had recently returned to the Chicago Bulls following a sabbatical spent swinging a baseball bat, was apparently the most famous person in the world. And every single journalist in San Antonio wanted a piece of him. Just one word. The word of MJ… Nike must have loved it. Read more…

Tags: Brand Reputation, Branding, Business, Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Marketing, Sports Marketing, Strategy

It’s quiet on the local high street. Too damned quiet. The cash tills of the world’s greatest shopping streets – Oxford Street in London, Fifth Avenue in New York and Corso Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan – are eerily silent. Even the peep of approved contactless cards is a memory. It’s as though the credits are about to roll on the latest Zombie Apocalypse Netflix stream-buster… Read more…

Tags: Budgeting, Business Tips, Case Studies, COVID19, Marketing, Strategy

It’s never tasted quite so good. In fact, it’s never tasted good at all except when it has a slice of zingy lime squeezed into the top of the bottle. A Corona beer, that is. In the pub, my friend Dave, who wouldn’t normally touch the drink with a barge pole, was guzzling his down with gusto. We bought it because, well, the word Corona was everywhere. Sales crisis? What crisis? Read more…

Tags: Blog, brand image, Corona, Coronavirus, COVID19, Crisis Marketing, Marketing

To achieve ultimate success in business, it’s important to not only walk the walk but also talk the talk. A lot of hot air is spoken about the importance of new digital marketing channels, but one great way to communicate with target audiences is to put your money where your mouth is… and develop a podcast. Read more…

Tags: Content, Digital Media, influencer, Podcast, social media, Thought Leadership, Voice

In the early-1980s, I signed the Official Secrets Act and was shown into a room with a dozen middle-aged men and a secretary. My job was no more than a gopher but it gave me my first insight into how communication was about to change. For months we would secretly test the new cordless telephones, and I would take taxis back and forth to the laboratory to deliver blueprints and collect prototypes (too secret to be delivered by London taxi). In the end, the UK lost out to the US in the telecoms race and British Telecom quickly became the first true global privatisation under Margaret Thatcher, sparking a wave of government asset sell-offs whose legacy continues today. Read more…

Tags: B2B, communications, Content, Financial Services, Marketing, Reputation

On the surface, little has changed at Wimbledon since Fred Perry first strolled on to the manicured lawns, but behind the scenes, it’s rebooting its image.

Read more…

Tags: #JoinTheStory, Brand Awareness, brand identity, Reputation, Sports Marketing, Wimbledon

In today’s digital world, small is beautiful. Information is delivered in nuggets and bullets, listicles and soundbites, and tweets and snaps. Notifications buzz on our devices and divert us long enough to click and perhaps even like. But what if that moment of communication is just that… a superficial moment? Can bite-size content really do the job if we want to deliver authoritative and nuanced information? Read more…

Tags: Best practices, Buzzfeed, Content Creation, Content Strategy, Viral Content, White paper

Whether you’re a lifelong college basketball fan or just looking to test your luck with some friendly office competition, March Madness is an exciting change-up to your daily routine. We’ve seen some unexpected upsets this year heading into the ‘Final Four,’ and I can’t help but think about how each team’s journey to reach this point reflects startups rise to the top within their industries.

While we’re in the spirit of the game, here’s a look at how PR can help businesses go from an unknown to a thriving team to reckon with in the media. Read more…

Tags: Basketball, Business Development, March Madness, Marketing, Public Relations

My wife is not a fan of washing up, but for a few short weeks, she simply couldn’t resist standing at the kitchen sink, pulling on the Marigolds and plunging her hands into the hot bubbly water. Then, Procter & Gamble stopped producing its limited edition “vintage” bottle of Fairy Liquid – a white cylinder with green and red branding – and sadly, normal service resumed.

On the local high street, a new supermarket opened for business. With a new but very old logo. Intriguingly, after a root and review of its branding, the Co-operative Group has returned to the logo that adorned its stores half a century ago. Graphically, it’s fantastic – a blend of funky typography and minimalism – but it also elicits an emotional response. I almost felt like a boy again, off to buy some R White’s lemonade and a bag of Golden Wonder salt ‘n’ vinegar crisps.

Nostalgia is a powerful marketing tool. It can encourage us all to remember our rose-tinted pasts and to bathe in the warm glow of the good old days when the world was simpler and the sun always shone. It creates an emotional connection between brand and consumer. And it’s beguilingly effective. A simple change in a product’s packaging can turn a daily chore like washing up – into a moment of pleasure. It can make supermarket shopping feel like a trip down memory lane. Read more…

Tags: 90’s Kids, Co-op, co-operative, Coke Hilltop, Fauxstalgia, Memories, Nostalgia, Nostalgia-based Marketing

How political should a company or brand be in today’s post-truth world? After backing American footballer Colin Kaepernick, who famously knelt during the national anthem before a game as a protest against racial injustice, Nike has no doubt. “Believe in something,” demands the latest version of its long-running ‘Just Do It’ campaign. “Even if it means sacrificing everything.” Read more…

Tags: Brand Activism, Controversy, Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, Marketing, Nike, Strategy