Jul 26, 2019The genuine original: three avenues to authenticity in branded contentAs humans, we yearn for authenticity. In our personal lives we gravitate towards those we perceive as genuine, and equally, we keep at arms length those we feel ‘aren’t being themselves’. While defined as the genuine original, authenticity in marketing is actually more a perceived quality rather than the real…Marketing6 min readMarketing6 min read
Published inCommoner·May 10, 2019Seeing is believing: balancing brand fit with authenticity in video contentIn content marketing, campaign objectives are the entry requirements of every story we create. Objectives need to be delivered on and stories often need to be bent (gracefully) to better hit those objectives. At the same time, we also have a powerful commitment to engage the audience. We know audiences…Marketing5 min readMarketing5 min read
Published inCommoner·Mar 14, 2019Making thinking visible: telling better stories of how organisations thinkThinking is a powerful force. How we think leads to technological advancement, competitive advantage and new innovative ways of working through problems and developing solutions. Similarly, telling stories of thinking can inspire our co-workers to follow our lead. …Leadership5 min readLeadership5 min read
Published inCommoner·Feb 26, 2019Success starts with challenge: how to reframe conversations about winningIn our private lives, when we are home on the couch, scrolling through our social media platform of choice (mine is Instagram by the way) we find ourselves quickly drawn to successful, famous and beautiful people (usually all three at once). These people seem to exude an effortless significance, so…Content Marketing4 min readContent Marketing4 min read
Published inCommoner·Feb 18, 2019Knowing is only half the story“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” The common interpretation of that statement is that the wasted half can be minimised through metrics. Digital marketing promises as much. …Marketing4 min readMarketing4 min read
Published inCommoner·Jan 31, 2019Be the enemy of averageVideo will no longer be special in 2019. According to Buffer’s 2019 State of Social report, marketers who never publish video dropped 25% to 14% from 2017 to 2018. In the same period, those that publish video daily doubled (6% to 12.9%). Imagine that a few years ago. 13% of…Advertising5 min readAdvertising5 min read
Aug 27, 2018Review of Yoyotta LTO Backup Software2021 Update: I wrote this review based on my experience with version 1 of Yoyotta, and have continued to use the software for the past few years through to version 2. Between 1 and 2, not much changed to the user interface that would require a significant revision of this…10 min read10 min read
Published inCommoner·Jul 15, 2016Art of the InterviewTips for guiding unscripted stories “My advice to all interviewers is: Shut up and listen. It’s harder than it sounds.” — Errol Morris. A great interview is the bedrock of engaging unscripted branded content. As audience hunger for narrative continues to build, marketers are faced with great opportunity and risk…Interview5 min readInterview5 min read
Published inCommoner·Sep 15, 2014Why brands need stories with conflictYou might think that since brand films (or branded content) are typically concerned with positive emotions, they should be largely devoid of conflict. But the truth is, brands need conflict to bring their stories to life. Conflict builds tension, drives narrative and acts as the catalyst for transformation, from bad…3 min read3 min read
Aug 28, 2014An inspired listMy five most frequent stops for daily inspiration and perspective. Next Draft Simply put, it’s the days most fascinating news delivered to your inbox. Curated with wit and intelligence by Dave Pell. …2 min read2 min read
