AI, Vibes and Jessie J

Flying visit to Advertising Week Europe. One of those grassroots-feeling events where every session is packed and, just like Disneyland, you spend a lot of time queueing. 😡

Sessions were thankfully tariff-free 😀 and covered (of course) AI in marketing, search evolution, artist partnerships and collaborative marketing strategies.

Three Key Takeaways:

💎 AI as your creative partner
Lots of talk about AI empowering not replacing creativity (yep!). But nice to see some pragmatism (and tool tips) in Adobe's 3 step "AI-enabled creativity framework": deep audience research, creative exploration and AI-enabled human creativity.

💎 Authentic partnerships beat transactional relationships
Loads of speakers on the topic of trust (even musician Jessie J!) in the digital world, but partnerships seem even more critical than ever. Speakers emphasised the need for shared values and alignment (dare I say its all about the "vibe"?!) as the foundation for successful collaborations.

💎 B2B marketing in crisis
The "off stage" chat was all about the identity crisis of B2B marketing - where does it sit? All under a CRO? Or should we split growth & corporate marketing? Measurement? Do we need all these people? AI can do it all, right? Is brand really a thing? Lots of churn going on!

As always it was to a chance re-connect with friends and colleagues. Great to see you Claire Darley Helen Gillbe Hung Le Alastair Hussain Michael Bayler Linus Gregoriadis Justin Cooke John Horsley Simon Johnson Lindsay O'Gorman Simon Morris.

Finally, congrats in particular to John Horsley and team in a first outing for Path7. Great panel discussion that dove into partner marketing as purposeful collaboration requiring matched values. Speakers discussed how partnerships differ from paid media by being more authentic and trust-based, especially valuable in the post-GDPR landscape where we now have "richer data but less of it."

Right, I'm off to queue for a coffee in my kitchen 🚶🚶🚶🚶

#AdvertisingWeek #AIMarketing #PartnerMarketing #MarketingStrategy #DigitalMarketing

All roads lead to the ICP

Had some interesting conversations in the past few weeks with a few GTM leaders. Different companies, different conversations, different needs but all were struggling with setting up marketing for success, the role of marketing, how to structure the team, what OKRs to set and what talent is needed.

What I love about marketing is in amongst all the shiny new things (RIP Second Life, SlideShare, Sribd, Twitter, Clubhouse. Hello AI!), the basics never change. All roads always lead to the need to define the Ideal Customer Profile and, more importantly, agree this across all the GTM functions.

With the ICP in place and the business OKRs mapped out, only then can we start to think about the marketing strategies and tactics. Digital? Events? ABM? Field marketing? Partner Marketing? SDR/BDRs etc. (I know, if only life were that simple).

Always, always get the fundamentals right first!

On a separate, but related, note I did a little sketch in thinking this through to myself, took a photo and asked ChatGPT to provide a clearer, more professional graphic. I think we’ll all agree AI hashtag#NailedIt 🤣

AI: 10x the content, 1/10 the meaning (Source : Jeff Allen)

Purpose is just fluffy marketing talk that doesn't impact the bottom line?

"Purpose is just fluffy marketing talk that doesn't impact the bottom line."

This is a very common misconception in the business world.

If you're an aspiring marketing leader, I urge you not to dismiss the power of purpose in driving growth. Always remember: Purpose and profitability are intrinsically linked.

As Dominic Rodgers from Frog Capital recently said on an episode of the always excellent Unicorny podcast (pithily summarised by Dom Hawes!), "The more you scale your purpose, the more you scale, and the more you scale, the more you scale your purpose."

This symbiotic relationship between purpose and growth isn't just feel-good rhetoric. It's a powerful driver of business success. Here's why:

🧲 Talent Magnet: Purpose attracts top talent, fueling innovation and growth.
🎯 Focus Driver: It keeps your team aligned on what truly matters to customers.
🔗 Brand Builder: Purpose creates deeper connections with your audience.
💡 Innovation Catalyst: It inspires creative solutions to real-world problems.
📈 Long-Term Value: Purpose-driven companies often outperform their peers.

But here's the kicker: Your purpose must be authentic and deeply rooted in your business model. It's not what you'd like it to be. It's about clearly articulating why your business exists and the value it brings to customers. Which is why I've loved getting involved with LettsSafari (building rewilding parks to tackle climate change) and LettsArt (empowering any artist to manage, distribute and sell their art directly, all for free) - two very purpose-driven ventures.

As marketers, our job is to communicate this purpose effectively. It's not a veneer or an afterthought - it should be at the core of everything we do.

So, let's challenge ourselves: How can we better align our marketing efforts with our company's true purpose? And how can we demonstrate the tangible impact of purpose-driven marketing on our bottom line?

Share your thoughts! How has purpose impacted your marketing strategy or business growth? 🚀💬

#PurposeDrivenMarketing #BusinessGrowth #MarketingStrategy