Carolyn (Cal) Graham

A brand stretch too far? Continuing on the topic of brand stretch in this week's blog, David Taylor explores Sainsbury's decision to exit banking and refocus on its core business. Reflecting on the importance of balancing both size of prize and ability to win. https://lnkd.in/ehEUr-vY

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The Value in Measurement report from JICMAIL and DMA (Data & Marketing Association) UK is available and is an informative and interesting read for anyone looking to understand effective cross channel measurement for marketing campaigns. Staggeringly 65% of respondents still report a misalignment on measurement and reporting across channels. That's a crazy figure but does highlight challenges of measuring each marketing channel fairly. The report provides recommendations on how to create an aligned view for looking at performance. You can access the report at the following link. I would thoroughly recommend https://lnkd.in/ehXasu4C #jicmail #dma #paperplanes #measurement

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SEO insight: Over 50% of keywords used are four words or longer. Tailoring to long-tail searches can be your gateway to better visibility and conversions. #UKBusiness #LongTailStrategy www.ruddledigital.co.uk

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The Financial Services Forum Awards for Marketing Effectiveness is one of our highlights of the year.... but before we get to enjoy the night, we need to put the work in 💪. The submission deadline has passed and it's over to the judges now - check out this link you're interested in seeing why we think we should be Agency of the Year this year! #AwardWinning #Marketing #MarketingEffectiveness #FinancialMarketing

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Missed yesterday's webinar with Sasha Wakefield and I on How to Build the Perfect Annual Review Document? No problem, you can catch-up on our YouTube Channel below 👇 #financialplanning #financialadvice #nextgen #community #finance #documents #design #documentdesign #marketing #financialmarketing #webinar

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On posthumousness. Suggesting positioning as part of final feedback is too late. Defining focus areas and tone in that same final feedback is also too late. Asking about competitors and where the opportunity is before sign-off is also - unfortunately - too late. Yes, there may be a frenzied energy that feels right in the final stages of a project. But it’s best to save your energy and use it where it’s not misplaced: the very beginning. Everything follows. It’s multiplicative. Diagnosis. Strategy. Execution. Or in our world, articulation. You’re building on nothing playing Monday morning quarterback. It’s too late in the game at that point. Start fresh, start early, and earn the hard yards where and when it matters. Not when it conveniently strikes. I'm a strategically minded writer turned brand articulator helping others on their journey. Like for more posts like this. Done any internal benchmarking recently? Take a look at our FREE brand assessment here: https://lnkd.in/dZetpiY3

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This was great fun to plan, shoot and distribute. Working to combine key commercial messaging with an entertaining content format is different for every project but the satisfaction of seeing a campaign go live and hit objectives is why we do the job. Over the last few months, we've been working on a campaign to help inform and educate consumers on the realities of EV ownership and bust myths. Content from the recent London to Brighton Electric Vehicle Rally forms a key pillar in that campaign. It is always a bonus to get in front of camera as well. #marketingconsultant #automotivemarketing #contentcreation #electricvehicle

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According to Edelman Smithfield's Report TRUST is still a major problem for financial firms. Awareness of the Consumer Duty has risen among UK adults, but this clearly hasn't solved the problem. So we need to be building trustworthiness through authenticity and transparency. That's my takeaway, but do read the Money Marketing article yourself. Give me a shout to talk about how I can help you build a trustworthy and authentic brand.

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Loved this thought-provoking roundtable today 🤔 with a great bunch of senior marketers, planners and industry experts. Thank you for having me! JICMAIL DMA (Data & Marketing Association) UK #mediaplanning #supertouchpoints #advertisingmail #creativity #media

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With the UK budget announcement fresh in mind, are you wondering how much to spend on marketing? In my latest blog, I break down the questions I hear most often: “How much are competitors spending, and am I keeping up?” “With tighter cash flow, what strategies deliver the best ROI without breaking the bank?” “I have a small budget—how can I grow from here?” Plus, I’ve included tools to help you make every pound count. If you’re looking to get practical about your marketing budget, give it a read https://lnkd.in/eqh9Gz8j #UKBudget #SmallBusiness #MarketingOnABudget #SmartSpending

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I kinda love this (WARC sourced) quote from the Director of Brand, Marketing and Corporate Affairs at one of the UK's best banking clients “While we might think that it’s really clever and shrewd to cloak advertising in the word investment, they [the C-suite] just think it’s bollocks.” He goes on to explain that, where he works, investment needs to deliver either margin gain or share gain. And, of course, most bank advertising delivers neither. The fact is that most bank advertising is an “essential cost.” Actually, for the majority of clients, advertising is an “essential cost.” Ad spend is simply the price of standing still in a category where everybody else is advertising. It’s the price of visibility. “It’s important to argue (and prove) that you've got to keep watering the garden.” is the way that he puts it. And I think that he’s right. Most of what you see out there is the result of companies, businesses and brands getting caught on the treadmill – running hard to stay still, to avoid losing share, to maintain a spend that the distributers and retailers demand in return for shelf space. Yet the industry is obsessed with the idea that advertising is an investment – that it will offer exponential return on investment. We’re convinced that the shitty content that makes up the majority of what we push out will drive up share and margin and the stock price – and we tie ourselves up in knots trying to prove it. But it’s not true. Because most of what’s out there is treadmill work, not swing for the fences work. It is timid and predictable, safe and nondescript, made with competence not with conviction. It is risk free, because it is ambition free. Which is why the majority of advertising spend is a cost, not an investment. There’s value to that of course – it’s much better to tread water than to drown – and agencies could make the case for that, they should make the case for that. Or they could up their games and make the kind of work that is an investment (with all of the risks that the work implies) They could be more like the people out there that are making the kind of work that changes the course of categories and the fortunes of their clients. The kind of work that makes a dent in the world, that changes minds, that changes trajectories, that works to improve share and margin in dramatic ways. And those people SHOULD be talking investment. But until you’re one of those people (hint : you’re probably not, yet) then you really should be thinking “essential cost” not “investment”

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Budgets are short term, OS bosses looking after big scale markets and new budgets could well be financial year so lets just see what the back end of the year provides..... #adspend #businessoutcomes #digitaladspend

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