I have been exploring how organisations successfully drive innovation across horizons and deliver more than just incremental core growth. Alongside some clever consultants, I listened to innovation leaders from LEGO, bp, Essity, Hitachi, Nissan and Unilever. Their generous input supported some detailed findings and from this I have picked out six key core elements which... Continue Reading →
New research has got me thinking about the relative importance of images and words in persuasive communication. We know there is power in the right image. People process pictures instantly, are hard wired to recognize emotions, find images easier to remember and don't read beyond headlines. Studies also show adding photos increases the believability of... Continue Reading →
Peloton has gained a lot of recent attention with reports of slowing sales, unhelpful fictional heart attacks and investors calling for the CEO to resign. A share price comparable to that before Covid-19 is certainly eye-catching for a business that has grown paying subscribers from around 1 million to around 3.2 million last year. Something... Continue Reading →
Pepsi is working hard to attach their brand to popular fast food choices. The #BetterWithPepsi campaign is backed by a blind taste test claim that their fizzy drink goes better with Big Mac or Whopper burgers than rival Coca-Cola. Recent creative work has been superbly distinctive and provocative. Showing wrappers for Burger King, McDonald’s and... Continue Reading →
Octopus Energy has achieved 'double unicorn' status with a valuation in excess of $2 billion in just five years. It seems to be on track to be the world's leading renewable energy business. The foundation for this remarkable success is clever and agile business model thinking and here Octopus offers inspiration for start-ups and established... Continue Reading →
One of my most rewarding projects of late has been helping the Unilever ice cream business accelerate growth across delivery platforms such Uber Eats, Grab or Deliveroo and food-chain partners. Teams are dotted across the globe and manage digital communications to drive sales from their own virtual stores, grocery partners or from food-chain orders. Collectively... Continue Reading →
Claims influence. Consider the infamous Brexit claim that linked a misleading payment to Europe to an opportunity to fund the UK's national health service. Or perhaps Oatly, who have distilled their climate advantage to a nine word claim that explains a swap to oat milk saves 73% in carbon emissions. Imagine where Oatly would be... Continue Reading →
Oatly makes it emphatically clear that you should be drinking Oatly and not (dairy) milk. The side of the carton invites you to join the post-milk generation, the website informs you that the milk lobby think you're stupid and advertising suggests dad's drinking milk have a bit of a problem. This confrontational, zealous anti-establishment communication... Continue Reading →
Back in 1985 I saw the Talking Heads concert film 'Stop Making Sense' in a cinema in Newcastle Upon Tyne. I can't remember who was with me, but I vividly recall the film. It was distinct, difficult to categorise and dominated by an energetic and eccentric David Byrne performance. 1985 is a long time ago,... Continue Reading →
The rapid development of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is a case-study of effective collaboration. BioNTech has applied new ‘messenger RNA’ technology to carry instructions to human cells that trigger the immune system response for an attack by Covid-19. The resulting immune memory defends against the virus. Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci are physicians who met in... Continue Reading →
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