How are brands going to develop a competitive advantage in a hyperconnected world where two or three technology ecosystems have most of the attention? I have been thinking about this question a lot recently – because that’s part of my job. Over the last couple of months, I have been observing some macro-trends that have […]

Early one Monday morning in the not too distant future one of your customers, let’s call her Alice, wakes up and, as she has for years, reaches for her phone. What happens next marks a profound change in the way she interacts with your brand forever more. Alice has just purchased a new phone which […]

What your customer wants Over the last decade Australia really enhanced its reputation as “the lucky country”. While other economies were struggling with the fallout of the GFC Australia’s economy was strong. But this success has come at a cost. While many global businesses were rapidly transforming around the needs of the customer and the […]

Many new data driven, targeted, marketing techniques are now possible, but recent evidence suggests that some may actually do more harm than good. Developing a simple and effective digital communications strategy isn’t easy. Getting it right requires the leadership of a business having a clear understanding of customers’ needs, the experience they want to create […]

The marketing industry has completely reinvented itself over the last few years. In fact it is difficult to think of an industry that has had to deal with so much change as marketing and advertising. But while many marketers may feel like they are finally getting on top of the technology and data needed to […]

It’s safe to say that the pace at which Australian consumers have adopted shopping online has taken some retailers by surprise. While many may have seen the writing on the wall during the years following the Global Financial Crisis, a turning point in online trade, some of the more traditional retailers were slow to accept […]

The retail environment is quickly being turned upside down. The barriers between in-store and online channels have broken down. For many retailers fighting digital behaviours like “show-rooming”, where customers use mobile devices to find information or alternative deals on the products that they interact with in-store, has be come a priority. More enlightened retailers know […]

As Twitter heads towards its long-awaited IPO, with an expected valuation of over $20 Billion, the world has become even more focused on how the social media platform is being used. The timing for the IPO couldn’t be better. 2013 has been the year that many brands finally “got” Twitter. A standout example is Oreo’s […]

Digital marketing has become a big headache for most marketing professionals. A recent study of over 1000 marketers conducted over August and September this year claims that only 9% of total respondents said that they ‘know their digital marketing is working.’ Even worse ‘66% of marketers feel digital is critical to their company’s success and […]

For most of us Christmas still feels like it is a long way off. For online retailers the festive season is approaching like an out of control freight train. Its no secret that retail brands have been hurting in recent years. The Global Financial Crisis quickly changed consumers spending habits at the same time as […]

It’s difficult to find a consumer facing business that is not being disrupted by the rapid pace of digital evolution. Social media has altered customers’ expectations of the quality of services and communications they receive, smart phones and mobile apps are changing the way people search for products, and the continued rise of e-commerce models […]

Customers have never had so much power. The rapid adoption of technologies, such as search engines, social media and smart mobile devices, has moved us from an information poor world to one that is information rich in less than two decades. Access to immense amounts of information is having a dramatic impact on the way […]

Customer’s today are dealing with a complex array of digital channels and messages. Social media, websites, mobile apps, email and in-store digital displays are all playing a part in the brand experience – and on top of this is the different types of content each of these channels distribute like text, audio, interactivity and video. […]

Marketers, looking for measurability and accountability, are continuing to shift their budgets to the digital space. Spending on digital marketing overtook print and radio spend some time ago. More recently, a report from ZenithOptimedia suggests that digital advertising spend will overtake TV as the top marketing category in Australia for the first time this year. […]

I meet many leaders of large businesses in the course of my job as the CEO of a digital strategy consultancy. Our engagements are revealing an emerging trend. When it comes to understanding customers big data is becoming a big problem. Many businesses have more data than they know what to do with. They have customer […]

When former NSA IT specialist Edward Snowden told the world that the US government was collecting vast amounts of data on all of us in an unprecedented eavesdropping program called “Prism”, Orwell’s 1984 and the omnipresent “Big Brother” came to mind. Thoughtcrimes and the Ministry of Truth aside, many were not surprised to learn that the US (and likely […]

The proportion of marketing budgets that gets allocated to the digital and social media space is growing inexorably. As a consequence, the focus on how to measure return on investment is intensifying. There is much debate about how to best design social media metrics. This is a symptom of the tension between “digital as add-on” […]

South by Southwest, or SXSW as it has come to be known, is a mecca for those involved in the tech start-up scene. The March SXSW festival is held each year in Austin, Texas and it has been the launching pad for mobile apps and social media platforms that have now become household names. This […]

Social media platforms have become a “must have” in the modern marketers kit bag. Recently we’ve seen the focus rightly shifting away from technology to techniques required for a successful strategy. A social media strategic plan will address any number of metrics and activities depending on the business objectives. However, one thing every good plan will have is a […]

Developing a social media marketing strategy that works for your organisation takes creativity, careful planning and time. A good social media strategy is a long term plan that should be designed to build value for your brand, and ultimately generate sales. The planning stage alone can be a sizeable investment so it would be disastrous […]