Michael Williams

Whilst i get the irony of the statement I am about to make, and the popularity of the #JaguarRebrand conversation...hear me out. Saying that you find creative work a bit shit isn't "𝙟𝙪𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙬𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣". 🙋‍♂️ It's a personal opinion. Which by definition cannot be "wrong". Because it is just an opinion. Doesn't matter if you're a marketeer, brand specialist, or customer. Your response to a brand's creative is valid. Your response to it just indicates 1 of 2 things... 1️⃣ 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿, 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿! 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 2️⃣ 𝗢𝗥, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸. 𝗦𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁. Either way, talking about it doesn't mean you're jumping on the bandwagon or wrong - just as slamming people for passing judgement (an equally trending theme we are seeing) doesn't indicate you operate at a higher level with some kind of super brand vision. Just chill out everyone! ...also the rebrand is a bit shit 😆

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This morning, I had the pleasure of participating in the judging session for the UK Search Awards, once again reviewing an impressive array of high-quality campaigns from across the Search Marketing industry highlighting that our industry continues to overflow with exceptional ideas and results. Now, this year marks a milestone for me, as it’s the 10th consecutive year that I’ve supported Don't Panic Events as a volunteer judge. Over the past decade, I’ve had the honour of judging several Don’t Panic Events awards, including the UK and EU Search Awards, Ecommerce Awards, and Agency Awards, to name a few. Each time, I’ve carefully reviewed countless entries, diving deep into campaign strategies, execution, objectives, and results to ensure that the most deserving work gets recognised. This process has taken quite literally hundreds of hours of my time over the years, unpaid, but I’ve never hesitated to contribute. And that got me thinking. Why do I continue to do it? I’ve heard all sorts of misconceptions over the years about awards, from claims of influence to “pay-to-win” setups, often from those who haven’t experienced the process firsthand. The truth is, as a judge, there’s a HUGE amount of work that goes on behind the scenes. We scrutinise every detail, validate results using industry tools, and benchmark campaigns against one another – all with rigorous attention. Multiply that across numerous judges and no single judge can sway the outcome. It’s a truly robust process and I am proud to help ensure honesty and impartiality continues to exist within these prestigious awards for our industry. I also remain committed to giving my time because I believe that great work deserves recognition. Beyond the marketing benefits for the winners, it’s about seeing the genuine excitement and pride on the faces of winners - knowing their hard work is being celebrated. It’s incredibly rewarding to be a part of that moment. It’s also rewarding to know that the winners will leave the awards ceremony incredibly motivated to keep pushing their work and our industry forward. For me to be able to play even a small part in contributing to the growth and support of our industry, as a judge, motivates me to keep doing my part. Best of luck to all the entrants in this year’s UK Search Awards, the shortlist will be announced this Friday! 🏆 #searchawards #uksearchawards #seo #ppc #sem #digitalmarketing

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Black isn’t just for Friday What we know is, for all the patterns and colours in the category, the majority of people buying sports /activewear, prefer a solid monochrome palette But this isn’t about colours - it’s about building long term brand value - which is pretty painful for a self funded brand - in tough times, in a fiercely competitive environment We felt pressured into discounting, tried it a while back - it wasn’t for us and choose not to do it any more We’re confident the design, craft and build quality of our product far outpaces our competitive set In reality, we’re not trying to sell an individual tee - we’re cementing an authentic brand proposition built around performance, the dynamic of marginal gains - every fraction of effort being an advantage Inspired by the style, determination and passion of motorsport Whether you’re trying to become world champion or reach the next lamppost on your weekly run Or just want to win in life That's our point of difference We have some ambitious plans and an unshakeable belief #pointzerozeroone has the potential to become a highly valuable strategic brand asset If you’re interested in getting involved - we’d love to chat https://lnkd.in/ejKXQqqE #SilverstoneTechnologyCluster #Sport #Fitness #Gym #Workout #Outdoors #Style #Sportswear #Training #Running #Cycling #Triathlon #Health #Athleisure #Performance #Style #Yoga #Pilates #VisaCashAppRBF1 #StakeF1TeamKickSauber #BWTAlpineF1 #AstonMartinAramcoF1 #IAM #ScuderiaFerrariHP #MoneygramHaasF1 #McLarenRacing #MercedesAMGPetronasF1 #OracleRedBullRacing #WilliamsRacing #AudiF1 #FIA #Formula1 #F1Academy #F1Esports #FormulaE #MotoGP #Motorsport #Racing #SkyF1 #INEOS #Petronas #Aramco #ROKiT #ChannelFour #Channel5 #Win #Technology #Innovation #Sustainability #Investment #Growth #Finance #SEIS #EIS #Seed #Retail #PrivateEquity #Angel #Equity #VCT #VentureCapitalTrusts #Journalist #SME #BrandBuilding #Brand #Creativity #Commerce

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🤷🏼‍♀️ Struggling with engagement recently? I got you 💪💪 🚀 Here’s 5 things you can do in September to level up your social media: 1. Get interactive 🤝 Show your audience how to style your collections or use your products with some educational reels 2. Keep your audience updated 🗣️ offer behind the scenes progress and business updates: people love seeing what goes into building a brand 3. Run a contest or giveaway 🛍️ (It’s an old school one but it works!) 4. Be collaborative 👋 Reach out to 5 brands that complement your products and ask to collaborate 5. Engage with your audience 🤝 set yourself a goal to run a poll or ask a question everyday on your Instagram stories I’m introducing a new monthly brand consulting package for founders that includes weekly calls, action plans to keep you on track and unlimited digital support - drop me a DM if you’re interested to learn more ☎️

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Well, MAD//FEST LONDON was MAD! It was an honour to join this panel of talented individuals on MadFest’s first ever Creator Stage. Even though I was sat on stage, I was learning myself through Getty Images’s extensive research on how consumer trust & Ai has changed over the past 4 years. But mainly I just enjoyed our friendly chat, moderated by Gordon Glenister , on all things Influencers, Ai Tools, content creation, risks and opportunities for the future. Can’t wait to see how this space shifts over the next 12 months! #ai #influencermarketing #marketing

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Fantastic analysis on display here System1 Andrew Tindall Pete Markey!! To make people do something, make them feel something. We have run several studies into the Nuero impact of mail. How it’s tangibility drives memory encoding and emotional engagement. Read about it here Marketreach https://lnkd.in/enyNGnKm Attention Connection Reaction

Voting is hot AF! 😍❌️ This playful and vibrant campaign from Saatchi & Saatchi encourages young people to vote in the forthcoming UK general election 🗳 The angle? Voting makes you more attractive. It’s based on research commissioned specifically for the campaign, which found that 40% of 18-24 year-olds think people who vote regularly are more attractive. 🍆 Can this messaging help influence real behavioural change in young voters? #GenZ #GenAlpha #GeneralElection #Advertising

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It's been a year and a half since I left the corporate world and there is really not much that I've missed about it at all... well that is apart from the biggest thing of all, which is working every day in an office with my amazing team! Being creative together, laughing, discussing our views, obviously checking out everyone's daily outfits 😉 and of course supporting each other with one goal. This is something that working as a consultant means I no longer have. Having said that, what I have gained and learnt working solo is even greater: *Being able to work on many different projects with different end goals, keeps you fresh and invigorated in your role and brings new perspective. *I am part of a team with every business that I work with, it's just different to what I was used to. *There is always someone there ready to support you (ex colleagues, friends, new contacts on LinkedIn), to pick up the phone listen and give advice (and me to them) which just fills your heart with joy. *Realising that your network is king! *That I'm free of the frustration of the endless board meetings and pointless zooms, re-living the same reoccurring issues season after season, year after year. *Having full ownership of your own destination. I drive my own business, my work load and my progression, I take full responsibility of every decision and I make the magic happen. *No commute and being able to walk my dog every morning before work and start the day fresh and focused ;) *I made life long friendships with so many of my old team mates, of which I’m so grateful for 🙏🏻 and so although we’re no longer working with each other every day, what we had will never be forgotten. Does anyone else have any thing that they feel they've lost or gained working as a consultant!?

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Confession time - I was in the bottom set for maths at school which meant I've never been super confident with numbers.   The good thing was that I went on to become a fashion buyer so luckily I didn't need to quote Pythagoras on a day to day basis. However, we did need to have a basic understanding of the figures in order to work out our profit margins as a department!   Obviously we had a spreadsheet that would do it for us … but what about when we were in a factory negotiating on the spot?    Or in a sign off meeting with directors?   I noticed some girls in the office had 1 simple equation sellotaped to the front of their calculator which helped them confidently work out the correct pricing under pressure - genius!   That's the thing with running a product business - you don't need to be “good at maths" to know this stuff!   You just need to know a few simple formulas that will help you get to grip with the basics of your pricing & profit which is what I'm teaching tomorrow in my free workshop! So as we enter into Q4 (the busiest shopping period of the year) , let's do a sense check to make sure your business is in a positive & profitable place!   This free workshop is designed to give you the tools and knowledge you need to price your fashion products with confidence.    You'll learn how to calculate your costs accurately, identify the perfect price point for your products & touch on wholesale too!   Whether you're a beginner or an established brand, this workshop will help you overcome your pricing challenges.     I'll break down the numbers in a way that's easy to understand, so you'll no longer be overwhelmed by it all & you'll finally feel in control of your financial decision making!   Remember that your profit will only improve if you review it - let's work on it tomorrow in a fun, friendly (& free) workshop!

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People will never spend £500+ on TikTok shop❌🤷‍♀️ How wrong we were! Last week, we took a leap into the TikTok Shop world with the launch of our their Pre-Owned Luxury category. I'll admit, I was a bit sceptical about shoppers making high-value purchases on TikTok. But guess what? ✅We've doubled our revenue in just the first week of going live. ✅Received overwhelmingly positive feedback from our community. ✅ 1.2m likes and 357k visitors on the live shows. ✅ +145% uplift in site sessions. ✅ 25 hours of live shows over 5 days (and sent our TikTok wizard Ben Gallagher slightly crazy) This success is a testament to the evolving landscape of consumer shopping behaviour. It underscores the importance of staying ahead of e-commerce trends and being open to innovative strategies. A big thank you to TikTok and Ema Robinson for her unwavering support and belief in our brand. Here's to embracing change and driving growth🚀

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So here is another unsolicited thought for you. Oasis have got me thinking about creativity in general. In music, film, but also in retail, branding and marketing. It feels like the two biggest forces in creating anything at the moment are nostalgia and data. Every film is a sequel, prequel or remake. And if it isn’t, it’s creation is so led by what data tells them viewers want, that you end with films devoid of anything. Deadpool basically. Music-wise, it’s either bands reforming for stadium tours or music where one pop song is indistinguishable from the next. Just a machine that pumps out a new version of what everyone has just listened to. I think brands are often caught in this trap too. They’re either obsessively trying to relive their glory days, or obsessively trying to create something that matches the data they’ve collected. Nike, in some ways, are the perfect example. The obsession with product data fed into new products that didn’t always excite. On the other side, a strategy of constantly re releasing and re-working classics (air max etc) lost its energy too. There’s a huge huge, gaping hole between nostalgia and being totally data-led, and that’s pure, raw creativity. Being led by ignorance rather than knowledge. And experimentation rather than data. Scientists often say that the majority of the world’s great scientific breakthroughs happened not because of the careful, structured accumulation of knowledge, but by accident, experiment or chaos. We need to keep just trying stuff. Because I refuse to take my son to the cinema to see Deadpool 8 or whatever. I can’t do it.

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Happy to finally see this being shared all over socials. Affixxius cooking things up with Vibbar x The Urban Journal 🔥🔥 #productioncompany #production #videoproduction #producer #productionhouse #advertising #video #filming #productions #commercial #marketing #branding #digital #marketingstrategy #advertisingagency #creative #advertisement #content #fashion

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When we think of toxic workplace culture we would be forgiven for immediately thinking of a high pressured trading desk in the city or a competitive designer brand in retail. In the last few months TV’s Saturday evening joy giver, Strictly Come Dancing, has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons but it seems like a very unlikely toxic workplace. Seems it hasn’t been all sequins, fake tan and glitter balls behind the scenes… But how has this been able to happen? Without wishing to point fingers, we all know that culture is led from the top. If the most senior people in a workplace don’t have a clear handle on values and practising them, if they don’t act as they’d want others to act, if they don’t project good values with their own people, you get a situation that goes rogue. Where overall culture becomes unchecked and poor culture, by proxy, becomes unconsciously endorsed,. I’ve seen it more times than I care to remember in my work and trust me….the wheels will come off. Or in the case of strictly, the glitter. Whether directly or otherwise, business leaders ARE responsible for this, or at least, they will certainly be held responsible. In the case of the BBC , the head honchos are certainly responsible for making sure that the ethos and values of both the organisation and the programme are upheld. If this is let slip, toxicity and, in the case of Strictly, overly competitive bullying behaviour can creep in. The result of this is a very public fallout, the taxpayer having to pay for a massive investigation and the mental health of those involved compromised. The example I use is the exact same as a ‘normal’ workplace. It just happens to be very public (I might add, I’ve successfully worked with organisations in niche industries that have suffered reputationally from poor culture to reverse their fortunes). There are toxic workplaces everywhere and people’s mental health is being compromised with productivity slipping and company reputations disintegrating. This, all because overall culture is not sitting at the top, ready to trickle down through the organisation to live, breathe and thrive. It is, in my view, the bravest and better workplaces that are willing to look at their culture and invest in making it the best that it can be for both people, and profit. If you need some expert help with your workplace culture, email me on [email protected] #abetterworkplace #culture #leadership #organisationalculture

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My marketing inspo this Friday comes from Sweaty Betty and their brilliant Wear the Damn Shorts campaign. It ticks of the two most important PR boxes - Timely✅(sun's out here in the UK) and Relevant ✅. It clearly demonstrates that they know the pain points of their audience (marketing 101) AND shows a brand that is willing to invest in products that are I'm sure underperforming in revenue but bring benefit to their customer. Sweaty Betty could easily ditch cycling shorts and just focus on selling leggings. Instead, they have powered up a campaign that helps them to stand out from the competition and empowers their audience. (I'm not yet ready to shell out 60 quid for a pair of cycling shorts however, when this buyer is ready - she knows where to go!) P.S. I found out about this campaign via the How to Fail Podcast ads - I would be really interested to hear from other marketers who have had success with podcast sponsorship.

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My responsibilities are changing a bit at work, and my new focus has been on getting people to the website to buy products ultimately. Our team had some great ideas to get the help we needed in our targeting and overall digital marketing, which has made a world of difference. Our Black Friday sale has been blowing up this past week, and only a few small changes made a big difference. This video is the creative I put together for one of our ads, but our marketing experts have been targeting it so well. #DigitalMarketingStrategy #CreativeOutdoorMarketing #OutdoorAdventures #DigitalCampaigns #InnovativeMarketingStrategy #OutdoorSportsMarketing

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Taking a break........ Its been a while since I did real update on here. The last was when I had a big Birthday back in December, luckily it coincided with the turn of a new year so it felt like a good time to share some reflections. One of my commitments to myself off the back of that milestone was to give myself some space. To reflect. To reset. To recalibrate. Time is one thing that life doesn't offer up twice, it gets swallowed in the corporate ladder and speeds up even faster once you have had children. So, you need to GRAB IT with both hands!  This pic is me in a field drinking wine after a day on a boat chasing Dolphins.  I’ve been driving around Cornwall for a month with my family and I’m week 5 of a 3 month sabbatical. The run up to this break was exciting and scary all at the same time, I’ve had to work at letting go of a lot of demons in order to fully enjoy this opportunity. (classic millennial workaholic with FOMO)  One of the most important drivers of this choice (after spending time with family) was to find some space to think about what makes me happy. What makes me get up in the morning & get excited. What do I need. What do I want to spend my time doing and what are the environments & projects that give me energy. I haven't worked it all out yet. But what I’m recognising FULLY is a career is not linear! That’s ok, breaks are necessary and everyone’s path looks different.  I wholly believe that life experience, passion, honesty and curiosity are keys to success, and we should sing about them as much as we do our CV’s. So, stay tuned for some more musings. Now I have time on my hands there could be more….

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Black Friday: a day that once symbolised deals has now become synonymous with overwhelming inboxes, frantic sales, and a pressure to join the chaos. As a business owner, I’ve watched how even brands that typically avoid this consumer-driven event are opting in, often to avoid being left behind. But does it really have to be this way? At Birds on Bikes, we decided not to participate in Black Friday sales this year. Here’s why: We believe in intentional shopping, not impulsive buying. We value the sustainability of our practices and our products. We’re committed to preserving the integrity of what we offer, rather than discounting our values. I’d love to hear your thoughts: Do you think Black Friday has lost its meaning? How can brands and consumers work together to create a healthier, more mindful approach to this season? Let’s start a conversation.

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It’s been *really* hard to not share this before! Episode 3 of my podcast Little Lessons from Big Hearts is out today and it’s a really special one ❤️ It’s an honest, bubbly and empowering conversation with Aimee Barrett and Lily Angel Barrett, co-founders of Candid Studios, a self-portrait studio that’s all about making people feel *worthy*. Self-esteem is such an important topic, and something I’m very passionate about. In this episode, Aimee and Lily share their journey with self-doubt, self-love, starting a business from scratch and what’s its like to let go of people pleasing and follow your dreams (big YES). This comes at the perfect time, as I spoke at Engage Employe’s summit yesterday about an event I organised at Lipsy London with Candid, and how it increased our people’s feeling of self-empowerment by 40% (it works!) You can find the episode on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and many other audio platforms! Just search for Little Lessons from Big Hearts 😉 I hope this conversation empowers you ✨ Ps: Let me know what sticks out to you from our episode! #podcast #newepisode #empowerment #selfdevelopment #selflove #entrepreneurship

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