Agency growth, brand value and the moves that change things. New posts land here first.
Tone-deaf – it’s a phrase we keep hearing with regards to a lot of creative and communication from #brands during the COVID crisis. And it sums up a lot of work that I keep seeing. Awful comms and behaviours from…
Read →A few days ago I shared a thought for the day. About the fact we should stop thinking about ‘digital’ as something unique to consumers. BTW – usual dyslexia warning. It isn’t. Hasn’t been nearly forever now. It’s unique…
Read →Huge apologies for the delays. But, it’s back. My FREE #AgencyGrowthTips. If you’ve been following the series – THANK YOU – I’ve had some incredible feedback. I’ve been super busy on some big projects – and took myself…
Read →The days are ticking down – and I’ve got 7 topics to squeeze in six articles in to my 21 days of FREE Agency Growth Tips. None of it is my IP. It’s the basics… as I see it from my experience. Want to know more about me?…
Read →It’s the Workend, see article 15/21 – so this one will be short, but hopefully insightful. Today, I’ll like to go into more detail around a topic I mentioned yesterday in 14/21 – the topic is the title of this article.…
Read →14th article in my FREE series of #AgencyGrowthTips – and this one is the penultimate article directly about people. A shortish one. But an important one, touching on taking risks – another article on that exact topic…
Read →I can’t believe it’s article 13 of my FREE #AgencyGrowthTips – and more so, I can’t believe some of the incredible feedback I am getting. It means a lot. It’s lonely business running an agency, an agency team or working…
Read →Apologies for the delay with this article a few days surfing stopped play – no wifi, hardly any G’s let alone 4G, and no access to my iCloud meant I couldn’t access my files. Life dished me up a break. A workend. See…
Read →Tonight was going to be the second part in Winning Pitches. The first was 10/21. And although today marks the fact we have passed the half way stage of this series of articles, tips, insights and ideas – it is also the…
Read →As we approach the half way point in my FREE series of 21 #AgencyGrowthTips I am preparing to give away some of main tips for winning pitches. I maintained a career pitch winning ratio of 80%. I had a six year run of…
Read →Anyone that knows me knows I love boxing. And this is the first rule in the ring. And has nothing to with this article apart from it keeps you safe. If I had written the proper headline for this, most people wouldn’t…
Read →One week down – two to go in my FREE #AgencyGrowthTIps. Today is day eight, if you’re jumping on board today – welcome, please read 1/21 to find out more about me and why I am writing these. I’ve got an interesting…
Read →I’ve promised a few short, sharp tips. This is one of them. #agencygrowthtips 7/21 – good isn’t good enough. It’s still the workend in the UK. See 5/21. This is one that’s about your product driving new business. And…
Read →It’s the Workend (see 5/21). A bank holiday in the UK at that. So, I’m taking my own advice and re-sharing an article I wrote in 2017 – I believe in it as much today, as I did when I wrote it. And it touches on 4/21…
Read →The title is not spelling mistake. Not at all my dyslexic madness. As a believer in both reductive simplicity and nudge theory, I would like to rebrand those precious two days at the end of the working week. To make a…
Read →I promised a spicy one yesterday. And here it is. #agencygrowthtips 4/21 ‘Fire arseholes’. This is part of my FREE daily series of ideas, insights, thoughts, experiences, lessons, successes and failures of my own,…
Read →Here we are – day 3/21 of my #AgencyGrowthTips – as I’ve said before. This is all free. No need to sign-up, turn-up, attend or high five. I am sharing some of my best tips for growing an agency – things I have learned…
Read →So, here we are. Agency Growth Tip Number 2/12 – super feedback to tip number 1/21 ‘Create value. Not things.’ Thank you for all those that read it. I appreciate the feedback. Today’s reflections come from direct…
Read →Welcome to 21 days of of agency growth tips…. based on my own successes and failures. There have been many of both. This experience was gained working for some of the largest agencies in the business. Founding my own…
Read →Love Simon Sinek’s work, or not, he helped bring about a word that had long been used by brand professionals to the masses working in the brand profession. The concept of your ‘Why’. Essentially it’s your brands…
Read →In each and every start-up there is a constant. An idea. A spark that lit the fire beneath someone and got them on the path to building a business. Most of these ideas don’t even get as far as becoming a real business.…
Read →Loyalty is one of my favourite subjects in the brand space – it encompasses and impacts so many key marketing metrics and measures– advocacy, frequency, LTV, pricing, product and service design, stretch and so much…
Read →Ok, I’m going to start this piece and say right now, this is not one of the three rules of thermodynamics. It’s nothing more than a metaphor. Something that was once said to me, that made a lot of sense to a…
Read →A while back there was a trend of entrepreneurs writing letters to their 21 year old selves. It’s a concept that struck me. And stuck with me. But I didn’t write one. For two reasons. The first reason, is everyone…
Read →It’s a while since I’ve put pen to paper for my blog (finger to keyboard)… but I’m getting back to it with the bit between my teeth on a subject that matters to brands. So much so, it’s the difference between life and…
Read →I saw a fascinating comment on LinkedIn earlier… ‘FYI – Growth can’t be hacked’. It was posted by someone I deeply respect. I pondered it. After all – as well as Non-Exec, Investor and Brand Strategist… I’m a… well,…
Read →A little article I was asked to write for The Drum about the value of talent. Here it is… Wake up and smell the talent I’ve recently been part of a heated discussion (read rant) on LinkedIn by an agency owner about the…
Read →I was recently asked by the brains behind the ‘Life’s a Pitch’ podcast to join them for a grilling. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Two nicer chaps you won’t meet. Both of whom I think have a great career ahead of them. Nabeel…
Read →After years working with, founding and growing building successful brands and agencies I have developed my own modular ‘High Growth’ Programme. It’s called HAX®. It’s a lean, highly structured proven process, that…
Read →It’s that time of year again. So, get ready for a big post. For the third year in a row all ten of last year’s new year predictions came to fruition – Accenture with the purchase of Karmarma in November (although EY…
Read →I was just preparing a reading list for someone, and thought it may be a useful blog for advertising, design, digital, content and media folk everywhere – with Amazon links. Happy reading. Zag The Brand Gap The Brand…
Read →This may be hackneyed territory, but it never ceases to amaze me how important people are to the success, financial health, quality of product and service and the ultimate trajectory of any business and brand. Over the…
Read →Like all businesses, agencies waste money. Perhaps more importantly, they waste profit. And frankly, agencies work way too hard for that to be okay. I’ve seen it in agencies that I have worked for, agencies that I…
Read →A couple of days ago I saw a very interesting article by a new business agency that looked at the services an agency should sell when new business prospecting, arguing, rightly, that it’s easier to sell fewer services…
Read →1. Demographics It’s been a long time since the old segmentation models worked in isolation, but now more than ever brands have to appeal to mindsets, not pre-determined segments. We live in a post-demographic,…
Read →Err… What’s a Pitch Doctor? Well first of all, here’s my position on pitching. It can be a painful process, a total waste of time or the moment we live for… certainly they are risky. Hard to manage. And always…
Read →Here we are then. 13 years to the day that I founded Thinking Juice. A gutsy little start-up which went on to become Marketing Industry UK Agency of the Year – and part of one of the UK’s largest Independent agency…
Read →I came across this when someone shared it on LinkedIn a few weeks back. It’s an old blog post, but an important piece that I wrote for Thinking Juice’s blog back on the 1st of January 2007 – you’d have thought I’d have…
Read →It’s true – after nearly 13 years, I have left Thinking Juice and Emerge Group. The agency has the best team its ever had and is set for an amazing future. It’s emotional running an agency – but even more so selling and…
Read →Scotland. Good luck tomorrow. Whatever you decide I salute you, I just hope we can be proud of ourselves immediately afterwards, and every moment following – it’s a democracy, the winner wins. No regrets. Let’s show the…
Read →Scotland. Yes or No. I’m a fiercely proud half-Scot living in England. I have no vote. But I do have an opinion. I don’t think a decision on whether a partnership is best taken when it is in good health. As it is,…
Read →Traditional media techniques used online. VOD for example. A TV ad, never seen on TV. What on earth isn’t traditional about digital today? Anyone using these terms in two years time is out of…
Read →I did an interview with the lovely writers at work. Here it is: Kicking off a series of interviews with members from our team is Gellan Watt, our MD and chief creative officer. With a glass of vino in hand, he’s giving…
Read →Paul Arden wrote a great book. It’s not how good you are. It’s how good you want to be. He’s right. Yes, this is a talent led industry. But it’s applied talent. And skills can be honed, refined and learned. Too many…
Read →With no profit. No revenue model. No plans for revenue. No forecast. I was asked today what I would do… Easy. SELL! And sell now. Time will no doubt prove me wrong – the tech start-up is unlike any other…
Read →I saw a great quote on Facebook. Go the extra mile. It’s never crowded. That is the absolute truth. I’ve never felt…
Read →No. But in the world we live in it’s important. One could argue, in fact, it’s a hygiene factor. News spreads faster today than ever. Gossip even faster. Businesses cannot control information anymore. There’s nowhere to…
Read →Today I am surrounded by some fascinating and inspirational people, at the AMIN Worldwide Conference 2013 – with some of the best independent agencies from Europe, Latin America and the USA. A collection of individuals…
Read →Here’s a quick summary of what we believe in at Thinking Juice. We believe in the Power of Ideas. And the ability of an idea to change the way people think, feel and act. We believe that killer insight drives brilliant…
Read →I remember when I started Thinking Juice. I will be ten years, this year. I was 27. It was a good year. Running your own business isn’t for every creative. Or planner. Or suit for that matter. It’s a lonely business,…
Read →More thinking out loud. Another great tool for communicating ideas is ‘What, How, Why’. When creating a brief or position for a brand, the inspiring fact is rarely found in the ‘What’. Sometimes in the ‘How’. More often…
Read →Media sales folks… I have no comment. I am not endorsing this. Just enjoying it.…
Read →To understand how to run an agency business, how to grow one, or if you’re already doing it and you want a reminder about what’s important, please have a read of these, my bibles… – The Orange Book. – The Red Book. –…
Read →I’m thinking out loud today. Nothing scientific. But, as I am beavering away on a couple of projects for clients of different sizes, with varying levels of brand power, advocacy and brand love. When working on new…
Read →Once upon a time I was told there were lots of different types of people in the ad business. Strategists, creatives, marketers, writers, artists, designers, artworkers, suits, producers, PAs, art buyers, account men,…
Read →Not literally. I promise. Being number one (biggest, largest, best – read what you will) is still most organisations’ target or aspirations. We’ve all been witness to the rise and rise of the word ‘Advocacy’. Today’s…
Read →Happy new year. (I’m at my desk for the first time this year and I’m slightly nervous at the amount of things I said the first day I am back… so, I thought I’d blog?!) So what does 2013 hold. Well, after a soaring rise…
Read →Ask a French chef what creativity is, and he’ll tell you, “it’s not Garlic”. It’s not about adding flavour. It’s about doing something new, different and compelling. It’s about connecting the dots. That’s what I was…
Read →It’s not often you get to interview your hero. So, I’ll cherish this for a long time. All for NABs. Great…
Read →There’s a few things that you can see in all great creatives. I exclude myself from that category, before anyone thinks this is a self praising piece. And before I get going, an old, but important quote: ‘Talented…
Read →… but we all love stories. We always have. And we always will. So why, oh why, do businesses and brands forget what stories can do? Stories give a brand a sophisticated medium to connect with consumers. To touch their…
Read →One of my favourite people in Adland, my old boss and today still one of my favourite creative partners, Steve Jenkinson, showed me this. People in different businesses use it in one form or another. But in the agency…
Read →An article I wrote for The Drum in 2009. The following is a piece written by Gellan Watt for The Drum’s Marketing Mechanics section, 20th November 2009. Dear client, It’s not very often that we, on agency side, get to…
Read →I know a hundred and one people that want to do great things, and get somewhere in the very tough business that is commercial creativity – be it advertising, brand, digital, social or integrated. The only way, is to be…
Read →If you want to make briefing easy or articulating an idea, consider these three simple prompts, and answer them with one simple sentence or thought. Add this to every single brief you write, and every concept your…
Read →I am the very proud founding father of Thinking Juice. Marketing Industry UK Agency of the Year. Go…
Read →I often get asked about my favourite TV Spot. By a country mile this beaut for Honda is my favourite… I could list hundreds as ones I love, and spots I wish I’d made… but I think this one is the one I watch the most.…
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