What I’ve learnt from the mistakes I’ve made this year
Secret MarketerMaking mistakes is easy, it’s what you learn from them that matters. As the year draws to an end it’s time to reflect on what’s happened, take stock and look forward to 2023.
3 ways to drive out cost without reducing marketing effectiveness
Secret MarketerFrom improving processes and rationalising agencies to getting to grips with media charges, there are ways all marketers can strip out costs without impacting output.
Effectiveness comes with the confidence to invest
Secret MarketerMarketing effectiveness is driven by courage, focus and tenacity, rather than a quest for efficiency.
Introducing the ‘marketing sandwich’. The perfect metaphor for the long versus short debate
Secret MarketerThink of marketing as a sandwich, with the bread representing brand building and the filling performance marketing. Separately they do a job, but the true magic only happens when they come together.
If marketing leaders don’t take a stand we all risk losing control
Secret MarketerIt takes courage to challenge the status quo and drive change but marketers are increasingly bowing to the pressure of the C-suite, which needs to stop.
As the cost of living crisis spirals it’s time for marketers to go back to basics
Secret MarketerOur marketer on the inside takes us back to the ‘credit crunch’ in 2008 and a strategy that doubled profitability for one big brand despite the marketing budget being cut by 75%.
Want to become a strategy-forward marketer? Follow these five principles
Secret MarketerOur marketer on the inside admits being strategy-forward is not for the faint hearted, so has identified five key principles that will help brand leaders navigate through the fog of uncertainty.
Start putting some common sense customer centricity back into your business
Secret MarketerOur marketer on the inside shares five resolutions careworn marketers should adhere to this year.
If you build a brand without considering its use you’re wasting your time
Secret MarketerBorrowing from philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, brands should not be defined by what they are, but how they are used. Trying to inject a profound meaning into brand is merely an exercise in ineffective positioning.
Christmas can be an opportunity to learn for marketers stuck at dead-end firms
Secret MarketerChristmas is a special time for marketers stuck in dead-end companies, more interested in their operations than their customers, as it gives them an opportunity to hone skills and test things out.
Five questions marketers should ask themselves before talking budgets with the C-suite
Secret MarketerTo avoid missing out on opportunities as a result of not getting the required investment, our marketer on the inside recommends stress testing the plan before going into the boardroom with the aid of five key questions.
Advertising effectiveness has never been improved by trying to build relationships
Secret MarketerMarketers should focus on encoding their brand into the minds of customers – not trying to build relationships with them.
Pitches aren’t won on ideas alone, they are won on chemistry
Secret MarketerShowing commitment, energy and passion is far more important than gimmicks and big ideas when it comes to pitching.
Lack of transparency makes it hard to build trusted relationships with media agencies
Secret MarketerOngoing issues around media neutrality and transparency make it very difficult to build strong and trusted client-agency relationships.
We’re being seduced by engaging platforms, but it’s a complete non-starter as a strategy
Secret MarketerThe difference between good strategy and poor strategy is immense. As part of a new series, our undercover marketer explains why it’s better to take longer, shoot for the stars and slip a bit than to aim for mediocracy and achieve it.