Ashgrove Marketing

27/08/2026

Authentically Meaningless....

My mantra was always: “If your brand, service or product is quicker, faster, smarter than its competitors, tell me how it is quicker, faster or smarter”.

30/07/2026

If your advertising makes nobody laugh, cry, smile, argue, desire, wonder or even swear...

Congratulations.

You've made wallpaper.

People forget information.

They remember how something made them feel.

So make them feel something.

21/07/2026

The creative industries may be asking the wrong question.

Instead of asking whether AI will replace creativity...

Perhaps we should be asking whether creativity has become too comfortable.

Because when average work can be generated instantly, originality becomes impossible to ignore.

And that's a very good thing.

AI isn’t the enemy of creativity, says Ashgrove’s Terry van Rhyn, it’s just exposing how little original thinking exists in marketing.

07/07/2026

People don't share adverts.

They share things they find interesting.

There's a big difference.

That's why the best marketing doesn't interrupt conversations.

It becomes one.

26/06/2026

Every brand has the potential to roar.

Most just choose to purr.

Being different isn't the risky option anymore.

Being forgettable is.

23/06/2026

Being first is rarely elegant.

It's usually messy, uncomfortable and accompanied by a few bruises.

But that's where progress lives.

18/06/2026

"Best practice" sounds reassuring.

So does beige.

The trouble is that marketing isn't a game of following instructions. If it were, every brand would be famous, every advert would work, and every post would be fascinating.

Sometimes the biggest risk isn't trying something new. It's doing exactly what everyone else is doing.

A few thoughts on one of marketing's most dangerous phrases.

The cosy conformity of best practice may feel safe but it’s also a threat to the creativity brands need to flourish, argues Ashgrove’s Terry van Rhyn

09/06/2026

Here's a useful test:

If everyone in the room agrees immediately, the idea probably isn't finished yet.

Great brands aren't built on consensus.
They're built on conviction.

03/06/2026

Consensus is often the enemy of distinction.

When every rough edge is polished away, every opinion softened, and every risk removed, brands can become universally acceptable...and universally forgettable.

Great brands don't seek approval from everyone.

They seek devotion from someone.

26/05/2026

Most marketing today feels like a man running around with a butterfly net.

More clicks.
More noise.
More interruption.

But the brands people truly desire rarely chase attention.
They attract it.

Because desire isn’t created by shouting louder.
It’s created through emotion, style, confidence and meaning.

The best brands don’t beg to be noticed.
People naturally gravitate toward them.