Brain Hurt Scale = 4/10. Why does ChatGPT provide me with terrible responses. Why does DALL-E give me an image that's terrible? Learning how to brief creatives is an art form. After all, their job is to create artwork so this probably shouldn't come as a surprise. But if you've never created something yourself, you'll be oblivious as to how it all goes down. That mismatched perspective can all be fixed by listening to this episode where Brett Friedman goes through start-to-finish the...

Brain Hurt Scale = 6/10. Republished with permission of an interview John James did with Cognism's Jamie Skeels on The Loop podcast. The Brandingmag articles caused quite a stir and Jamie was keen to dig a little deeper into some of the issues it raised for practitioners. How do we target people to build brand and sales at the same time? Which channels should we use? How do we sell these campaigns (or not) to senior directors and executives? What are the red flags or reasons not to...

Brain Hurt Scale = 3/10. A live recording of that time I was invited by James Pember to speak at the inaugural SXSW Sydney 2023. Note: this is a repost with permission of an episode of the Own The Moment podcast by Komo Technologies. James interviews me on-stage in front of 70+people and I try to answer a series of questions completely impromptu. James is a product leader and host of a podcast run by martech firm Komo Technologies. They have a podcast called 'Own The Moment'. Reposting...

Brain Hurt Scale = 5/10. No one in B2B buys based on value. Procurement and buying committees don't operate how you think they do. And why do 50%+ of B2B purchases end in a no-decision? If you want your career to be occupied with creating ads, rely on correlation, work status and manipulate company politics to get ahead. Nothing wrong with that, it's fine. Go for it. You will do well. But if you actually want to affect revenue and profit, this is an episode you can't miss. Dale and...

Brain Hurt Scale = 2/10. Racing car driver, Marketing Week columnist, retail media speaker and coach to marketing directors. Colin Lewis joins us for the first episode of 2024. While we were supposed to talk about retail media, this was one of those rare chances to tap into someone's mind that's experienced a depth and breadth of experience that's exceedingly rare. Colin's worked in multiple countries. Reinvented his specialty many times over. Put his money where his mouth is with his own...

Brain Hurt = 3/10. What happens when 4 very experienced advertising and marketing strategists are secretly recorded on a group call? 4 insiders catch up each month to have a casual discussion and decided to record it. You'll get a raw expression of what's going on behind the scenes similar to the All-In Podcast. From learning what an executive producer does to the checkered history of the AIDA model, through to the history of different strategy models - this recording has a bit of...

Brain Hurt Factor = 4/10. The conclusion and penultimate episode of a 6 part series which explores brand campaigns. Questioning whether Apple's famous Think Different brand campaign was as successful as everyone thinks it is. This episode starts with a short recap of where we left off in 5.2. Then goes into revealing THE key growth factor behind Apple's explosive growth. Before discussing the genesis story behind this entire brand campaign. A story which was difficult to discover. Full of...

Brand hurt scale = 6/10. This is a direct follow on from the previous episode 5.1 which continues the story behind Apple's famous Think Different campaign. Here we go much deeper, analyzing the campaign's impact on Apple financially, both short and long term. Which is hard in audio form because a lot of the visuals are missing. But you'll learn ways you can properly assess any brand campaign and call out brand marketers who think they've delivered value, but haven't. Four expert opinions...

Brand hurt scale = 2/10. The episode everyone has been waiting for is here. This is the story behind the famous Apple Think Different campaign. Touted as one of the best brand advertising campaigns in history. But is it? This is the first of three parts which explores the history of this campaign and analyzes whether it was as successful for the company as everyone makes out. Deeper analysis will follow in 5.2 before we explore the genesis story and implications from those findings in...

Brain hurt score = 3/10. If you've been listening to the series so far, you should know what a brand campaign is, where they came from and how advertising and branding works. So what does a brand campaign do? Or not do? In part 4 of the Brand Campaign mini-series we explore 8 legitimate reasons for a brand campaign and 8 red-flags you need to be aware of. By the end of this episode you'll have a very robust filter through which to make an informed decision if you're considering buying...

Brain Hurt Scale = 2/10. Note - this is the audio version which is an extended yet similar and different version of the written article which includes diagrams and videos. If reading is your thing go here https://www.brandingmag.com/john-james/brand-campaigns-part-2-where-did-they-come-from/ - but this audio version is more story-like so it makes for perfect listening. Why do some people say 'performance marketing' when all really mean is Google search? Why do digital marketers have an...

Brain Hurt Scale = 2/10. Learn all the hot topics, struggles and opportunities in the current environment from the perspective of two fractional CMO's. After shooting the breeze about coffee (Skip to 4mins in to miss the coffee talk intro) Gregory Kennedy and John sit down to talk about what they're both seeing on the ground right now. With significant declines in the yields and measurement of various digital media over the years, they discuss different ways to move forward and embrace a...

Brain hurt scale = 6/10. This is the second half of the former episode which will complete the audio version of Part 3's article. In the former episode we covered in detail the first determinant of effective advertising - reach. In this one, we explain what is 'brand' and how 'branding' actually works or doesn't work. Then we explore the third factor which is all about making products 'easy to find and buy'. Followed by even more myth busting at the end to put everything into a...

Brain hurt scale = 7/10. Isn't it funny how we all think we know how advertising works, but very few of us know about the scientific side. Even fewer have married up science with the practical considerations of what it's like in an applied work setting. Until now! After learning about what brand campaigns are in part 1 and understanding the etymology. We were then left with a gaping hole. How does brand advertising work? And to know how brand advertising works, we first need to understand...

Brain Hurt Scale = 4/10. Here's a quick synopsis of the first part of six. An article series that tries to answer a very basic question. What is a brand campaign? Go to https://www.brandingmag.com/john-james/brand-campaigns-part-1-what-exactly-are-they/ to read the full article which includes a lot of useful diagrams, videos, links and extended explanation that doesn't make it into this quick 18-minute synopsis. Part 2 is also fresh off the press. So if this perks your interest, follow...

We'll spend thousands of dollars a month on ads yet routinely underinvest in the quality of the creative. Even the biggest agencies do it. They cheapen out on the quality of the audio track. But great music can make or break a movie or TV series. It can also be the difference between advertising and promotions that your audience either remembers or doesn't remember. Raj has recently taken this to the next level. Investing his own money into the production of an entire rap album. I haven't...

You know all those famous authors and people on social media with posts that are wildly successful? You may be surprised to learn, it's probably not them. Most don't even manage their own accounts. But, who's work then are we really reading? Who's DM's are we really slipping into? Today we're going to delve into the murky world of ghostwriting. And it reminds me of that famous scene from Fight Club - because.... It appears, the first rule of ghostwriting is that you don't talk about...

Brain Hurt = 6/10. Do you want your effort to translate into maximum reward without change getting in the way? If so, embracing inherent uncertainty in the world is arguably the best way to go about it. Matt Watkinson published his third book this year which explores the concept of probabilistic thinking, systems, determinism and more. We don't really do book reviews, but this one caught the eye of our CEO and needed to be explored. This is Rory Sutherland-esque. In fact, they are...

Brain Hurt Level = 2/10. "Great interview...I've often thought someone needed to interview you, put all of that red-pill business and marketing chat into one cohesive conversation. Your definition of marketing should actually be a front-slide of every conversation I have now." Note: This episode best serves the interests of executives, founders, owners and senior management. But, there's takeaways for everyone, especially if you're leading a team or interested in escaping the adland bubble....

Brain Hurt level = 5/10. Note: this episode is best for those interested in marketing or growth within the SaaS tech sector. Especially if you work in marketing, growth or as a senior marketing leader or founder. And even more so if that's B2B or Martech. But... With that said, it's rare to find someone who has worked in design, engineering development, product, strategy and marketing. Even rarer again to find someone who's personally managed teams in each of those as well. Shay Howe is...

Baiba’s career is varied to say the least. Starting with a bachelor of visual arts at university where she was dissuaded from pursuing a career in this field, to later attempts at breaking the small glass ceiling of male advertising strategists in her native Latvia. After some account management experience at both Ogilvy and Grey group she landed a strategist role at an agency in the Czech Republic, later working at Kantar Millward Brown. During COVID she started a community dedicated to...

A recent article, some skeptical Twitterati and a belated Champagne film scene prompted the two Johns to join forces once again. In this episode, we put some of the doubters at bay. So if Jon Evan's recent Marketing Week article took your fancy, or you don't believe it, then you can hear the extended story of exactly how it all went down right here, right now. Listen and you might be able to pick up some tips on how to extend your budget's runway too. A lesson in the power of constraints,...

Have you ever found it difficult to brief and agency, a copywriter or a designer and get back the words you were expecting? This is really hard when you don't have a messaging strategy which sits at the top of your workflow. Working alongside your brand voice and tone, your positioning, brand story and strategic narrative. It's the missing piece that nearly every company fails to invest in and without it, you'll experience a lot of frustration, back and forth communication, and rejected...

Brain Hurt Scale = 2/10 There's a famous quote by Kleiner Perkins' OG John Doer, "Ideas are easy. Execution is everything. It takes a team to win". If you've ever been responsible for bottom line results, you'll agree and nod because you know this quote to be true. Unfortunately, mastering the craft of execution is not politically advantageous. Instead, most companies reward those who are seen as a big picture thinkers not those fussing with details in the weeds. So we talk about...