Evidence-biased marketing: Look for bias - research is rarely innocent of it
Don't be afraid of bias when poring over your market research results.
Marketers should wait 30 days before trying to make a mark
"Fresh" is not always a good thing, writes Passion's partner. Give yourself a chance to grow into the role
Real passion is unglamorous and painful
Look at any marketer's CV, or read a Q&A with one: at some point, they'll undoubtedly claim to be 'passionate' about their work. But what does that really look like?
To rebuild consumer trust, marketers must rein in their impulse to make grand claims
If there is one theme that emerges from the marketing stories of 2013, it is "trust".
Helen Edwards: Big, brave and brilliant ideas will find a way to go global
If you could glimpse into the soul of a big communications idea, you would see a lust to expand, writes Helen Edwards.
Helen Edwards: Marketers must gain share of mind within their own organisations
Every marketer faces the task of gaining share of mind with consumers. Easy-peasy. It requires, merely, a breakthrough insight, a relevant product or service innovation, a big communications idea, a cunning media schedule, seductive pricing, stellar PR and a tail of cleverly linked activation and social initiatives, writes Helen Edwards.
Helen Edwards: Amid the social-media euphoria, marketers must ask some basic questions
I was at business school between 1998 and 2000, during the frenzied inflation of the great dotcom bubble.
Helen Edwards: The true meaning of 'customer insight' - and why marketers should treat it with care
Consumer insights are, by definition, rare. There - see what I've just done? I've slammed together two words not commonly found in the same sentence: "insight" and "definition".
Helen Edwards: Brands, journalists and the truth about "brand journalism"
It was the answer that Jeremy Paxman is purported to have given when asked what runs through his mind during his Newsnight interviews: "Why is this bastard lying to me?"
Helen Edwards: The value of truly knowing what your brand isn't
So you've emerged from the global workshop and set down your new brand in its pyramid, onion, or whatever happens to be your preferred model.
Helen Edwards: the strategic value of ethnography
Attention young marketers. Here is a proposal to put in front of your chief marketing officer, aka the boss. You want a budget, a big one, to undertake some new consumer research. When asked what you wish to learn, your answer is simple: "I don't know."
Helen Edwards: Ideating key drivers... and the pitfalls of marketing jargon
Marketers must ditch the buzzwords and jargon and start to speak in plain English if they want to continue to talk to brands about achieving 'clarity'.
Helen Edwards: 'Good enough' is fine for government agency roster
It is time for agencies to understand that procurement professionals consider far more than just the lowest price when making purchase decisions.
Marketers have more in common with private-equity firms than they might think
Many marketers fear private-equity backers; however, despite often very different approaches, both parties have the same goal - the strongest possible brand.
Helen Edwards: scrunch or fold? There's only one place Andrex's ads belong
Far from sparking a national debate, the Andrex 'scrunch or fold' campaign appears to have united - and perplexed - most observers.
Helen Edwards: wisdom of the dead versus the living
It is easy to get swept up in the developing online conversation about marketing theory, but we overlook the contribution of pioneering thinkers at our peril.
Helen Edwards: horsemeat crisis proves marketers have lost sight of the true meaning of brand
When supply-chain issues mean brands no longer seem to stand for what they claim, it is time for marketers to ensure that their products keep their promises.
Helen Edwards: time for a modern alternative to the mystery shopper
Mystery shoppers are, ostensibly, employed to check that a brand's customer charter is being lived up to, but could the budget for them be better spent elsewhere?
Helen Edwards: ditch the vanity metrics
Measurement is a marketing essential, but 'vanity metrics' help no one. What's needed is a system that leads to action and adds value for customers.
Helen Edwards: The written word is dead, long live the written word
Reports of the death of the written word in marketing have been exaggerated: in fact, wordcraft has never been more important to brand communications.
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