Surely Theresa May's cat is merely a reincarnation of Schrodinger's more famous moggy.
It's simultaneously material and immaterial.
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Thursday, 29 September 2011
Only Producers or Predators?
Ed Miliband seems to have captured in a sound bite a hugely popular distinction. Manufacturing is good, trading in empty ETFs and derivatives is bad.
Extractive industries are good, casino banks are bad. The trade unions love it, and Will Hutton has endorsed it.
The trouble is life isn’t so simple.
Some global manufacturing practices are certainly not good – unless our moral compass now accommodates sweat shops.
Similarly some companies in the extractive industry are guilty of horribly exploitative employment practices and a cavalier attitude towards the environment.
The earnings of some captains of manufacturing and extractive industries are certainly not “progressive” in economic terms.
But more importantly most of us in the UK aren’t really producers or predators at all, in economic terms we’re simply passengers.
Whether we work in the law, accountancy, consultancy, civil service or hairdressing, we do little to add real wealth to the nation’s coffers. Neither do most of us take home obscene bonuses.
We merely help to achieve a modest redistribution of wealth. We ride the pillion of the economy.
Pathetic really. What did you do in the Global Financial Crisis, Daddy?
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
The trouble is, I don't know which half
Marketing Magazine, in collaboration with Neilsen, reports that the spend of the top 100 UK advertisers totalled £3.9bn last year.
In financial services, the taxpayer-owned banks led the way, with the combined Lloyds and Halifax expenditure at £81m compared to £48m in 2009; and RBS (Direct Line, NatWest and Churchill) £94m in 2010 compared to £67m in 2009.
Aviva, which rebranded in 2009, cut its advertising outlay from £48.6m in 2009 to £22.7m in 2010.
The three biggest-spending insurance comparison sites (GoCompare, Confused and MoneySupermarket) were up slightly from £63.2m in 2009 to £67.7m in 2010.
Is this spend being converted into brand equity, in the form of enhanced pricing power and margin improvement?
Or is this all just an act of faith?
In financial services, the taxpayer-owned banks led the way, with the combined Lloyds and Halifax expenditure at £81m compared to £48m in 2009; and RBS (Direct Line, NatWest and Churchill) £94m in 2010 compared to £67m in 2009.
Aviva, which rebranded in 2009, cut its advertising outlay from £48.6m in 2009 to £22.7m in 2010.
The three biggest-spending insurance comparison sites (GoCompare, Confused and MoneySupermarket) were up slightly from £63.2m in 2009 to £67.7m in 2010.
Is this spend being converted into brand equity, in the form of enhanced pricing power and margin improvement?
Or is this all just an act of faith?
Thursday, 20 January 2011
Web 2.0 finds its pay day - or not
Marketing Magazine reports that McKinsey has given corporate Boards comfort that there has been a positive ROI on Web 2.0 spend.
However a careful reading of McKinsey's research suggests that a conclusion rather better supported by the evidence is that payback "is hard to quantify", as one of their respondents opined.
GOM is not at all averse to social media, being an experimenter and contributor in several domains, with followers numbered well into double figures.
To assess whether Web 2.0 has really found its pay day, perhaps we need to look at how much each corporate has spent to date, and what outcomes have been obtained in terms of contacts made, the measurable impacts on corporate reputation and - heaven forfend! - products bought.
Some rigorous comparisons against espoused business case wouldn't go amiss, either.
Maybe it's too early to start thinking about pay days.
However a careful reading of McKinsey's research suggests that a conclusion rather better supported by the evidence is that payback "is hard to quantify", as one of their respondents opined.
GOM is not at all averse to social media, being an experimenter and contributor in several domains, with followers numbered well into double figures.
To assess whether Web 2.0 has really found its pay day, perhaps we need to look at how much each corporate has spent to date, and what outcomes have been obtained in terms of contacts made, the measurable impacts on corporate reputation and - heaven forfend! - products bought.
Some rigorous comparisons against espoused business case wouldn't go amiss, either.
Maybe it's too early to start thinking about pay days.
Monday, 22 November 2010
Why shouldn’t marketing be expected to do better every year?
After the cost-cutting binge of the last two years, financial institutions now need to work at maintaining and growing customer revenues.
However, the commoditisation of financial products and services means that all players are subject to strong pricing pressures. So rebuilding margins is at least as important as growing volume.
Marketing is often seen as an act of faith, with unhelpful arms races between competitors.
But marketing cannot be immune from the discipline of demonstrating a measurable contribution to desired business outcomes.
In these constrained times, the cost-effectiveness of marketing matters more than ever.
OCP and Blonay have collaborated in a research initiative aimed at deepening insights into the effectiveness of marketing in the retail financial services industry.
Our approach, based on structured discussions with industry players, replicated OCP’s research into wrap propositions, published in in FTfm in 2007 and repeated in 2008.
Read more about our research note on Demonstrating marketing effectiveness in financial services.
However, the commoditisation of financial products and services means that all players are subject to strong pricing pressures. So rebuilding margins is at least as important as growing volume.
Marketing is often seen as an act of faith, with unhelpful arms races between competitors.
But marketing cannot be immune from the discipline of demonstrating a measurable contribution to desired business outcomes.
In these constrained times, the cost-effectiveness of marketing matters more than ever.
OCP and Blonay have collaborated in a research initiative aimed at deepening insights into the effectiveness of marketing in the retail financial services industry.
Our approach, based on structured discussions with industry players, replicated OCP’s research into wrap propositions, published in in FTfm in 2007 and repeated in 2008.
Read more about our research note on Demonstrating marketing effectiveness in financial services.
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
GOM is moving....
... because his carers are relocating to Greycoat Place in Westminster.
Conveniently adjacent to the fire station, not far from Channel 4 television and a brisk walk to Buckingham Palace.
Find out more.
Conveniently adjacent to the fire station, not far from Channel 4 television and a brisk walk to Buckingham Palace.
Find out more.
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
Don't get on one of Boris's bikes....
... unless you're sure you can find an empty docking space at your destination.
Yesterday's trial experience involved an enjoyable 5 minute ride from Bank to Holborn Circus, followed by a 20 minute search of four docking stations until I found one with an empty space.
Apparently this is because all of Boris's bikes migrate to the centre of London early in the morning - as illustrated well by http://oobrien.com/vis/bikes/
Rather defeats the object - and makes 30 minutes' charge-free use rather notional.
Yesterday's trial experience involved an enjoyable 5 minute ride from Bank to Holborn Circus, followed by a 20 minute search of four docking stations until I found one with an empty space.
Apparently this is because all of Boris's bikes migrate to the centre of London early in the morning - as illustrated well by http://oobrien.com/vis/bikes/
Rather defeats the object - and makes 30 minutes' charge-free use rather notional.
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