Monthly Archives: February 2014

Unpredictable is not random.

Posted on February 27, 2014 by strategyaudit

Some things we can predict with great accuracy, simply because we can quantify almost all the variables that come into play. The path a bullet will follow when fired, how long it will take a brick to hit the ground … Continue reading →

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4 requirements of “Connection”

Posted on February 25, 2014 by strategyaudit

A pilot program I have been recently  involved with, setting out to  assist the evolution of a” Sydney Harvest” brand of local produce has not delivered the results hoped for. After years of agitation by produce growers in the Sydney … Continue reading →

Posted in Branding, Change, Collaboration, Demand chains, Marketing, retail | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

4 Marketing lessons from SPC

Posted on February 24, 2014 by strategyaudit

There is a lot to learn from the SPC imbroglio, the feds must be delighted to have got away with their IR/”no more handouts”  agenda intact as the Victorian government bailed out not only SPC, but their federal colleagues, albeit … Continue reading →

Posted in Branding, Governance, Marketing, Strategy | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Marketing is telling stories.

Posted on February 21, 2014 by strategyaudit

B2B and B2C is the way marketing has been described for the last 20 years. Nonsense. Marketing when successful has always been P2P, person to person. Successful marketing is about engaging  with people and people engage around stories, not data … Continue reading →

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One final test.

Posted on February 20, 2014 by strategyaudit

“If this was your money, would you invest it this way”. This question worked well for many years as a corporate executive, asking the question of those who reported to me about the projects for which they were seeking support. … Continue reading →

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8 Moments of truth

Posted on February 18, 2014 by strategyaudit

Jan Carlzons great 1987 book Moments of Truth reflected on the point at which a “front line” employee interacted with a customer, and how important that interaction was. The digitisation of our lives has profoundly changed the context in which … Continue reading →

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How to be Successful with direct mail

Posted on February 17, 2014 by strategyaudit

Digital and email marketing is just the C21st version of direct snail-mail. Why is it then that we despair when our email open rates are only 2%, when that is all most direct mail campaigns ever got? I think we … Continue reading →

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Shakespeare invented Twitter!

Posted on February 13, 2014 by strategyaudit

Willy said many things that have been repeated, and repeated over the years, nuggets of truth that resonate today, may of which have a place in management thinking. “Be great in act, as you are in thought” “In time we … Continue reading →

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Toyota’s tent joins Ford and GM in the boot.

Posted on February 12, 2014 by strategyaudit

  As a little kid, the milkman used to deliver from a horse drawn cart. Even then, in the mid fifties it was outmoded, almost rustic, but endlessly engaging for a 5 year old boy. Much later, I was the … Continue reading →

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Pitching an idea

Posted on February 10, 2014 by strategyaudit

The most powerful way to get someone to agree with your idea is to ask them the leading question, and have them give you the answer you want. Ronald Regan used this technique a lot. He did not tell the … Continue reading →

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StrategyAudit’s second law of SME success

Posted on February 7, 2014 by strategyaudit

Scaleable. My world is SME’s, helping them to be more profitable, more commercially sustainable, more accountable,  by being focused on customers and their own processes and priorities. The outcome is that most successfully remain SME’s, avoiding the many death traps … Continue reading →

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Brand value of SPC and Peters.

Posted on February 5, 2014 by strategyaudit

If ever you needed convincing that investing for the long haul in a brand was worth the time, energy, risk, and money, there is evidence aplenty in the remnants of the Australian food industry. It has been reported that the … Continue reading →

Posted in Branding, Leadership, Marketing, Strategy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Give Charman Stone a medal.

Posted on February 4, 2014 by strategyaudit

The decision by the federal Government not to support SPC  last week has opened a can of worms. This time, the worms have some grunt, as the head worm, Charman Stone has shone a light into the corners of the … Continue reading →

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Social or Viral

Posted on February 3, 2014 by strategyaudit

One of the questions I am most often asked is “how do we make this go viral”. To my mind it is also one of the silliest. The objective of “social” weather it be media, or a drink in the … Continue reading →

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