As far as creative briefs go, it couldn’t have been tougher: Engage people and get them thinking about the 100th anniversary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme – the British Army’s bloodiest ever day – 60,000 casualties, including 20,000 dead. So, not the fluffiest of subjects. And your target audience? Everyone. … Continue reading
Diversity is adland’s current cause célèbre. For an industry renowned for navel gazing, that’s no bad thing. But while advertising agencies are looking to broaden their overall mix of staff, they’re ignoring a pressing problem that already exists in creative departments across the country – they’re full of clones. Not so long ago, advertising agency … Continue reading
The Scottish Referendum of 2014 will be remembered as being an ill-tempered affair that almost split a nation. On a more positive note, it also gave rise to what I believe to be a first – a mass involvement piece of political experiential marketing. Rory Stewart, an independently-minded Conservative MP, came up with an idea … Continue reading
Marketing The Arts is tough. Very tough. Especially when government purse strings are chokingly tight, and the public are spending the few pennies they do have in Aldi and Lidl. The cosy world of art galleries and museums can be highly political and often fiercely territorial – after all, they are often fighting over the … Continue reading
Beer brand BrewDog is no stranger to controversy. In fact it thrives on it – or to be more accurate, its sales do. But even BrewDog must have thought that the game was up when it received an official reprimand from the All Seeing Eye of drinks marketing compliancy that is, The Portman Group. The … Continue reading
Words aren’t dead. But if you believe some of the naysayers and doom-mongers, our 26 favourite little characters are very much heading towards their twilight years. There is a school of thought that the increasing power of visual platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram, along with the scope for video on mobile, is killing the … Continue reading
Three recent PR stunts brought to mind that hoary old chestnut of an argument – do stunts count as experiential? The answer’s simple: No. And yes. Let me explain. Experiential events frequently garner media attention, and as such can be described as stunts. Stunts, on the other hand, frequently grab media attention, but rarely engage … Continue reading
