Celebrity Endorsements, George Clooney and the Curious Case of the Casamigos T-Shirt
The subliminal Lost in Translation deserves its place among my all-time favorite movies. A tale of kindred spirits, united in seeking a purpose to life through much soul-searching, Bill Murray puts in a charming performance that’s nuanced and endearing. As one of the film’s two main protagonists, Murray plays Bob Harris, an ageing movie star…
The 12 Things I Learned During London Technology Week
The second iteration of London Technology Week – a program of over 200 bespoke events, is said to have attracted +40,000 attendees from across all areas of the tech spectrum. Aimed to cement the city of London’s leadership position as Europe’s digital hub, industry heavyweights like Google, Amazon and IBM made some major announcements, sharing the…
The Future of Twitter is Data Analytics
There’s something to be said about unique companies that have a stellar product, who go IPO, and then suddenly find themselves having difficulty coping with their new public identity. While the ultimate benchmark of success is always going to be their ability to generate consistent revenues, what sometimes gets lost amidst shareholder demands, are the…
What Brands Can Learn from RuPaul’s Drag Race
If a brand is the ultimate representation of the sum of all it’s parts, then RuPaul Andre Charles is nothing short of the ultimate personal brand. Emerging from the underground scene in the 80’s to become a mainstay of the LGBT cultural landscape, RuPaul is revered and respected for pioneering the crossover of illusion-based cabaret…
When B2B Sales and Marketing Collide
Whether you label it as healthy tension, territorial friction or a downright conflict of personalities, anyone who’s spent time working in B2B marketing will be familiar with the terse, often challenging and almost always character-building relationship with Sales. It would be naïve to assume that this friction can ever entirely be eliminated. Even in organizations…
A ‘Human’ Nod to Creativity
In an August, 2014 interview with Lego chief executive Jorgen Vig Knudstrop published in UK broadsheet The Guardian, Knudstrop quoted Billung – a small town in Jutland and headquarters to the famous toymaker – as being “boring”. Yet he goes on to credit those very surroundings as the thing that helped spark Lego’s innovation, and…
Start-up Series: How to go about increasing Monthly Recurring Revenues (MRR)?
As some of you are aware, I mentor start-ups under the auspices of Start-Up Direct. This is a fantastic not-for-profit organization that helps entrepreneurs secure seed funding, as part of the UK government’s initiative to encourage small business growth. While my mentees are vastly different in their service offering, a common question I always get…
Air New Zealand Gets My Vote in the Safety Video Wars
When it comes to grabbing headlines and remaining topical, the aviation industry never disappoints. Between arguing their case for ongoing fuel surcharges, to the spat between American and Middle Eastern airlines, or the devaluation of popular frequent flyer programs, there’s no chance of a dull moment. As an intrepid traveller, flying is right up there among…
Sight and Sound. A Marriage Made in Heaven
It would be impossible to deny the emotive qualities of music. At a time when a lot has been said about how brands must strive to create emotional connections, I can’t think of a more powerful way to connect with consumers to further enhance a story. The history of brand advertising is scattered with examples of…
Top 5 Tips for Conducting a Winning Interview
There are countless books, websites and how-to guides that cover best practices, tutorials and mock interview scenarios in detail, and there are just too many variables to offer comprehensive notes on how to respond to specific interview questions. Instead, I thought I’d provide my top 5 tips for how to conduct a winning interview: Perhaps…