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Read now:65% of marketers fail to meet basic knowledge benchmark, reveals Ipsos study
In a landmark study from Ipsos, trained marketers outshine their self-taught counterparts in every category
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Read now:“How to build better agency partnerships” – according to experts on both sides
From CMOs to agency consultants, marketing leaders on both sides of the fence share their view on getting the best out of client-agency partnerships
Is imperfect market research better than no market research?
Usually, yes. Learn why the goal of market research is never perfection – and why that ...
Ritson takes on Coca-Cola, Swatch, Peloton and Ferrari
Four brands in the hot seat this week. Two are success stories, and two are marketing ...
Omnichannel marketing: the roast dinner of distribution
Like a good Sunday roast, omnichannel marketing is more than the sum of its parts. ...
Mark talks meaningless marketing concepts, troubling margins, and what happens when you forget about differentiation
If any of the themes from this month’s roundup resonate with you, you might end up on ...
Barclays promise a return to the highstreet – and true omnichannel offering
The choices a brand makes around where to show up are some of the most consequential in ...
Ritson’s take on the PwC rebrand, Walmart private label and Tim Cook’s reign at Apple
Stop the press. A professional services business has pulled off a successful rebrand that ...
Quant vs qual is a rookie debate. Smart marketers use both
What marketers should be asking is: “what am I trying to understand, and which ...
Mark Ritson talks Siri, Creative Directors and Coke's latest campaign
From an intelligence assistant’s complete lack of intelligence to the marketing ...
What are the 3Cs of marketing (and why do they matter)?
Stop overcomplicating brand positioning. Start with the 3Cs model and you can’t go wrong, ...
Linear TV, the marketing knowledge gap and the Metaverse
Empirical research from Mark and Ipsos pulls the cover off the marketing knowledge gap, ...
Sky reminds us why marketers shouldn't underestimate product improvement
Sky has begun rolling out their beefed up ‘Sky Ultimate TV’ package – demonstrating how ...
Consistency pays double when it comes to brand codes
Actually, it’s closer to 3x according to research from System1 and Effie. Learn why brand ...
65% of marketers fail a basic knowledge benchmark: Ipsos
A new report confirms what Mark Ritson has been shouting about for years: training in ...
Influencer marketing and CEO blunders: the latest from Mark Ritson
Some of the world’s biggest, and well paid, CEOs have been up to no good... Find out why ...
Ritson on rule breaking, Starbucks' CEO and the job market
Think of Mark as your marketing agony aunt, as long as you don’t mind straight-talking, ...
Mark Ritson’s take on OpenAI, ‘maximiniflation’ and the price of beans
Because who doesn’t want to start their day with a healthy dose of Mark Ritson putting ...
Mark Ritson’s take on Gucci, the McRib and the junk food ad ban
Your bi-weekly round-up of the very best columns, features and excerpts from the ...
What does the ‘junk food ad ban’ mean for marketers?
For many marketers affected by new restrictions on advertising high fat, salt and sugar ...
Ritson on tactification, Chalamet and the death of cinema
Catch up on Mark Ritson’s latest opinion pieces in as long as it takes you to make a cup ...
How to write brand objectives that set strategic direction
Brand goals are not the same as brand objectives – and understanding the difference is ...
Ritson on BA's baffling new ad and the power of doing nothing
We’ve packaged up Mark’s latest wisdom in one spot – whether you’ve got five minutes or ...
Stop using generic funnels – here’s how to build your own
Learn how to build a custom marketing funnel that reflects your real customer journey – ...
The missing step in marketing plans: brand diagnosis
Marketers who respect brand DNA gain an edge the rest of the market can’t replicate. ...
Objective setting is the most important part of the marketing journey
“Without clear objectives, it’s not strategy,” says Mark Ritson That might sound like ...
Distinctive brands “paint with a palette of codes,” says Mark Ritson
A distinctive palette of codes drives stronger brand performance. Learn how to build ...
“How to build better agency partnerships” – according to experts on both sides
From CMOs to agency consultants, marketing leaders on both sides of the fence share their ...
How customer-centric is your brand? Understanding the MORTN Scale
How customer-centricity drives successful strategy
Understanding the marketer’s “prime directive.” Why listening to consumers matters (and ...
“More consistency within my team” – and other key challenges for CMOs
“Driving effectiveness” – and more top priorities for CMOs
Why more businesses are turning to MiniMBA to overcome the key challenges and skills gaps ...
“Be more customer-centric” – and other key challenges CMOs face in their organisation
Why more businesses are turning to MiniMBA to overcome the key challenges and skills gaps ...
A more strategic approach to marketing: top CMO challenges
Why more businesses are turning to MiniMBA to overcome the key challenges and skills gaps ...
Strategic positioning: how to shape what consumers think about your brand
Marketers need to stop over complicating things and take a simple, bothist approach to ...
Mark Ritson: Data finally shows us the “three factors” of good creative
Paul Dyson taught us that creativity is the biggest lever marketers can pull to drive ...
Three marketing ‘tweaks’ to get the most out of a tight budget
Targeted ethnography, performance penalties and the power of IMC – key lessons for ...
Bonds can be like Bud, a local brand for a global market
Underwear brand Bonds’ ubiquity in Australia will only serve to make it more coveted ...
Three things make Coca-Cola better at marketing than anyone
Coca-Cola constantly churns out great financial results, but there’s no secret to its ...
Mark Ritson’s "Five Steps to Proper Advertising"
In his latest MiniMBA webinar, Mark Ritson clears up some common misunderstandings (and ...
For Elon Musk’s Tesla, there is such a thing as bad publicity
Tesla’s woes are a rare example of bad press that does harm the brand, because its CEO’s ...
Amazon must resist the temptation to bleed James Bond dry
The 007 brand will suffer if Amazon emulates Star Wars with spin-off movies and series. ...
Brand Codes: “First, they must know it’s me”
What are brand codes and why must we use them maniacally? We take a dive into the world ...
Ignore anyone who tells you to forget about targeting
Targeting is the start of strategy yet many marketers are being told they no longer need ...
Climbing the benefit ladder: How far is too far?
Have you climbed too far up the benefit ladder? Double up the 3Cs as a final acid test, ...
B2B brand building – using the 95:5 rule
How Dawes’ 95:5 rule affects B2B marketing (and non-marketing stakeholders) A few years ...
Nike’s turnaround has begun – but it will take a long time
Nike has triumphantly returned to its roots, focusing on sport while overinvesting in ...
What are category entry points?
Category entry points (CEPs) focus on the buyer – not the brand. But marketers can ...
This year’s ad can be a three-year investment – ask Glenmorangie
Longer-running ads are more effective, research shows, so rather than starting each year ...
Jaguar has rebranded when it needed to revitalise
Jaguar’s bizarre new campaign marks a complete overhaul of its positioning, when instead ...
The 10 reasons Marks & Spencer is the Brand of the Year
Mark Ritson celebrates a remarkable five-year transformation. This is not just a ...
Starbucks needs to cut the crap from its brand positioning
The coffee chain is a serial offender at producing esoteric mission statements, so can ...
Product is the P all marketers should strive to influence
Marketers should have a say in all 4Ps but one more than any other – the one they are ...
Dom Pérignon perfectly demonstrates the appeal of scarcity
What better expression of a luxury brand than refusing to sell your product this year, ...
What can McCain’s Grand Prix win teach us? Nothing new
The IPA Effectiveness Awards winner is a case study in the marketing fundamentals that ...
Want a brand fit for the future? Understand its past
Understanding your brand’s history and heritage is essential to successful brand ...
Synthetic data is as good as real – next comes synthetic strategy
AI customers can now deliver a 95% match to real survey results, which will ultimately ...
The internet will soon need warnings for AI-generated content
AI’s strength is automating high-volume, short-term marketing activity, which means ...
Only crap marketers mistake stereotypes for segments
The ASA’s research into harmful gender stereotypes is spot-on, but why do marketers ...
Ethnography beats focus groups hands-down, but they still serve a purpose
Focus groups are a bone of contention, as a Twitter debate featuring Professor Byron ...
There’s one true measure of marketing effectiveness: Marketing(t)
Time is the variable that most defines marketing success, because consistent growth is ...
Copy KitKat on your quest for ‘double D marketing’
Tight positioning, a respected brand heritage and refusal to overcomplicate things means ...
Häagen-Dazs and BBH rekindling their flame has got me excited
The ice cream brand and its famed agency achieved one of the great UK product launches 30 ...
Badly designed surveys don’t promote sustainability, they harm it
Brands love reported data that shows people care about sustainable consumption, but these ...
Synthetic data is suddenly making very real ripples
Ready for the era of synthetic data? The implications for strategy and execution could be ...
Brand diagnosis is the brand manager’s first job, so prioritise it
Marketers have lost sight of proper research into what drives brand successes and ...
12 reasons why Twitter’s rebrand to X is a mistake
The biggest branding move of the year is a mistake. Why Twitter’s sudden transformation ...
Dismissing DTC is just as dumb as dismissing retail
Direct-to-consumer brands failed to disrupt traditional retail, but that doesn’t mean you ...
Eight out of 10 millennials know demographics are horseshit
Millennials are no more similar to each other than they are to Gen X or Gen Z, so it’s ...
Marketers need to put creativity back in its place
Creativity will be lauded this week in Cannes, but it is just one of several drivers of ...
Welcome to IMGFUCK: Seven steps to kicking your price-promotion addiction
Escaping dependence on price promotions is a tough challenge, but it’s achievable with ...
Bud Light’s ad backlash shows the complexity of mass marketing
An endorsement by trans TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney promoted the beer’s inclusivity, but ...
Brands’ biggest AI opportunity is in making customers believe the bullshit
Artificial intelligence is mostly a distraction from marketing fundamentals – unless you ...
Even sophisticated mass marketers need targeting
Targeting is one of the biggest challenges most marketers now face. Not despite the ...
Toblerone’s brand image won’t be hurt by losing the Matterhorn
Removing the famous Swiss mountain from its packaging won’t stop the chocolate brand ...
Don’t listen to the industry sages, they’re not your ad’s target
Advertising professionals’ view of what makes a good ad is not only biased, it’s usually ...
How Guinness became Britain’s most popular pint
Guinness is the rare example of a brand with solid foundations in its product and brand ...
Brand-building ads boost short-term sales, and now you can prove it
Ten years since The Long and the Short of It was published, new evidence shows that while ...
Giving your brand a good death is an underrated marketing skill
Although we never talk about it, marketers kill as many brands as we create, and doing so ...
Films no longer have sequels, they have sub-brands and franchises
What a Netflix whodunnit tells us about brand architecture, following a last-minute ...
Only bad marketers think more messages mean more effectiveness
You might increase total message recall by adding more of them, but you’ll lose ...
A new marketing phase is resulting in empty but effective advertising
Those who criticise inauthentic advertising with no deeper meaning miss how perfect it is ...
Follow Shania Twain’s lead and make sure product isn’t the forgotten P of marketing
Mark Ritson experiences an epiphany on his couch that leads him to revise his opinion of ...
‘Triple-Cooked Marketing Budgets’: The full recipe
Marketing budgeting is flawed. Marketers are more confused about budgeting than ever ...
Marketers, like chancellors, need time in the job to succeed
Short tenures engender short-term thinking, as the UK economy currently demonstrates. To ...
Even if Unilever placates its investors, it still has Ben & Jerry’s to deal with
With CEO Alan Jope set to leave, Unilever faces battles not only with investors aiming to ...
In the battle between salience and differentiation, Bothism wins
Marketers debate over salience and differentiation like they are mutually exclusive, when ...
Look at your brand from the customer’s perspective, not the other way round
Responses to the Queen’s death show marketers think brands have a place in consumers’ ...
P&O is the rare reputation crisis that really does matter
The damage P&O Cruises has suffered from P&O Ferries’ mistakes cuts to the core ...
For Omega and Swatch, the rewards of co-branding could be astronomical
Far from cannibalising Omega’s luxury sales, the collaboration with Swatch on the £200 ...
An ethnography of pricing: How and why marketers should put up prices
Inflation means price increases are marketing’s number-one priority for 2022. But how ...
Good purpose, bad purpose: Marketers shouldn’t oversimplify the arguments
Brand purpose campaigns underperform ‘traditional’ marketing on average, but for the ...
The horror of marketers’ strategic bankruptcy is about to be laid bare
As the Better Briefs Project will reveal this week, 90% of marketers fail to brief ...
If your distinctive brand assets are exclusively visual it’s time to come to your (other) senses
Visual cues are all very well but don’t forget the other four senses when developing ...
If the old logo ain’t broke, fix it anyway: Ritson’s rules for playing with brand codes
Those questioning the updates to Heinz’s slogan and the British Rail logo miss the ...
Tom Kerridge’s prices aren’t a rip-off if they’re what the market will pay
Forget worshipping at the altar of revenue. Marketers who take a leaf out of Tom ...
P&G and Coke’s pandemic performances prove it: You don’t cut ad spend in a crisis
Procter & Gamble doubled down on marketing when Covid hit, while Coca-Cola went dark. ...
The seven things marketers need to know in order to answer The Question
Right-minded marketers understand the need for long-term brand building investment, but ...
Tiffany’s brand needs an update – in fashion, that means alienating loyal customers
The new ‘Not your mother’s Tiffany’ campaign has angered the brand’s older customers, but ...
John Lewis the landlord? Welcome to brand extension nirvana
Even if John Lewis cocks up in its bid to rent homes to the masses, the blowback on its ...
Boots’ brand refresh shows big brands need targeting as well as mass marketing
Boots is trying to reach almost all UK consumers with its new ads, but is pairing them ...
Why this Creative Director took the MiniMBA in Marketing
In our fast-paced, low attention span society, familiarity and understanding are often ...
Wondering why Netflix wants to stop password-sharing? It’s all about funnels
Netflix has reached a level of penetration it will struggle to improve, with most ...
Attempts to update the four Ps are embarrassing – they’ve endured for a reason
Whenever a marketer sets out to improve, augment or adapt the four Ps, they reveal the ...
Jeff Bezos' success at Amazon is down to one thing: focusing on the customer
For all Amazon’s innovation and invention, it is the world’s most valuable brand ...
Three axioms and three questions that summarise all of brand strategy
Brand strategy is not complicated, it’s just the systematic application of the basics all ...
‘Bothism’ is the cure for marketers’ fascination with pointless conflict
Marketing theory is a constant battle between opposing viewpoints, but an open mind and ...
‘Funnel juggling’ is the answer to marketing effectiveness
It’s well established that brands need both long- and short-term marketing to be ...
Coronavirus won’t hurt Corona, it will actually boost sales
Brands from Marmite to Peloton have shown negative publicity is beneficial if it doesn’t ...
The story of Casper shows there is no DTC ‘revolution’
For all their trendiness and disruptive rhetoric, most direct-to-consumer brands do ...
Targeting or mass marketing? The answer is both
The only way to achieve sustainable short- and long-term growth is to balance targeted ...
Starbucks and Nestlé must focus on three key areas to avoid a bitter brew
Starbucks’ deal with Nestlé shows the brand knows where its core competencies lie, but ...
Ignore all the waffle and set time aside for strategic thinking
Instead of reading articles about the latest technological trends, marketers should spend ...
Burberry’s luxury repositioning won’t work, it’s not in the brand DNA
After dispensing with chief creative officer Christopher Bailey, new Burberry CEO Marco ...
Can AB InBev avoid killing its craft beer brands?
Most marketers at big corporations don’t have to worry about the credibility of their ...
Coke’s ‘one brand’ strategy highlights one of the great marketing themes of our lifetime
The single most important piece of brand theory of the past quarter century was published ...
