And now for some good news

Not going to even acknowledge the utter madness that has happened in the last few weeks, yet feel we could all do with seeing some good news – you know, like at the end of Russell Howard’s show.

The BBC ‘Most Read’ (a morning staple for most of us) is a list of warnings and worries, and Twitter has become even more toxic in the last seven days – not great for anyone’s mental wellbeing, let alone for any anxiety sufferers.

There has been good news, and I don’t fully blame the media for the current language of social discourse – it’s a shit time. However, more could be done to balance out the doom and gloom.

With a strict lockdown on the cards, I wanted to share a few recent stories that brought some positivity and faith in human kindness. Feel free to share others/write your own piece to share the love. It’s a tough time, but we’ve got to pull together and be more kind to others.

NB this isn’t a comprehensive list, and I am sure people will have opinions on some of these – this is just to try and inject some positivity, not be a catch-all!

Supporting The NHS

Words fail me. The doctors, nurses, porters, chefs, consultants, pharmacists, receptionists, admin staff, paramedics, GPs, carers, delivery drivers, surgeons, cleaners, call centre operators and more. I’m in awe. These people have put themselves on the front line, and do so with a smile and great humility time and time again.

Thank you, and thank you for stepping up when our country needs you. Furthermore, the private sector and various companies appear to be supporting in their own way, more staff and beds, and making more ventilators and PPE for the NHS.

• 4,500 retired doctors and nurses sign up to rejoin NHS in just 48 hours

• Private sector resources bring welcome relief for NHS

• Engineers unite to solve ventilator crisis (and see Smiths Group’s efforts)

• Hotel chains in talks to turn into hospitals

LOVED THIS: Two teenagers in South Yorkshire have been handing out care packages to vulnerable people

Matty Merry and Sam Hornsby, who are both 17, have been giving out bags containing items such as porridge, toilet roll and teabags to people in the village of Harlington who are self-isolating due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Sam said: "I really advise people to do it if you're actually able to and if you're willing to do it because I think at this moment in time, we really do need to pull together as a community."

Communities pulling together

• Help for those most vulnerable – including supporting those at risk with food deliveries and collecting medicines

• Childrens’ rainbow pictures springing up across the country

• Volunteers to help children who have free school meals

• And, in my neck of the woods, many pubs, restaurants and cafes have pivoted to takeaway services, sometimes delivering care packages to those most in need

Online entertainment

Whether it’s a dancing zoo-keeper, love-or--hate -him Joe Wicks’ PE workouts, virtual tours of museums or a cheeky Lando Norris taking virtual F1 to the masses, there is lots of good stuff out there.

And then there are the odder stories, including this one about 100,000 sex toys being given away to women in isolation, from our friends in Canada…

Whatever the next few weeks may bring, be kind to yourself and others, self-isolate, wash your hands, keep healthy, carry on talking to and seeing friends and family (albeit digitally) and hang in there. This isn’t forever.

Ad x

Surround yourself with radiators, not drains

Can’t remember exactly where I spotted this phrase last year – probably Instagram – but it resonated massively. Have tried to conduct due diligence, yet am unable to pinpoint one original source. Shout if you know.

Most communication professionals are people-focused, and a consequence can be a high degree of emotional vulnerability – being more affected by how people behave, interact and engage.

Everyone has their own biases – conscious or unconscious – however, as careers progress and we become more comfortable and accepting of our own preferences, certain regular thoughts move towards becoming intrinsic values. From speaking to others across a number of sectors, the ‘radiators, not drains’ phrase seem to rings true…

Difference between radiators and drains

Radiators are those ‘can do’ people who radiate positivity and energy, boosting our mood, creativity and collaboration. Conversely, there are others that are continually ‘hard work’, sapping energy, causing negative situations and being a ‘drain’ on progress.

Recognise those who are positive influences – colleagues who are helpful, kind, and go out of their way to assist you. Equally, recognise those who conjure deep breaths and eye rolls, making things harder. Everyone knows radiators and drains, and it is important to keep a balance – we’ll unfortunately never be clear of every drain (clients, suppliers, colleagues).

Be empowered

The choice is in our hands. We can all decide how frustrated or annoyed we get, how much we hold onto the shitty phrases and unhelpful attitude.

Some days will be easier than others in letting the drains’ approach pass us by. Other days, not so much, but that’s OK.

A few other thoughts:

• Mindset, not skillset – some incredibly talented people are arseholes. Being technically good at your job unfortunately doesn’t equal being a nice human being.

• Be a radiator – help someone out, give five minutes (even when you’re stretched). Sometimes, taking yourself out of the pressing task at hand can result in clarity of thought. Winner-winner, chicken dinner.

• Kill them with kindness – pause and take a breath. Don’t let yourself either snap or get frustrated at the latest unhelpful comment or action. It’s not worth it. And you don’t know what’s going on with them. Give them the benefit of the doubt or, if they’re a super drain, smile extra nicely.

• Karma – pay it forward. It’s a small world, and you don’t know when the next favour will come back around.

• Surround yourself with radiators – like-minded, enthusiastic colleagues (and friends) that radiate energy, generosity and warmth.

Give it a try this week. Recognise the radiators and drains around you, and choose to spend more time and energy on those who give you something back.

Have a good week, and let me know what you think below.

Stop. It's marketing funnel time

Caveat – bear with, this affects everyone, even if we do not work ‘in marketing’.

The concept of directing customers via a funnel of stages has been around for nearly a hundred years – one of the first mentions was apparently in Bond Salesmanship by William W. Townsend (1924).

What is a marketing funnel?

Simply put, the funnel has four key areas, known as AIDA:

• Awareness – the customer is aware of the existence of a product or service

• Interest – actively expressing an interest in a product group

• Desire – aspiring to a particular brand or product

• Action – taking the next step towards purchasing the chosen product

Also, known as a (deep breath) purchase, customer, marketing, sales or conversion funnel, they are all essentially the same thing – how to convert your potential audience into leads/sales/achieving your objectives.

Not just sales: How the funnel affects you

Different sources take a different look at the funnel, but the same principles (AIDA, above) remain. The customer journey is the same whether or not you are looking for a sale, a donation, a sign up to membership, a download, an email – whatever your objective.

Try working backwards from your own business/organisation. What is your key objective? If you don’t have clarity on this, get in touch.

This is the action/conversion. Not everyone who comes across your organisation will make it to this end goal. The majority of people will drop off at certain stages, before reaching this conversion point. Don’t worry, this is normal, and definitely doesn’t mean these people are gone forever. They may return to your website, or see another piece of activity and be converted later.

See more at ahrefs.com/blog/marketing-funnels/

Way before this, you need to make potential consumers or customers aware of your activity. An advert, a shared social post, organic searching something interesting to them etc. Be where your audience is – more on this strategic look at comms in another post.

Next, they need to show an interest in your organisation – a like, a follow, a sign up to newsletter, a returning visitor to website etc. They are proactively connected with you and are keen to know more. This group is, obviously, smaller than the awareness group.

Once interested, they need to show an intent or desire to do engage more. An action exceeding passive interest. This could be the next step, interacting more online (sharing with their friends), viewing specific items/pages but not adding them to a basket/purchasing, or even commenting on blogs. Depends on your organisation.

After this, the consumer evaluates their feelings/considerations before taking an action – potentially buying a product or service, donating, becoming a member or making a booking, for instance. This action should be inextricably linked to your organisation’s objectives.

An alternative look at the marketing funnel, with a few extra stages for the modern consumer

Hope that part of this resonates and helps in some way. You don’t have to be ‘in marketing’ to understand the importance of this funnel approach, and get positive results from your next activity. Keep objectives in mind, and always remember that your activity could be a softer approach – awareness is a crucial part of the customer journey. Ignore it at your peril.

If you’ve got questions about the marketing funnel, feel free to get in touch, or leave a comment below.

Further reading

• Ahrefs – Marketing funnels for beginners

• Neil Patel – How marketing funnels work

• Sprout Social – Marketing funnel

Campaign: Oatly (that’s how to do tone of voice)

Give the copywriter a pay-rise!

Walking through London, Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol or Brighton last week, you may have noticed an OOH (out of home) advertising campaign for ‘original’ oatmilk company, Oatly.

When I say ‘may have noticed’, you’d be hard pushed to miss it – it was everywhere. With buses, digital touchpoints and 48 sheets, JCDecaux must be loving this regional push!

Take a look at a few of the pics below (last Wednesday in London):

For some brand marketers, tone of voice is sometimes a poorer cousin to colour pantones, font choice, photographic style and messaging. All of which are very important, but occasionally may fall short of what can be key – how a brand communicates its authentic personality with its audience, usually through the written word.

Taking a look at Oatly’s style, its sarcastic, irreverent nature speaks directly to the audience it is targeting – younger people, interested in a more sustainable lifestyle, disillusioned with ‘traditional’ advertising. Although this ‘Oat propoganda’ has been called nonsensical, I feel this is far from the credit this conversational, stand-out the creative team behind this campaign deserve.

Some higher-brow marketing ‘experts’ are dubious of the brand’s move, calling it cringeworthy and awful on Twitter, and a few people commenting only those working in marketing would understand the sarcasm/cheekiness. However, is this not giving consumers enough credit?

My opinion? It stands out. It cuts through the noise. It is clever. Its copywriters deserve a pay-rise. Brand personality and tone of voice will become evermore important in a world which is becoming busier by the day.

What do you think – do you like the Oatly campaign? Nonesencial or showcasing the brand’s personality?

And have a think. What does your brand/organisation say or talk about? What do you not say? Crucially, how do you communicate?

Campaign: TfL takeover for Star Trek: Picard

“That’s one small step for man…” no, wait. Wrong thing. I was always terrible with Star Trek; hardly watched it.

However, I can appreciate the noise generated around the latest instalment in the never-ending sci-fi series, Star Trek: Picard, which is launching this week on Amazon Prime Video, featuring Sir Patrick Stewart back in the eponymous role. (Remember when he got into that tiff with James Corden?)

Anyway, last week Piccadilly Circus in central London was fully rebranded for two days to launch the series, including station announcements from Captain Picard (Stewart), advising people to “take care when using stairs, escalators or transporters”.

The Zone 1 station was rebranded 'PICARDilly Circus', with posters, signage and directions from the ticket hall through to the platforms specially rebranded.

Very clever, and pricey, way to attract attention. Wonder how much it cost Amazon…? Think they’ll probably have enough, in fairness.

This is not the first time TfL’s estate has been utilised in such a way, with a Lego bus stop celebrating 60 years of the Routemaster, Buxton Water taking over Canada Water station in 2015, and Gareth Southgate station after the 2018 football World Cup.

Hopefully, this might spark some thoughts of partnerships and takeovers in your area. What do you think of them? Have you seen other good examples? Are they cringey or clever? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks to Famous Campaigns/The Drum for information and pics.

Need a new comms/marketing podcast?

There’s been a fair few tweets recently about good communication and marketing podcasts – ones with real takeaways – so thought I’d list a few of my favourites below.

NB: If you’re looking for more general podcasts to enjoy, check out my LinkedIn blog here. I’d also thoroughly recommend Beyond Today from Radio Four, looking in-depth at one issue for 20 minutes (a really great example of storytelling, every day)

The Internal Comms Podcast

When it comes to IC, this podcast is flying high, with host and MD Katie Macaulay winning the ‘Change Maker’ award at last year’s IoIC Awards. With Jenni Field, Stephen Waddington, Rachel Miller and Bruce Daisley (see below) on the roster, there is plenty to get stuck into.

Click here for more

The Mark McC Supersonic Food Marketing Podcast

Bit of a mouthful, but this is a killer pod, stuffed full of insight (not just for the hospitality sector). Host Mark McCulloch has great experience, including Pret A Manger, lastminute.com and Barclaycard, as well as his own agency We Are Spectacular. Well worth a listen.

Listen here

The Marketing Meetup Podcast

If you’re in marketing around Cambridge, you should know Joe Glover. The nicest guy in marketing (must be!), Joe has now taken his popular Marketing Meetup on the road with London, Newcastle, Glasgow and NEW YORK (!!) signing up. Featuring live talk recordings and discussions from the regular meetups.

Give it a try

Talking Comms

No nonsense pod for the comms pro who rolls their sleeves up and gets stuck in. Produced by Adrian Stirrup and co-hosted by Darren Caveney of Comms2Point0 fame, it’s packed with tips, best practice and real human stories.

Listen here

Eat sleep work repeat

From the aforementioned Bruce Daisley (former European VP of Twitter and author of best-seller The Joy of Work) comes a pod merging comms, psychology, employee engagement and HR in a bid to ‘make work better’.

Check it out here

So, hope that keeps you busy on your drive, on the train, on your run/dog walk or plugged in while typing up those notes you meant to do last year…

Let me know what you think, and if you have any other podcasts or people to follow, please do share them. Happy listening!

Four ways to get back in the saddle

Reading this, you may be feeling anxious about the new work year kicking off. Starting back in January, after a gluttonous/festive/family-filled Christmas break, is always a bit of a downer.

Worrying, butterflies, Sunday night blues. Whatever the name, the thing to remember is that it’s normal. Could be a hangover from our school days – wondering what tomorrow may bring, the what-ifs, trying to prepare for something impossible to predict.

So, in the vein of ‘do as I say, not as I do’, and with Blue Monday fast approaching, here are some things I’ll be trying to focus on this month:

Write a list

Yes, comes around time and time again, but maybe that’s because it works?

Get it out of your head, and down on paper/on screen. Seeing something visual is a great way to prioritise and focus. And ticking/crossing something off feels gooooood. Try Google Keep.

Embrace Imposter Syndrome

It’s more common than many people think. According to a 2017 survey, up to a third of millennials suffered with it, and Michelle Obama has recently been opening up about it as well.

It may feel that others are judging you, or thinking a certain way – more than often they have enough of their own shit to deal with! That doesn’t stop the feeling coming up, however. Acknowledge the feeling and ride the worry waves through to the other side.

Prune your Life Garden

Essentially, you only have so much capacity in daily life, so make conscious decisions about what’s important to you, and start taking proactive actions (say no?). See my previous blog.

A few I’m adding in my personal mix this Jan are blogging regularly (I like Wadds’ approach of ‘religiously’ blogging every Sunday) and reading more (less phone after hours, not charging in the bedroom overnight, actually using Pocket properly, and going to bed at 9.30pm should help).

Investigate values

What do you stand for? What does your organisation/brand stand for?

Make sure they are active not passive – you can’t live ‘passion’ or ‘quality’. You can be passionate about a sector or action, or make sure everything you deliver is of the highest quality.

Check out Jackie Le Fevre from Magma Effect for more on this.

Hope those resonate and (potentially) help. Let me know what you think in the comments below, or drop me an email.

Tomorrow/Monday, we go again. Let’s smash it, folks (insert fist emoji).

Recalibrate and go again (aka The Life Garden)

Just thought about this one. Like, just now. Been making a list of blog topics for clients, work and Authentic for what seems like months, and feel this is an important one to get down for me, and to possibly help others feeling in a similar way.

I'm not averse to sharing my struggles with my mental health, but this is more about general life. Day to day adult shit. The stuff that can, over time, drag you down or – when it goes "right" – lift you up unexpectedly.

I hope reading this little hippy random rant sparks something for someone. Lets one person know they're not alone in sometimes feeling like this, and that it's absolutely fine to work with the ebbs and flows, and time and energy, that we all have.

And, yeah, part of it is me writing this down and getting it out of my head. So what. If it helps me and that other person, meh. Don't feel obliged to read on; we're all different.

November nights

New parents, both juggling back at work with their own stresses; multiple apps going off; sometimes working in the evening; making time for us as a couple; a (gorgeous) on-the-verge of teething baby; three days of iffy tummies (I'm being polite); dark mornings, dark evenings; lack of sunlight; less time (no motivation) to exercise; eating shite; almost turning 34 – can you hear the solo violin?!

Don't know if anyone else relates to (some) of that. Life is fucking busy. See friends, see family, keep fit, be more Hinch or Kondo, plan the holidays, walk more, drink less (!), make a start on the list of books you actually want to get through – remember how much you liked reading? – get on that online course you really wanted to do, medi-fucking-tate.

Every now and again – and this is a 'now' – I try to take some time and attempt to recalibrate. Sometimes happens in advance of me feeling low, like now, sometimes I catch it during a bad spell. Either way, it helps.

The Life Garden

Hands up, stole this metaphor from 'The art of stopping time (practical mindfulness for busy people)' – it's a good book. And it's on my long list to read... this is from the first chapter...

"Imagine your life is a garden. You have limited water and need to leave space for plants (things in your life) to flourish... Some are bigger and more important for you than others (family, health etc.?). Some you may not like but feel obliged to keep there... Some may require more time and energy than others.

"Get realistic about how many plants you need to water and cultivate. You have room for 5-10 plants, and that's it. Guard against any new ones that may be introduced, and pull up those old ones sucking valuable resources from your most important plants."

Try recalibrating

Writing a list usually works for me. That said, I now have 6-7 lists on different platforms/in different notebooks. Time for the master list.

What is important to me now? Baby. Wife. Friends. Family. Dog. Maybe more, some on the horizon in 2020, but that's the core for right now.

Other things – work, exercise, food, books – it can wait. Pop them on the back-burner. You have time. Whatever you do, try not to let them detract from the most important things in your life – keep it mind it’s all a balance and there is no ‘perfect’.

Figure out, in your own time, what is MOST important to you. What makes you happiest? What do you want to keep in your life garden, and do more of, and what do you want to ...cut back or cut out?

Anyway, signing off. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Campaign: IKEA – Silence The Critics (Christmas Ad)

“Budubupbup, I must confess” that I haven’t heard of D Double E before.

However, the foresight of the IKEA marketing team to link with this widely-unknown grime MC for their first-ever Christmas ad was very well thought through.

Coming into the ‘Top of the Shops’ Christmas advert game for the first time must’ve been nervy – especially with many considering the repetitive campaigns to be struggling in recent years. Enter stage right, our favourite Swedish flatpackers with a fresh take.

Check out the advert here:

Grime, and its influence, has been a growing genre for years. I don’t want to say ‘entering the mainstream’, but artists such as Stormzy and Skepta, have paved the way for crossover talents like platinum-selling AJ Tracey and 2019 Mercury Prize winner Dave.

The music is easy to listen to – you can hear the words, as my Nan would say – and the lyrics fit well with both IKEA’s cheeky personality and the cultural acknowledgement of the pressured situation. This is generally how British people are, emphasised to the max at Christmas.

Not just content in hopping on the coattails of the grime music scene, the Silence The Critics advert is funny in its own right. Its characters – including Mr Double E as a rabbit tea pot with attitude (see above), and a toy dinosaur with a speech impediment, who is very worried about the mess – add a relatable element to the narrative, drawing out nods from British viewers, resulting in a modern, irreverent package appealing to many.

As IKEA’s Sarah Green puts it: “Our first IKEA Christmas advert focuses on the phenomenon of ‘home shame’ – encouraging people to overcome the negative voices in their head holding them back from open up their homes.”

Sure this will boost D Double E’s credibility, streaming figures and bank balance, but I wonder if he’s already got his place decked out by the Swedish house/home masters…? And did they leave him to unpack…

What do you guys think? Is the Christmas ad not what it used to be?

Does this year’s new IKEA entry rise to the top… or does Aldi’s Kevin the Carrot x Robbie Williams mix up do it for you? Perhaps you’re more of a M&S fan, or delighted that Argos has joined the fray with its ‘Book of Dreams’?

Let me know what you think!

Must-watch: The Great Hack

The last few years have seen significant political change and, according to a new documentary, a lot is down to digital advertising, and its power to specifically segment and target different audiences.

The Wild West

It is partly due to the willingness of consumers (including us, dear reader) to share personal details and data, as well as a lack of knowledge of how this affects online – and offline – lives.

However, the ethics of online platforms also comes into play, especially with the retention and sale of detailed information, which has seen accusations of social giants verging on greed.

The Wild West of the digital frontier has been and gone. GDPR, data overtaking oil as a valuable commodity and privacy added as a human right are flavour of the month. Opportunistic (immoral?), yet very clever, data scientists and marketers have already had their fun.

The Great Hack

Facebook is, rightly some say, being chastised for its lack of reactivity and ethics in this area. And, as the fascinating documentary The Great Hack explains – regardless of your political leanings – Facebook’s tools, data and audience segmentation, have been manipulated to have an effect on multiple elections around the world.

Investigations are still ongoing and the fallout from their impact may take years to come to the fore. The brashness of Cambridge Analytica, in secretly-recorded tapes, show the extent to which data was being manipulated – from Ted Cruz’s 2015 presidential campaign (the forerunner to Trump 2016), to Nigeria and Trinidad & Tobago among others.

Even if you do not work in digital, you will be online in some capacity – I strongly recommend you settle in and watch The Great Hack. It’s a fascinating insight into how we are being communicated to, and it has repercussions for everyone, including Mr Zuckerberg, who recently got ripped a new on by AOC – see here.

What next?

Many people, myself included, are not fully aware of the extent to which our data is used to create an echo chamber of rhetoric, adverts that have more effect than we realise, and selected communication and news snippets.

Working in digital marketing, and using some of the platforms and advertising techniques, I am acutely aware of the ways we can specifically target people with messages, narratives, images, video and so on. However, maybe it is high time for a moral code to be brought into the fray, much in the same way that TV, ATL and print advertising has to adhere to….?

What do you think? Have you noticed more adverts following you around the web? Do you think Alexa/your smartphone listens to you more than you’d like? Do you feel that you’re being more accurately targeted by brands and organisations than ever before?