When was the last time your brand made someone smile?

We all understand the textbook definition of courage, right? Of daring to be different, embracing the unknown, and being brave when the scary stuff happens. But courage in the context of purpose-driven business is a more specific beast.

Brand communication is how a brand conveys messages – encouraging your audience to feel a certain way and motivating them to take a specific action.

Brand communication is how a brand conveys messages – encouraging your audience to feel a certain way and motivating them to take a specific action.

Firstly, we get that the term ‘brand equity’ can sound a little daunting. But brand equity is really just about your perceived value.

There’s nothing like a work trip to a super inspiring event in another city (and a few cocktails) for a sparkling mid-year refresh.

if you want to seriously engage your audience, build brand awareness and drive customer action, you’ve got to turn up to the party knowing the social media moves.

You’re a rare kind of consumer if, when you’re browsing for a new car to buy, you only focus on the practical design elements. Think about it. Suppose Your potential new set of wheels could get you from A to

With ChatGPT and AI making news on the daily now, the T&G content gals decided to get in a (Zoom) room with ChatGPT and have it out with that damn bot once and for all. There were laughs (us), there

Before we leap into what a content strategy is, it would be remiss of us not to say that ‘content strategy’ sounds like a LOT of work, right? There’s planning, research, execution, optimisation…the list goes on. So, can’t you just

You’ve probably spent days, weeks or even months perfecting your products and services so that you can show them to the world. So, how do you get your dream audience to drop their jaws, click, buy and remember your brand

There’s a reason millions of us choose to spend time and money supporting gaggles of sporty folk as they chase balls around fields. It’s the same reason people wrap themselves in feather boas and camp outside stadiums in all weather

When building a brand, which is more important, internal or external research? If you only had time for either internal or external, which should you pick? If your answer is ‘neither’, well, we’re not angry with you – just disappointed

Many businesses view search engine optimisation, aka SEO, as an optional extra. First you design your brand, then you build your website, then you figure out how to reel in traffic, right? ‘Fraid not. Unlike 100s & 1000s ice cream

We call it The Trap of the Brand Echo Chamber. No, it’s not another captivatingly magical Harry Potter movie. It’s when a brand gets stuck in an endless feedback loop – when they’re so focused on their goals, mission and

Trends are an interesting thing, right? They either pass us by completely or we lean so far into them that people think we’ve joined a cult. More than fleeting fads, meaningful trends keep us in touch with the Zeitgeist and

You know someone’s a primary school teacher when you spot their fruit-shaped dangly earrings, a small handprint on their overalls and colourful Gorman socks poking out of their Blundstones, right?

How do you know when it’s time to break up with your partner of five years? Well, chances are, something just isn’t working anymore.

How do you know when it’s time to break up with your partner of five years? Well, chances are, something just isn’t working anymore.

From deciding what coworking space your business will thrive in, to choosing what songs to add to your new ‘We’re The Coolest Startup Ever’ playlist, things can get pretty hectic pretty fast as a startup founder.

Think of the last place you ordered fast food or bought groceries. Chances are, your edible purchase was from a company with a brand identity.

Think of the last place you ordered fast food or bought groceries. Chances are, your edible purchase was from a company with a brand identity.

Digital natives will no longer be merely a marketing channel, but the very fabric of society.

It started with a problem in need of a solution Few Australian tech start-ups have had the success that staff scheduling app, Deputy, has enjoyed. Like many successful companies, its origin story revolves around a problem without a good solution,

From bars to cars If you worked for an organisation in the first decade of this century and went out with your mates after work for happy hour, you no doubt recall the scene of everyone typing away on their

Introduction: the brand despots among us This 4-part series will explore what I call the ‘abuse of brand power’ and how it led to the decline and near fall of the United States. We will talk about the methods despotic

Translation: Gen Z speak for ignoring traditional marketers The real digital natives You’ve all doubtless heard of Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials, but you may not be as familiar with Gen Z. I wasn’t. Gen Z is the generation born

Brands fulfill more than needs I recently talked with Mario Herger, author of the book The Last Driver’s License Holder Has Already Been Born, which claims future generations will not need, or even want to own cars. Mario is an

New initiatives support local business  I’m an eternal optimist and also like to be provocative. These two characteristics combine in my belief that good things for the business sector can come out of the present crisis for the business sector.

Shorthand Most service-based businesses really find it hard to nail their value proposition and to express it in a way that’s really compelling. How many presos have you sat through where you’re shown slide after slide and you just want

Everything is measurable  I’m a data nerd. And one of the beautiful things about digital is that everything is measurable. And that certainly extends to things like marketing and channel performance. But what metrics can digital marketers use to measure

The who of personal branding  Lots of us dream of starting our own business, or side business. It may be to pursue a more creative career, to be more independent, to spend more time with our kids, or to pursue

Watch your inputs!   The phrase ‘Garbage in, garbage out’ was coined by an IBM programmer in the 1960s to emphasise that outputs were only as good as the inputs. Companies couldn’t simply dump data into their computers; they needed the

Brand is often misunderstood by startup founders, particularly by those who don’t have a branding and marketing background. They often think of branding as something not core to their business plan, something to be done later, after they are successful. 

It’s obvious that natural disasters demand comprehensive cooperation. Federal, state and local governments, not-for-profit and commercial businesses, and individuals must all do their part to minimise loss of life, loss of property, and damage to the environment.  Yet how often

Death, taxes, and recessions Three-quarters of economists polled by the Wall Street Journal think there will be a recession in the U.S. by the end of 2021. Bloomberg Economics thinks there’s a 27% chance of a recession in the next

In my book Rebranding Branding, I discuss Tourism Australia’s scandalous 2006 campaign, ‘Where the bloody hell are you?’  In that campaign, Tourism Australia badly misjudged the sensibilities of foreigners to what we consider playful language. Coming from a culture that

Not a one-time event. Is your brand always on? Or was it just a one-time event?  Do you have a dedicated brand budget? Or is it a subset of marketing? Does anyone speak up for branding, or it is the

Blank stares When I ask clients how they measure the effectiveness of their brand, most look at me blankly.  Those who do answer, say: ‘By sales, naturally.’  Of course that’s one metric for measuring brand ROI. If your brand is

The advantage of very small business Very small businesses are great at customer engagement. They have to be because that’s the only way they can compete. They don’t have vast resources to buy stock at scale or hire lots of

The roller coaster of new markets Many organisations fail because they focus on what they want to be and forget who they are. They assume markets perceive them in the golden light they see reflected in the mirror, when in

Bad bosses Studies show that the number one reason people quit their job isn’t because of money but because of management. Specifically, their direct supervisor, whether that person is a manager, CEO, or owner. For simplicity’s sake we’ll call them

Does your brand harness the power of emotion? Few businesses understand the power of emotion in branding.  Emotions are the main reason consumers prefer brand-named products over generics and a key reason they prefer one brand over another. Emotions drive

Big, hairy, and audacious Most organisations do not have a brand strategy. As a result they are not using their brand as a lever to engage and drive preference. Some organisations discover this lack only when they are trying to

Do you know your values? Quick! Name your company’s values. A lot of organisations don’t even have values. They were created without leadership ever taking the time to articulate what they stood for. Some companies have their values etched in

A lot of organisations don’t know what their value proposition is. And sometimes when they do, it is inconsistently expressed by people in communications, or it’s not a true reflection of their fundamental value to customers. When this goes wrong

Owning up to your brand I’ve run my own brand agency for over a decade, and in that time I’d say fewer than ten per cent of CEOs took ownership of their brand.  CEOs tend to come from business, law,

Putting your brand at risk Every time you sign an agreement to promote something or partner with someone, ask yourself if you are prepared to fall if they fall, to fail if they fail, to suffer public disgrace if they

Wrappr is an Australian startup that brings the sharing economy to advertising by pairing brands with their brand advocates.  I recently spoke with Wrappr cofounder Liam Shaw about brand advocacy and the future of advertising as I’m always curious about

Dove, from Unilever, is one of my favourite consumer brands because their personal care products stand for something.  Dove speaks to the fact that most of us don’t like how we look. Unilever’s PR agency, Edelman, surveyed more than 3,000

It will only get more emotional As digital marketing and marketing technology are receiving more and more of the CMO’s budget, brands have to find new ways to attract and keep customers. It’s not enough to use old media models

Building Trust vs. Buying Trust Quick, think of three people you trust. Not family members or friends, but people in your organisation, or partners or vendors.  Now, what are the reasons you trust those people? Most likely it’s not because

Start 2019 with resolve! While most businesses do some form of strategic planning, many fail to include branding in the mix.  So I like to use the beginning of the year to ask my clients to come up with a

Are commodities brands? We normally think of branding as encompassing consumer-based products and services. But what about businesses that sell to other businesses, or to governments? Should these businesses hire brand managers or brand agencies? If your product is coal

Luxury and scarcity Luxury is alive and well, but it has evolved as brands have evolved, and expanded to a new, larger market: the rest of us.  Historically luxury, which was defined by rarity, was for the upper crust. Aristocrats

Our Banking Nightmare People often equate a brand with its logo and colours, or with its products and services. But even more important than those things is trust.  People don’t equate branding with trust building because it often goes on

Brand stereotypes  The biggest stereotype in branding is to equate brand with a logo. The thinking goes as follows: You create a business plan, secure funding and name your company. You have a business but not a brand. So you

Whether you like it or not, you have a brand Guess what? You’ve already started with branding. Even if you haven’t had a single brand strategy meeting or hired an agency, even if you don’t have a logo or Facebook

CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY Not all brands get consistency right. But those that do, really get it right. They put it front and centre of their business strategy and never look away.  McDonalds doesn’t have the best food by a longshot.

Brand awareness The first step toward determining whether your brand is working for you is to discover the degree of brand awareness amongst your customers.  Just because someone patronises your business doesn’t mean they understand your brand. Have you ever

Teaching an old dog new tricks Brand equity is an intangible asset that can be worth billions of dollars to a global corporation. But even for SMEs, brand equity should be an important part of your balance sheet.  The first

Whether you’re creating a new brand or trying to discover what makes your existing brand special, you need to start by asking the right questions. Journalists follow the old formula of the 5 W’s:  Who? What? Where? When? Why? For

Are you different? Do you stand out from the pack? Are you sure? If your products or services were de-identified and compared to your competitors, would your customers know the difference?  Differentiating your brand is one of the hardest goals

How much revenue do you think you need to generate before you can afford to develop a strategy for your brand?  $1,000,000? $500,000? $100,000? Historically brand strategy was for the big retail corporations: cars, breakfast cereals, soft drinks, cigarettes. The

If making purchasing difficult for your customers is intrinsic to your brand, then it may make sense to impose a surcharge on credit card purchases.  If it isn’t, don’t do it!  I’ve seen first hand too many businesses lose sales

Quick, you have only 20 seconds… What’s one question you can ask to confirm your brand is working for you? Tick…tick…tick…  Time’s up! What did you come up with? Ready for my answer, or rather my question?  “In 25 words or less

Branding is the mouth, not the lipstick Brand is not cosmetic. Brand is fundamental to practically every business in the world today, and if you ignore it I can assure you your competitors won’t.  Branding is the heart, not the

“A brand is the expression of an entity, person, product or service, as designed by its creator and perceived by the world.” – Taylor and Schreiber • Rebranding Branding   In 2017 I published a book with Mark Schreiber called

Do you have money invested with AMP? If so, you must have trusted them implicitly. How do you feel about them now?  Like all Australians, I have taken a personal interest in the scandal surrounding AMP. Some of my family