Powerful structures for product-driven organisations
The human genome project started in 1990 and continues today (I guess with ever decreasing marginal return) towards the exhaustive mapping of the core physical cells which make us. Definitions vary on when the project will be ‘complete’ but as Ray Kurzweil points out, we are accelerating towards whichever version of completeness you chose, as… Continue reading Mapping the human enome
The whole phrase is 'Now we know what the future looks like, what would we like to do with it?' For the second post in a row I'm afraid I'm in a rather idealistic mood. But it seems to me, now, that we look at the structure of business and marketing as it's being done… Continue reading Now we know what the future looks like
What's wrong with this picture? Well apart from the fact that their advertising is clearly so laser-guided that they're shoving the 'your ad here' ad up to their entire market, there's only one item on the page you can't 'prioritize' (dig or bury) yet it's likely to be the only item on the page that… Continue reading Spot the obvious mistake
(or 'towards a complete redefinition on the role of the brand strategist') There's a terrible joke or riddle I still remember from school: 'What was the longest river in the world before the Nile was discovered?'. The answer, of course, is 'the Nile'. The launch of the landmark Stephen King retrospective on planning poses an… Continue reading Planning planning
Aside from the usual rubber chicken and three-inch-wide movies, most of my long flight yesterday, and a rather intimidating trip on the A-train into Manhattan, was taken up with reading Lewis P Carbone's Clued In. This amazing book provides a method for understanding customers, products and brands that not only fits the classic American hospitality… Continue reading On with the show
I spent alot of time listening to (and trying to find intelligent responses to) Julian R Harris on Friday. He's also at Conchango and we had a number of meetings with clients, although they took very different directions. Anyone who's met Julian, or plugged themselves into his high wattage blog will know that the experience is… Continue reading Without space and time
The Carlsberg ad campaign has always been extremely entertaining and memorable. It's what Russell Davies describes as generous or rich, as opposed to simply being the "big" idea of which ad men are so fond. In 2004, this was successfully adapted to a very nice "french disqualified" viral email idea (if you know me you'll know… Continue reading In the money
Usability-free zone it may be but I thought this was a really nice idea for how an author chose to talk to everyone about her new book: http://noonebelongsheremorethanyou.com/. What is the main advertising feature of this? Well it's got a lovely wry sense of humor it's about speed its about personal connection (or at least appears… Continue reading Digital appliances
I've never really understood Twitter. I regard this as a weakness. All the coolest people seem to love it, and I can see how it's a neat concept. I just wonder what I'd put: "Doing sudoku on tube", "buggering up a lasagne", "In meeting", "reading in bed". I'd bore myself. Well I'm delighted to see that… Continue reading Twitier
For all of those who find WebCameron interesting but mainly cringe-worthy (and I'm definitely one of the them), it seems pretty likely the 2008 presidential race in the states will set a new high water mark in the way candidates communicate and connect with their audiences. Just when does that kick off? Well, amazingly enough… Continue reading Scoble on Edwards Campaign Trail
Leading product 