Gordon Lee

02/04/2020

Brand anthems? Every economic downturn presents a golden opportunity for marketers to invest in . Earlier this week I wrote about the use of brand characters. Today, it's all about sonic branding.

(I am writing from a marketing perspective. This is not meant to take anything away from the lives lost or impacted by the virus or the economic turmoil.)

From the lion's roar appearing before every Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film, to the iconic Nokia ringtone, sonic branding has proven incredibly powerful.

30/03/2020

Ads featuring brand characters are 6x as likely to be higher performing. Consumers are more likely to remember the ad and to remember the brand.

Japanese telecom Softbank rose from obscurity to become the 2nd largest in the market. This was helped by hundreds of surreal and memorable ads starring its talking dog Otosan.

Ad recall research published by market research giant Ipsos suggests that ads featuring brand characters are 6x more likely to be higher performing.

23/02/2020

Unsure about how to run Facebook ads with language targeting in multilingual countries like Switzerland, Russia, or Canada with distinct language communities?

Good news! I've just published an article...

How should you run Facebook ads with language targeting in multilingual countries like Switzerland, Russia, or Canada with distinct language communities?

25/11/2019

I was recently invited to share my thoughts with students at HSE University St Petersburg on the topic of Trends in Digital Marketing as part of their Career Week. I shared 2 trends that came to mind...

1. Digital Marketing seen as Marketing
Whilst it may have been meaningful in the 2000s to announce that we are "on the internet" as a business, or in the 2010s to claim to be "doing digital marketing", it is no longer useful to make that distinction. Digital Marketing is Marketing.

2. "Digital Channels" seen as Mass Media
Increasingly, "digital channels" are being seen as mass media and valued for their reach rather than a focus on their ability to target.

Read my full article below...

Businesses are starting to recognise that "digital marketing" is not a special kind of marketing. Whilst it may have been meaningful in the 2000s to announce that we are "on the internet" as a business, or in the 2010s to claim to be "doing digital marketing", it is no longer useful to make that dis...

26/09/2019

We all know that higher reduce - that is obvious. The question is whether should be setting the prices of goods and services being bought and sold in the private .

Research shows the amount of alcohol bought by Scots falls 7.6% after new drink laws are introduced.

24/09/2019

This week, Thomas Cook has finally collapsed into liquidation with the loss of thousands of jobs and stranding 150,000 UK travellers abroad. The 178-year-old company is the world’s oldest travel firm, which in its heyday in the mid-1980s rode on a package holiday boom. But since then, it has been slow to adapt to the changing travel landscape as consumers moved away from travel packages and made holiday bookings online.

Its out-of-date business model led to mounting debts of over $2 billion dollars that eventually brought it down. As it should be. In the free market, companies that deliver what the customer wants should prosper. And the corollary is true. Companies that are irrelevant should fail and leave the market.

There has been talk that the Thomas Cook brand, with all its heritage and widespread awareness, could find a buyer and live on. But I would argue that the Thomas Cook brand should not be saved.

There has been talk that the Thomas Cook brand, with all its heritage and widespread awareness, could find a buyer and live on. But is it worth it?

09/09/2019

Came across a in positioned as a 'low cost premium gym'. I'm sorry but that is NOT a coherent position in the minds of consumers. You cannot be all things to everyone. Brand positioning involves a choice. You can either be low cost OR premium - not both.

14/03/2019

Starting 30 April 2019, Facebook will be replacing the single Relevance Score metric with three granular ad relevance metrics. Here's what you need to know...

Facebook will be replacing the Relevance Score metric with three granular ad relevance metrics. This helps businesses to diagnose and improve their ads.

18/02/2019

I sometimes get surprised reactions when I advise companies to advertise on . Here's a little secret... Ultimately, ALL businesses sell to individuals.

I sometimes get surprised reactions when I advise B2B companies to advertise on Facebook. Surely Facebook is better for B2C companies? Here's a secret...