When you look around at the world, at society, and at the technological tidal wave consuming us, you are likely to fall into one of two camps. The sheer pace and potential of it all may have you giddy with excitement. On the other hand, the uncertainty and the change to your profession may have you suffering anxiety.

Both are entirely reasonable and understandable human reactions.

But despite the arrival of all things digital in the marketing world, one could argue that it has been inoculated from, or perhaps resistant to, truly bone-deep change for the better part of a…

So, get this. Three in four Australian consumers reckon that brands outright lie to them in marketing communications. Lie to them.

Kapow! Bam! Whacko! Smack! Boomfa!

But before we turn this into a 1960s re-run of Adam West’s Batman (look it up), let’s just all acknowledge: this is one heck of a zinger to local brands.

That headline statistic from a late 2020 customer loyalty survey commissioned by the agency, Customology, was among many that ultimately found, that the majority of Aussies lack any kind of trust in brand communications.

Ain’t that a slap in the face to all that…

Ever notice that some things just don’t go together? Until they do, that is. For instance, two things that will never go together — certainly in my house — are brussels sprouts and ice cream. That’s a personal worldview.

Yet one of our favorite summer refreshers is a wonderful piece of invention that combines shiraz with gin.

I’m not kidding.

There are probably weirder examples I could have picked, like ketchup and pizza, cottage cheese and mayonnaise, pickles and orange juice, or mango and panini; but I’ll stick with my provocations on brussels sprouts and ice cream, shiraz and gin.

…

Journey Mapping has been such a misunderstood practice. It’s true. This was, and remains, a cause of great angst to its many proponents. But despite this, it is still widely lauded. A perceived pillar of customer-centricity no less.

In my world of marketing and customer engagement, I have to fess up that we do like to adopt favorite children. Especially the ugly ones. Buzz words, ill-conceived methods, undisciplined destruction of meaning, institutional immaturity spawning institutional confusion.

And in the case of Journey Mapping, we’ve doubled down on a mistake, unable it seems, to self-correct.

Yes, the practice endures, mainly through…

There are very few industries that celebrate their peers like the retail industry. Gala events and ritzy award ceremonies dispersing lavish praise on an almost monthly basis.

We’ve all seen the social media pics. Glammed-up guys and gals at the photo wall, euphorically hoisting a trophy and screaming down the lens in triumph.

“It’s been a tough year,” they say. “I love my team.”

And among all the hype, an insistence, both underlying and in-your-face, that retail is the unquestioned leader in all things customer experience, and digital, and other shiny things.

But it ain't. Not remotely.

And that’s a…

All over the world right now, a whole bunch of performance advertising folks are sweating. There is wrenching of hands, clammy palms, and for some, quite deep anxiety. Feathers, my friends, are ruffled.

And all of it, because of Apple.

Yes, that old fruit impersonating tech giant, who we all love, and occasionally hate, but mostly love. Mostly.

Truth be told, Apple has gone and opened up a can of worms that should have been opened long ago. Their new operating system, iOS14, will now require apps to get your permission before arbitrarily collecting your information.

Ergo, a whole lot…

Anyone that has followed my work, knows that one of its mini-trends is to call out industry myths. Mainly because there are so many that undermine growth. I guess that’s why I call my column, “I Beg to Differ”.

But this piece is about something more insidious than a myth. I reckon we have a deeply engrained falsehood, right at the roots of our profession.

They say the most toxic lie is the one you tell yourself.

And that’s precisely what the industry does. It’s not necessarily intentional. Not most of the time anyway. But it is, nevertheless, the cause…

Making a statement like, “It’s time to move on from personalization” is kind of a big deal to me. Huge, in fact.

I’ve written a lot about the importance of personalization. I’ve even given keynotes on the subject. So penning this title felt, well, kinda incongruent. A flip-flop even.

And on the surface, it is. But actually, it’s not.

That’s because everything I have published has been about the next chapter of personalization, reflective of the major shift that is occurring in mature marketing organizations the world over.

In early 2020 I wrote a piece on ZDNet that forecast a…