Search

Listening to stories

Notes on life, by James Welch

Open Search
Category

Content

“Moments of Serendipity” at an Uncomfortable Breakfast

TMSME_brekkieFurther to my piece published recently in Gulf News (see last blog post), here’s an update to the content at that event.

The Marketing Society Middle East sat down for it’s third “Uncomfortable Breakfast” to discuss the hot topic of data. You may ask why we call it such an off-putting name, “Uncomfortable Breakfast”.

It is, of course, a delicious breakfast held at an enviable establishment here in Dubai – such as the fabulous space we’ve been using for the past couple of events, the Armani Hotel.

The “uncomfortable” element is to find a topic that the marketing community knows is important but may not, en masse, discuss in an open forum regularly enough. For this reason there are no journalists present!

This forum brought together forty senior marketers with regional and local remits, and all came to hear more about the story behind data.

Today that’s the problem; we’re talking about data itself and not about the stories it can provide. Taking the latter approach, storytelling, Marilies Rumpold-Preining of IBM Commerce gave us some interesting insights: Continue reading ““Moments of Serendipity” at an Uncomfortable Breakfast” →

0

Adman: are you bored in your job? BBH shows the answer: get a TIE.

tie newsletter 1Adland is a fickle place. Employees don’t hang about. But there’s a way to fix this. A TIE. Yes, TIE (The International Exchange) has the answer.

Stats tell us that marketing directors are in their roles for 18-36 months – just long enough to make an impression. Or not as the case may be. And ad-men and women last about the same in any given role. Or less.

As team members, why do we stay?

The only reason to stay in any job is to make sure that the employment pie-chart is in fair-or-maybe-equal parts: earning, learning and fun. And if the parts move to much, it’s time to renegotiate and/or move on.

As employers, how do we keep the team?

While it should be noted that no manager needs a retention tool for the mediocre, we all need ways to supercharge those with true potential. In adland, there’s a tried and tested model to reinvigorate team players. The International Exchange does just the thing. Continue reading “Adman: are you bored in your job? BBH shows the answer: get a TIE.” →

0

Non-linear stories via @tomux #CIRCUS2012

At the Communication Council’s Circus, Tom Uglow, (@tomux, Creative Labs, Google Sydney) told a good story. It’s a self proclaimed non-linear story, so let’s jump to the middle:

A nice metaphor, as he points out. A bloke sitting near me said, “wish someone would show that to Gerry Harvey.” Harvey Norman, the TV, DVD and gadget retailer, still sees the internet as a crisis point. Continue reading “Non-linear stories via @tomux #CIRCUS2012” →

2

Recurring story – the search for greener living

“Embrace Our Planet.” That’s the punchline to the recurring story. Here let me show you three brilliant ways it’s being told:

Erle Ellis tells us: Human impact has been around for some time. We humans are changing the face of the earth. We have to put ourselves into the picture and work out what impact we want to have on the planet. The problem is we don’t know how to manage the future of this planet. Erle Ellis is an ecologist at the University of Maryland, quoted in this week’s Economist magazine. An erudite Continue reading “Recurring story – the search for greener living” →

0

How Seth Godin thinks (how to launch a new product)


If only we all could think like Seth Godin

Seth Godin is the business consultant, author and chirpy chap who invented the term “Permission Marketing”. He’s also is a brilliant observer and commentator.

Regarding Apple’s launch of the iPad he calls the product a “permission asset”:

Over 25 years, Apple has earned the privilege of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to their tribe. Continue reading “How Seth Godin thinks (how to launch a new product)” →

0

The Future of Communications – in three easy steps

I was listening to the stories being told at the Nokia Forum for developers recently.

If content is king, distribution is...

When Kenny Mathers stood up and announced “if content is king, distribution is king kong.” This quote he attributed to Mark Ollila, another Nokia guru. Of course, their reason for flogging this line is that if the developers create the content, Nokia says it can deliver the right distribution.

A wonderful aphorism. Worth repeating again and again.

If Content is King, Distribution is King Kong


However, this takes for granted a Continue reading “The Future of Communications – in three easy steps” →

2

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑