Creative Industries inspiration

I am really excited to be working with industry leaders today for the Oystercatchers Awards Day judging.

We’ll see the best agencies, people, and ideas in the creative industries landscape. It is a day of inspiration and ideas.

#Oystercatchers24

Honoured to Judge the Oystercatchers Awards 2024 for the Third Year Running!

I’m honoured to serve on the judging panel for the Oystercatchers Awards 2024 for the third year running!

It’s inspiring to see the record-breaking number of entries and the incredible talent in our industry. I look forward to recognizing the agencies setting new standards to foster impactful client relationships.

Stay tuned for the shortlist reveal!

You have one life

“You have one life. Don’t settle for mediocrity.”
– Naval Ravikant

Paris 2024 Olympic Logo: A Design Triumph

Like most of us, I have been thoroughly enjoying watching the Paris 2024 Olympics. The games are a spectacular showcase of athleticism, sportsmanship, and international unity. Each event is a testament to the years of hard work and dedication that athletes from around the world put into their craft.

As someone with dual nationality and having lived in several other countries, I find the Olympics particularly engaging. It’s a unique experience to have multiple teams to support and cheer for. Whether it’s Germany, Ireland, Australia, France, or the United Kingdom (Team GB), there’s always someone for me and my family to root for in almost every event. This personal connection to various nations makes the games even more special and emotionally resonant.

One of the aspects of the Paris 2024 Olympics that captured my attention long before the games began was the design of the logo. I fell in love with the design five years ago, and in 2019, I wrote a piece on the multi-layered design of the Paris 2024 logo. The logo is a brilliant fusion of historical significance and modern aesthetics, symbolizing both the legacy and the future of the Olympic Games. You can read my detailed analysis here.

Execution and Implementation

Seeing the Olympics come to life in Paris, both online and on TV, has been nothing short of impressive. The Paris 2024 Olympic Games Organising Committee has done a remarkable job in implementing and executing the brand. Every detail, from the venues to the broadcasting, has been meticulously planned to ensure that the spirit of the Olympics is conveyed to audiences worldwide.

Yesterday, one of the events I watched was the 3×3 basketball medal events, and noticed another way that the Paris Games Committee had included the Paris 2024 logo. The logo was present on top of the basket for the cameras looking down through the net. This subtle yet impactful branding element showcases their commitment to integrating the Olympic identity seamlessly into every aspect of the games. It’s these little touches that are making the viewing experience so unique and memorable.

The Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics was another highlight. Broadcast online and on TV, the ceremony was, at times, breathtaking. It was a beautiful blend of tradition, culture, and modern performance art, reflecting the vibrant spirit of Paris and France. The use of the logo throughout the ceremony was masterful, reinforcing the brand’s presence while enhancing the visual spectacle.

The creative direction and execution of the ceremony set the tone for the entire event, creating an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation. It was a fitting introduction to what has been an extraordinary Olympic Games.

Lasting Memories

While we still have five days to go before the Paralympic Games in Paris, the memories of Paris 2024 will be with me for a long time. The innovative use of the logo, the spectacular opening ceremony, and the thrilling competitions have all contributed to an unforgettable Olympic experience.

The Paralympic Games are set to continue this legacy, showcasing the incredible talents and inspiring stories of athletes from around the world. I look forward to seeing how the Paris 2024 Organising Committee continues to uphold the high standards they have set during the Olympics.

Conclusion

The Paris 2024 Olympics have not only provided us with outstanding athletic performances but also a masterclass in branding and event execution. The logo, with its rich layers of meaning and elegant design, has been a constant presence, enhancing the identity of the games. The meticulous planning and creative flair demonstrated by the Organising Committee have ensured that these games will be remembered as a benchmark for future Olympic events.

As I continue to watch the remaining events and gear up for the Paralympic Games, I am filled with a sense of pride and admiration for what Paris 2024 has achieved. The games have brought the world together in celebration of human potential and unity, and the Paris Olympic logo will remain a symbol of this extraordinary global event.

The Oystercatchers Awards 2024 are now open

It’s that time of the year when the best agencies submit their work for the Oystercatchers annual awards. These awards are highly anticipated and revered in the industry, offering a unique platform to recognize and celebrate the symbiotic relationships between brands and agencies. The Oystercatchers Awards stand out as the only awards dedicated to celebrating the excellence in brand and agency partnerships. They focus on honouring agencies for their campaigns, overall business impact, and ability to foster successful client relationships.

The Awards are open

The Oystercatchers Awards are now open for entry for 2024. You can review the categories and entry criteria for the Oystercatchers Awards 2024 here.

Why should you enter the Oystercatchers Awards? Entering the Oystercatchers Awards puts your work in front of a top-tier squad of judges. The panel features senior marketers from global brands, providing a rare opportunity to showcase your agency’s finest work to those who set the industry standards. This exposure can significantly enhance your agency’s reputation, opening doors to new opportunities and partnerships.

Winning an Oystercatchers Award establishes you amongst your peers and demonstrates your successes to the wider industry. It’s not just about the recognition; it’s about the validation of your agency’s hard work, creativity, and the impact you have made in the market. An award from Oystercatchers is a mark of excellence that can differentiate your agency in a highly competitive landscape.

A Unique Judging Experience

I’ve been involved in the judging panel for three years, and each year brings a fresh wave of inspiration. The showcase of leading agencies, brands, and people is nothing short of extraordinary. The judging process is rigorous, ensuring that only the best and most deserving campaigns are honoured. This thorough evaluation guarantees that winning an Oystercatchers Award is a prestigious accolade, recognized and respected across the industry.

Benefits of Winning

Winning an Oystercatchers Award can have numerous benefits for your agency. Here are a few:

1. Enhanced Credibility and Trust

Winning an award from such a respected institution boosts your credibility and helps in building trust with potential clients. It signals to the industry that your agency is capable of delivering exceptional results.

2. Increased Visibility

An award win can significantly increase your agency’s visibility in the market. It provides a platform to showcase your work to a wider audience, including potential clients and partners.

3. Attraction of Top Talent

Talented professionals are always on the lookout for agencies that are recognized for their excellence. Winning an award can make your agency more attractive to top talent, helping you to build a stronger, more capable team.

4. Boosted Morale

An award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of your team. It can boost morale and motivate your team to continue striving for excellence.

Categories and Criteria

The Oystercatchers Awards feature a variety of categories, each designed to highlight different aspects of agency performance and client collaboration. Whether your strength lies in creativity, strategic thinking, or client relationship management, there is a category that can showcase your unique capabilities. The detailed entry criteria ensure that every submission is evaluated fairly and comprehensively.

How to Enter

Entering the Oystercatchers Awards is a straightforward process. Visit the 2024 Oystercatchers Awards page to review the categories and entry criteria, and submit your entry. The submission process is designed to be user-friendly, allowing you to present your work in the best possible light.

Conclusion

The Oystercatchers Awards 2024 offers an unparalleled opportunity for agencies to gain recognition and showcase their work on a grand stage. By entering, you put your agency in the spotlight, gaining the chance to be acknowledged by industry leaders and peers alike. Don’t miss this opportunity to demonstrate your agency’s excellence and take your place among the best in the industry.

Visit the 2024 Oystercatchers Awards page and submit your entry today. For more insights and updates, see some of my posts from the 2023 Oystercatchers Awards night.

Remembering The Fundamentals Of Marketing In A Digital Age

In this digital age, where a single viral video on TikTok can seemingly spark a new trend within 24 hours, the change of pace that marketers must keep up with is immense and, understandably, daunting. As a result, we're becoming so caught up on what's shiny and new that we risk losing sight of the crux of successful marketing—our customers.

According to HubSpot's 2024 State of Marketing Report, 75% of marketers believe personalized experience drives sales and repeat business (pg. 7). This driver is why it's now more important than ever to remember the core fundamentals of your practice. Your building blocks should be the "four P's": product, price, place and promotion. The customer sits above all four as an ultimate goal; the rest stem from their needs and changing habits. What product does your customer want, what price do they want it at and where do they want it?

Developed in the 1960s by E. Jerome McCarthy, the four P's demonstrate the necessity for executives to mix different methods depending on variable market forces. Doing so helps marketers design plans that fit their time's dynamic social and political realities, specific to attracting a target market.

The three P's—process, physical evidence and people—introduced by Booms and Bitner in 1982—are necessary additions. This is ultimately the best recipe that caters to consumers today because the four P's help you position your product according to the customer brief, but the three P's then strengthen this by helping you understand where to position it, for whom and how.

A customer-centric focus outlasts any trend.

Amid the evolving landscape, AI and automation have transformed marketing more in the past three years than over the past 50, according to the HubSpot report, and keeping laser-focused on these principles remains core to meeting business objectives and satisfying audiences. Tech is an enabler; customers are the core focus.

We see many brands struggle because they have ignored these principles in favor of catering to the whims of a digital audience that's not necessarily their own. Time and effort are concentrated on making something go viral, with many forgetting to understand and meet customers' unique needs.

Despite the fundamental shifts in the tools we employ, the essence of marketing persists in businesses actively tuning in to their customers' needs and delivering solutions that resonate authentically with them. As Fairfax M. Cone said: "Good advertising is written from one person to another. When it is aimed at millions, it rarely moves anyone."

First, a marketing team needs to define the business brief through a diagnosis phase: "What problem are we solving for the customer? What are we doing to solve it? Is there a market opportunity?" Then the four P's can get underway and a misalignment between the campaign created and the customer brief is avoided.

These are not dusty old concepts but rather basic principles that are adaptable and able to work in synergy with the latest technological innovations. The parameters outline future successful campaigns and allow you to keep up and embrace new ideas simultaneously.

Before big data and generative AI revolutionized the way we work, the challenge was creating the right, tailored message for your audience. In the race to keep up, broader trends that become prevalent across multiple industries end up causing a disorientating effect because businesses lose sight of the needs and wants of their specific audience in a bid to cater to the masses.

With 64% of marketers already using AI and automation (pg. 31), it's clear that technology is propelling growth, but the challenge is harnessing this growth to meet your customers' needs. How do you use these tools to create personalized, targeted campaigns? The market we're operating in has changed, but when did it become outdated to understand the brief?

It's a simple formula, but it works, and the variable nature of each "P" avoids falling victim to a one-size-fits-all approach. Often, I witness these metrics being overcomplicated or overlooked by today's marketers, or many make the fatal error of trying to retrofit their campaign to the customer's brief at the end of the process rather than at the beginning.

Basic principles do not lead to basic campaigns.

As Pete Markey of Aviva said, the four P's "are essentially about understanding the wants and needs of customers and how to extract value from that." Why have such fundamentals become increasingly ignored in the digital age? One explanation may be that marketing teams hire purely based on a candidate's digital skills, rather than checking whether they fully grasp the basics of marketing, too. Digital literacy and strong analytical capabilities need to be interwoven with creativity.

The P's should be our backbone to creating a customer-centric approach. I anticipate brands blending agility with a steadfast commitment to marketing principles as they navigate the delicate balance between innovation, profitability and expansion in the future. Once you devise a plan that fulfills each parameter, execute your campaign through the right tech stack—this combination should lead you to success.

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Metadata: Originally published on Forbes.com on 04 April 2024.

Why Businesses Should Work Harder To Sync Marketing And Sales

Developing a strong relationship between an organization’s sales and marketing teams has been a “Holy Grail” for many of us for decades.

In 2006, Harvard Business Review reported that each “undervalues the other’s contributions,” with few firms making “serious overtures towards analyzing and enhancing the relationship between these two critical functions.” In November 2023, the lack of alignment between sales and marketing was reportedly the number one reason for revenue loss of more than $1 trillion, according to a SuperOffice report.

Almost two decades after the Harvard Business Review’s report, the pipes are still disconnected. In fact, it’s not still getting nearly the attention it deserves. When hiring talent, for example, I have found that candidates often do not raise this fundamental relationship when interviewing. Candidate questions should include: Is the relationship between marketing and sales positive, neutral or negative? How often do they meet? What’s the tone of the dialogue?

So Many Tools, So Little Time

Of course, since 2006, technology has changed beyond recognition and fundamentally altered how people, both consumers and businesses alike, make buying decisions. Through artificial intelligence, notably machine learning, marketers and salespeople can access insights gleaned from big data that have impacted the buying process.

Marketers leverage customer data to provide a personalized experience adapted to where the customer is in the purchasing process, or “funnel.” Sales teams can harness this data for locating, prospecting, reporting and lead generation, ultimately reaching out to more leads in less time with messaging they can feel confident will resonate and prompt action. Deep learning has revolutionized how brands interact with consumers and how consumers relate to brands.

With more opportunity than ever to create meaningful leads and campaigns, why are our two segments seemingly so well-equipped yet still struggling to meet, let alone exceed, our combined potential?

Misalignment And Miscommunication

Despite this period of innovation, the tools that marketing and sales functions deploy to aid communication between themselves seem to need to catch up.

From my experience, the technology tying the sales and marketing functions together could be faster, simpler and rooted in an agreed understanding of each function’s importance and areas of authority. Sometimes, we see software that’s not effectively integrated or connected, leading to inefficiencies and data discrepancies.

As marketing and sales are both people-focused functions, at their most basic, these tools fundamentally capture details that assist human interactions that should educate, inspire and prompt action. If we do not integrate or use our technology, platforms or processes correctly, both will fall at the first hurdle and prevent teams from realizing their potential.

I have often heard from my counterparts that sales leaders regularly mention reverting to Excel as more appealing than struggling with some existing tools. Many still depend on outdated software that cannot meet customers’ ever-changing needs. These tools can be ineffective at data aggregation, analysis and insights, creating huge silos of data, so the whole is less than the parts.

According to the Harvard Business Review, more than 30% of marketersexperience average-to-no returns on their online and digital marketing investments, and only 40% report that systems are in place to track customer engagement to inform their marketing road maps. If marketing and sales teams rely on separate data sources and systems, it can result in a lack of visibility into each other’s activities and performance metrics and, ultimately, ineffective campaigns.

In parallel with tech, the corporate culture also matters. How do these two teams function alongside one another? A study by HubSpot found that only 30% of sales professionals said sales and marketing are strongly aligned and, citing Strategic ABM research, 76% of marketing teams need guidance on how to best align with sales.

The two business segments operate in isolation, misaligned. Worse, a relationship of blame appears to have been founded and encouraged, whereby sales blame marketing for generating unsuccessful leads, and marketing blame sales for not executing the leads generated.

Are We Simply Asking Too Much?

The crux of the problem is that marketing and sales teams focus on different stages of the funnel. Marketing focuses on generation and nurture at the top and middle of the funnel, and qualification transitions a nurtured lead to sales toward the bottom for closure.

Once again, we can view this through two different lenses: technology and culture.

As CMOs, it’s our responsibility to work with our counterparts in sales to overcome these barriers. When sales and marketing collaborate successfully, they can create content that aligns with each step of the customer journey and anticipates hurdles at every turn of negotiations with a prospect.

Unsurprisingly, the foundation of successful sales and marketing alignment starts with choosing the correct software and using it repeatedly so that it becomes second nature. You must select your tools wisely and stop over-complicating the process. Keeping things as simple as possible will help you achieve an efficient and effective alignment.

To develop a collaborative culture focused on continuous improvement, we also need to encourage the sales and marketing teams to agree on a buyer persona, set shared goals and objectives and identify KPIs. Eighty-five percent of businesses believe, according to Ruler Analytics research, that having the same goals and KPIs can help achieve sales and marketing alignment. It sounds simple, yet so often remains out of reach, even by some of our industry’s most seasoned professionals.

It’s essential to fix fundamental problems beneath other issues and help ensure that communication, collaboration and the transition of knowledge and leads generated from marketing to sales are seamless and prevent mismatched communication from one function to another. Instead, both functions will channel their energies toward one unified funnel.

By integrating sales and marketing, companies can manage a greater volume and higher quality of new leads and nurture them together throughout the journey. Organizations with aligned sales and marketing functions achieve 24% faster revenue growth and 27% quicker profit growth over three years. In other words, with sales and marketing working as one, you can boost your profits and drive progress.

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Metadata: Originally published on Forbes.com on 13 Februdary 2024.

The Art Of Collaboration: How CMOs Can Prioritize People, Purpose And Processes

Chief marketing officers (CMOs) are the ones responsible for understanding and representing the customer within the business, identifying new market opportunities and developing strategies that align with overall business goals. Our insights drive progress.

However, to truly play a transformative role, it’s important to acknowledge and harness our unique position that enables us to draw on the talent from departments across our organizations.

Swapping Isolation For Collaboration

CMOs can bind and unify an organization; to be successful, it is important to develop a core understanding of how data, money and resources flow around the company. By positioning yourself at the intersection of technology, strategy and communications, you can become the epicenter of broader business transformation. However, many struggle to fully utilize this opportunity to leverage talent across businesses.

As Gartner reported in December 2022, cross-functional collaboration is currently yielding unfavorable outcomes for businesses, with senior marketing executives who described their approach as “independent” outperforming self-described “collaborators” on annual revenue targets by almost a quarter when looking at customer acquisition goals. However, it’s important to note that it’s not the concept of cross-function collaboration that’s the problem, but the way it’s being executed.

The solution to the problem is to replace isolation between silos with collaboration and communication. As Aaron Dignan, founder of The Ready, said, “There’s no such thing as a big company … it’s 50 small companies that are just under the same banner with a set of shared principles in a marketplace with each other.”

A company’s size is irrelevant—it’s how effectively the divisions within it communicate with one another that determines whether it will function efficiently and successfully. CMOs are responsible for shaping a narrative that employees can unify behind. As such, it is critical to embed values and communicate a clear vision that everyone—no matter where in the company they work—believes in.

Indeed, the goal of a CMO is to effectively deliver values and brand promise across the customer journey—a journey that involves many (if not all) other functions, from supply chain to client handling. To forge a sense of collaboration while still preserving efficiency, agility and hitting targets, CMOs need to represent the voice of the customer when providing input and advice to other functions.

This is the case when helping the communications function with internal messaging. CMOs need to use persona-based, human-centered strategies so they can represent the customer as effectively internally as they do externally. The challenge is ensuring that this communication is both tailored to individual functions while retaining a joint underlying message. As experts in communications, we can collaborate with other executives in different business functions to provide guidance on what strategy and messaging will resonate most within their team to create a positive, long-term result.

The Right Tech, The Right Way

A study by EY and Oxford University’s Saïd Business School found that putting humans at the center of the drivers of business transformation can improve the odds of success by 2.6 times. This successful transformation relies on CMOs’ effectiveness to instill collaboration, care, inspiration and empowerment into the teams they build and lead.

The research found that 71% of workers agreed that for a corporate vision to become concrete, leaders must communicate clearly why the change is needed, not just what they want their employees to do. As such, it’s obvious that genuine belief can only be built from evidence. Members of the C-suite simply stating their business objectives will only result in a half-hearted effort to collaborate.

A key ingredient that will help CMOs spur cross-functional collaboration is the right technology. In EY’s research, nearly half (48%) of respondents said their organization invested in the right technologies to meet their needs, versus only 33% in companies who qualified as going through “low-performing transformations.”

However, it has to be the right technology and used correctly. Research from Howspace in January 2023 found that technology is currently reducing collaboration rather than improving it, with employees stating that it’s geared more toward independent work. This needs to change; part of our role as CMOs is to ensure that we are leveraging technology in a way that encourages, as Ilkka Mäkitalo, CEO of Howspace, states, “synchronous and asynchronous work to take place seamlessly in a fluid environment.”

Technology has long been a part of CMO efforts. Data is central to providing a more connected, intelligent and anticipatory customer experience. The intertwinement of data, creativity and innovation has meant CMOs have been increasingly partnering with CIOs and other executives to build technology and automation into their marketing and advertising.

This synergy has been amplified by the generative AI boom at the end of last year. Excitement about the potential impact has reverberated throughout our industry—like countless others—because it is, as you know, huge. Adding generative AI into current marketing strategies has the ability to transform any workflow and be an effective tool across the business.

This is an example of when cross-functional collaboration is necessary. We need to work with other executives to inform the functions of the business (whether that be supply chains, procurement or R&D) about generative AI’s transformative capabilities, remove any hesitations and agree upon a companywide strategy of how to best implement it.

Final Thoughts

Nurturing ecosystems and fostering partnerships is key for any CMO when dealing with change, complexity and disruptions. It’s a fundamental skill we need to possess if we are to be successful in communication and change management. Ultimately, employee satisfaction, drive and output increase when they’re embedded in collaborative teams—75% of employees rate it as necessary to their role. Remaining siloed will only hold us back.

Today, more than ever, it is important to empower employees, implement efficient processes, and demonstrate the importance and context of working in synergy with other business functions; that way, the corporate whole will be greater than the sum of its parts.

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Metadata: Originally published on Forbes.com on 14 December 2023.

A Great Conversation About Marketing, Excellence, and Lifelong Learning

Marketers Should Be Constantly Learning and Building

Two individuals about to speak

I am very fortunate to have met Jeremy Bergeron, host of the Marketing Trends podcast from Mission.org. In my work in Marketing and Marketing Communications agency, my teams produce some great podcasts.

This episode is the first time I have been a guest on a podcast. In our conversation, Jeremy and I discuss topics including:

• The importance of design in communicating a message

• Creating an employee culture

• Tailoring marketing strategies to meet the needs of various industries

• Why simplicity leads to scale

• Digging into the power of generative AI and building with AI

• Prioritizing metrics that matter

• How to think about growing communities

In the marketing world, you have to evolve or get left behind. In this episode, Anthony Kennedy, CMO of ION, discusses how to stay ahead and digs into the importance of building a high-performing marketing team, and he emphasizes the need for continuous learning and development. And on the note of constant evolution, Anthony also shares insights on tailoring marketing strategies for diverse industries and the impact of AI on marketing.

Mission.org

You can get the podcast in your player from the Marketing Trends podcast—direct link from Apple and Overcast here. Jeremy and his producer, Hilary, took great care of me and made me feel welcome -- they were a best-in-class example of this.

Something that has stuck with me from last week, the great Rory Sutherland recently said in a session with 42Courses.com:

If you get invited to a podcast, you go on the podcast. That's where the magic happens.

Rory Sutherland.

I am so glad to have had a great conversation with Jeremy, and I highly recommend the Marketing Trends podcast as somewhere where the magic happened. I encourage you to have a listen to my episode with Jeremy, and drop me a note via LinkedIn.

The Art Of Collaboration: How CMOs Can Prioritize People, Purpose, and Processes

In my latest article on Forbes, The Art Of Collaboration: How CMOs Can Prioritize People, Purpose and Processes, I discuss how CMOs are in a unique position that enables us to draw on the talent from departments across our organizations.

Leadership collaboration

The goal of a CMO is to effectively deliver values and brand promise across the customer journey—a journey that involves many (if not all) other functions, from supply chain to client handling. To forge a sense of collaboration while still preserving efficiency, agility and hitting targets, CMOs need to represent the voice of the customer when providing input and advice to other functions.

Nurturing ecosystems and fostering partnerships is key for any CMO when dealing with change, complexity and disruptions. It's a fundamental skill we need to possess if we are to be successful in communication and change management.

You can read the article at Forbes here.