Monthly Archives: October 2013

The Value Gap

Engaged in an innovation portfolio management assignment a while ago, we struggled to define why one project should continue to suck up resources in preference to many other seemingly worthy opportunities. We tried all sorts of models, financial and strategic, … Continue reading

Posted in Change, Innovation, Marketing, Strategy | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Algorithms are the new gatekeepers

  There have always been gatekeepers, those people who make the decisions about what you see, what you have the opportunity to buy, and weather or not you can participate. The supermarket buyer determines what goes on the shelves, a … Continue reading

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The old duck metaphor.

A story on myself. I am in the middle of a small project that requires considerable collaboration amongst people not used to collaborating. Always challenging. In a conversation over the weekend with an old mate, wise in the ways of … Continue reading

Posted in Alliance management, Communication, Management | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Modern marketing Trinity and the glue

  Sick of the avalanche of unsolicited email coming in to your inbox? Most of us are, and my kids have reacted by virtually turning email off, and using social media to communicate with those in their circles. The volumes … Continue reading

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Simplifying innovation

Innovation takes up a lot of my time, and whilst successfully bring a new product to market is a huge task, challenging as it does all sorts of personal, organisational and financial barriers, it can nevertheless be broken down into … Continue reading

Posted in Innovation, Marketing, Strategy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The semantic disruption of Agriculture

The success of the last 250 years in western economies is based on the economies of scale. Harnessing technology to deliver greater productivity per unit of input, capital, labour, and raw material. All industries have been disrupted from the cottage … Continue reading

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Reality is visual

I had a post prepared for this morning, relating to the evolution of “local” agriculture, specifically around Sydney. However, the events of the weekend, the burning of Sydney’s surrounding bushland, including several of the farms of those I have been … Continue reading

Posted in Communication, Governance, Lean, Operations | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

The emotion of “close”

Bushfires are raging, again, around NSW, houses lost, businesses destroyed, kids stressing out because they cannot get to HSC locations, and “fireies” putting themselves in harms way. Yet, we watch, are concerned, but go about our dailies as best we … Continue reading

Posted in Marketing, Personal Rant | 3 Comments

Cottage cheese and the job to be done.

  Cottage cheese is a pretty dull category in supermarkets. A relatively tasteless, low calorie (therefore it must taste crappy, right?), price competitive, group of products. Yes, so we thought. Years ago, 25 years in fact, I was the GM … Continue reading

Posted in Branding, Category, Customers, Innovation, Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Intelligent re-design

Intelligent design is a huge discredited furphy perpetrated by Christian fundamentalists in the US on sections of the school system. But, taking the notion of viewing something through an entirely different lens a bit further, intelligent re-design becomes a notion … Continue reading

Posted in Change, Collaboration, Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Paradox of marketing automation.

We are rushing headlong towards automating the marketing process, everything from the call centre systems to advanced automation like Marketo and others. However, we are social animals, and no matter how much we set out to automate, you simply cannot replace … Continue reading

Posted in Marketing, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Transformation to “Social”

Question: How do you know when your enterprise has become “Social” Answer: When it evolves from a vertical, and functionally oriented enterprise with power emanating from the position descriptions, to one that is cross functional and project oriented, and power … Continue reading

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Warrnambool Cheese being sliced off Australia.

  Canadian dairy processor Saputo looks set to take control of Warrnambool Cheese and Butter (WCB) with a $7 a share offer valuing the company at $370 million, which trumps an existing cash and shares offer from Bega Cheese which … Continue reading

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Marketing defined, again.

Definitions of marketing abound. A bit like a scratch in the morning, everybody has one! The lament of President Roosevelt that if you had 7 economists in a room, you had 8 opinions, is equally true for marketers, except that … Continue reading

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Quality of life: A context sensitive idea.

Some years ago my Dad had a stroke, a nasty one that had a profound impact on his physical capability.  We were assured by physicians that with intensive therapy and rehabilitation, he would regain a “quality of life.” Compared to … Continue reading

Posted in Marketing, Small business, Strategy | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Media: social, earned, or fish-wrapper.

  There has been lots of conversation about the value of social media, very sensibly proposing the case that simply getting a “like” is useless, you can buy them if you want them. The measure of success should be how … Continue reading

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Customer driven demand chain rebirth

It is pretty trite to point out, again, that the reason businesses survive is to satisfy customers. In fresh produce markets, this has been pretty much forgotten as the share of the consumers dollar that ends up in the farmers … Continue reading

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