LEVI’S DIDN’T MISS AN OPPORTUNITY. YOU DID…

I’ve written something before about Opinions & Assholes (everyone has one)… I couldn’t help myself for this next blog post… đź’€ I’ve watched the Levi’s Stadium conversation unfold this week and honestly, I think most people have completely missed the fucking point. The hot takes have been “predictable” and bland… “They should have wrapped itContinue reading “LEVI’S DIDN’T MISS AN OPPORTUNITY. YOU DID…”

GROWTH DOESN’T COME FROM MORE. IT COMES FROM MEANING.

One of the biggest misconceptions in marketing is that growth comes from doing more… More content. More campaigns. More products. More channels. More customers. More followers. More every-fucking-thing. But some of the fastest growth I’ve ever seen came from doing the opposite. It came from getting clearer. Years ago, I had the privilege of workingContinue reading “GROWTH DOESN’T COME FROM MORE. IT COMES FROM MEANING.”

SIGNAL > NOISE

I bought a pair of noise-cancelling headphones years ago because I wanted better sound quality. Turns out I completely misunderstood the point… The goal wasn’t to make the music louder. The goal was to make everything else quieter. And lately I’ve been thinking that’s probably one of the more important lessons I’ve learned about strategy,Continue reading “SIGNAL > NOISE”

MARKETING THEATRE & THE MISSING CMO

— I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how many businesses don’t actually have a marketing problem… They have a leadership problem disguised as marketing. And honestly? Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. Most founder brands, charities, NFPs and growing businesses can’t afford a proper CMO, Head of Marketing or senior commercial marketingContinue reading “MARKETING THEATRE & THE MISSING CMO”

CULTS, CONSULTANTS & CREATIVITY

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how weirdly similar marketing and management consulting actually are… Both industries pretend to be driven by logic, frameworks and commercial truth. But underneath it all? They’re basically fandoms. Entire universes built around gods, disciples, sacred texts and belief systems. In fact, the brilliant Zoe Scaman illustrates this sub-cultural ideology reallyContinue reading “CULTS, CONSULTANTS & CREATIVITY”

TRENDS TELL YOU WHAT PEOPLE ARE DOING. CULTURE TELLS YOU WHY.

There’s a weird thing happening in marketing right now. Everyone’s obsessed with trends… but barely anyone’s asking why they exist in the first place. A few screenshots. A few buzzwords. A few “consumer shifts”. Suddenly someone’s stitched together a trend report explaining why every brand now needs to sound like a therapist with a matchaContinue reading “TRENDS TELL YOU WHAT PEOPLE ARE DOING. CULTURE TELLS YOU WHY.”

WE STOPPED LIVING WITH A BABY AND STARTED HAVING A BABY LIVE WITH US.

There’s a real (parent) insightful moment no one really talks about. Not when the baby arrives. Not when they start crawling. Not even when they start walking. It’s the moment you quietly realise your house feels like yours again. For the past year, our living room wasn’t really a living room. It was a babyContinue reading “WE STOPPED LIVING WITH A BABY AND STARTED HAVING A BABY LIVE WITH US.”

Stop trying to do everything. You’re achieving sweet fuck all.

Let’s talk about marketing objectives, because most briefs that come through are cooked. Not bad, not wrong, just trying to do way too much at once. You’ll see it straight away. “We want to launch a new product, build awareness, drive sales, increase retention, grow brand love, make people feel something, make them smile, makeContinue reading “Stop trying to do everything. You’re achieving sweet fuck all.”

AI Is Getting Smarter. Are We Getting Dumber?

AI is extraordinary. There’s no doubt about that. It can write, analyse, design, synthesise, code, optimise and problem-solve faster than most of us on our best day. It can compress hours of thinking into seconds. It can surface patterns we would never spot. It can feel like a superpower. And it is. Just ask myContinue reading “AI Is Getting Smarter. Are We Getting Dumber?”

You Can’t Be Everything to Everyone

These words have been ingrained in me as an important lesson – not just in the work that we do, but in the life that we live. Too often, we get briefs with a “target audience” that is, quite literally… everyone with a heartbeat. “All Australians,” “Everyone living in Australia,” “Every parent,” “Every Gen Z….Continue reading “You Can’t Be Everything to Everyone”