Strategy
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HOW TO WRITE A KILLER MARKETING PLAN – the hard parts uncovered
This article was originally published in Spice Magazine, Issue 76, Feb 2017, p. 11 Google will provide millions of articles telling you that in order to have a killer marketing plan, you need SMART goals, great key messages, and a timeline you can stick to. There are templates galore with directions on what to put into which box. These are great, and immensely useful, however, after working with over 400 companies, I can say, it is not a poorly constructed SWOT or having too many goals that will make a marketing plan fail. The key to writing a marketing plan that really works, lies in how the plan is brought together,…
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Do we have strategy days to process emotion?
At a recent CEO luncheon, the business leaders around the table got talking about the challenges of developing strategy in their organisations. Through the discussion we addressed how often, why and what ensues, when one leader said, ‘I think we have strategy days to process the emotion in the business.’ This seemingly incongruous idea about emotion and strategy struck a chord with me. I’ve often talked about strategy being the vehicle to consensus, but does it go deeper than that? In the seemingly logical, analytical process of developing strategy, are we missing the ingredient that will make it all stick? Naming and dealing with our emotions?
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Why I can sleep at night…
Managing a communications agency, is not easy, it’s like trying to lasso a runaway train. The speed of change in our industry is Pharlap-quick and the glitzy lights of the latest digital solution sometimes blinding. Having said that, I sleep well at night (when the little one allows) because I know that I’ve staked our business on solid and steady tracks that any runaway train might need – strategy.
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The seven rules of effective communications planning
You know you need to, and you know you should, but will you put off developing your strategic communications plan in 2015? The start of any New Year is the perfect time to stop and reflect on the successes (and failures – let’s be honest) of your business or event and its related marketing efforts in the year gone by. It is also the perfect time to prepare your strategic communications plan so you can take charge and gain control over your year ahead.
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Why some people fit in certain companies and others run a mile
If you held up a large lens that allowed you to look at your company’s organisational culture, what would you find? What would your colleagues’ behaviour, language and expectations say about your organisational culture? And if you found something you wanted to change, how would you go about it?
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Public Relations – the search for why and how we can take PR to the boardroom
For many, when one thinks of public relations, they think of champagne-swirling media junkies who you call in a crisis. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth (though we usually do like a glass of bubbles!)
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How can NFP Associations establish an effective communications strategy?
The role of communications and marketing in Associations and Not For Profits should be squarely centred on supporting the organisation to fulfill its broad-ranging goals. Whether that means supporting people to access a service, or being advocates for a profession, communications needs to be designed, structured and implemented to enable those goals to come to fruition. The only way communications can do this is to have a strategic communications plan.
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The top 3 challenges facing leaders of business leaders in 2016
As 2016 kicks off, the challenges leaders will face this year have a distinct flavour. As the power of digital continues to dominate, standing out in a crowded market place remains critical and the importance of team heats up.
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What Santa can teach us about successful marketing
By now, you’ve probably pulled down the tinsel and packed away the Christmas tree, but take a moment to think back to your Christmas break before it becomes a distant memory. On my break this year I, like you, saw thousands of images of Santa Claus, one of the most well-known and pervasive icons of our time. And while I was writing a Christmas card, I couldn’t help but ask myself, ‘what could the big man teach us about successful marketing?’
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Using your history to communicate the future
Everyday whether it feels like it or not, we make history; a project completed, a relationship over, a new job or a milestone birthday. Often when these events take place we only get a few moments to reflect on how we got there, what the chain of events were that led to that point in time.
