Ideas worth acting on.
Thinking that powers up brands.
Disrupt or decline? Why brand relevance matters more than ever in the digital age
Reflections from CIM Yorkshire's Brand Relevance in the Age of Digital Disruption event, part of Leeds Digital Festival 2026.
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Connecting the heart of a civic service brand
I have recently been working on the strategic development of a major civic service brand. I can't share the organisation, detailed research or any of the resulting strategic outputs at this stage, but it has…
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Participation- future of brand growth built on gaming history
I have never been a gamer. Not even remotely.
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Improving Brands with Remote Brand Audits
Staying ahead means constantly reviewing and managing your brand presence. But how do you know if your brand is truly connecting with your audience? How can you spot the gaps and opportunities without…
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Understanding UK Brand Strategy Costs: What You Need to Know
When it comes to building a powerful brand, understanding the costs involved in brand strategy is crucial. Whether you're launching a startup or steering an established corporate ship, knowing where your money…
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Navigating the AI Landscape: Strengthening Your Brand in the Age of Technology
There is a particular tension running quietly through leadership teams at the moment. On one side sits the extraordinary promise of AI - speed, efficiency, competitive edge, sharper insight, smarter…
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B2B Doesn’t Have to Be This Boring.....(And that’s where the opportunity is.)
Let’s be honest.......huge amounts of B2B brands feels… beige. Same colours, same icons, same rational lead messaging, same stock photography, same vague “solutions-led” language, same decks full of words that…
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AI Isn’t Replacing Strategists: Why the Future of Brand Thinking Is More Human Than Ever
AI has dominated headlines and become a staple in most of our lives. I am sure, like myself, many of you have been experimenting with Generative AI this year, to see exactly how it can support you in your…
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Establishing a sustainable brand - a blueprint to get started
Sustainable brands are not new news, and momentum has been growing in this area for several years. Recent studies by McKinsey and NielsenIQ saw 60 per cent of respondents claiming that they’d pay more for a…
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Navigating the Brand Maze: A Comparative Guide to Choosing the Right Brand Model
A piece of research by Gartner rated brand strategy as the most in demand strategic skill by marketing leaders. More than analytics, digital commerce or media planning.
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Marketing & Business Growth Aren’t Directly Linked: Why Brand Investment Matters
A quick question.....have you ever struggled with linking marketing results to actual business growth? If so, you’re not alone. Many marketers face the challenge of proving their impact, especially when sales…
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Crafting Anglo Technical Textiles’ Brand Refresh Journey
The new logo, evolved the existing mark with a softer focus and heritage influence. https://anglotechnicaltextiles.co.uk/
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Hamilton and its Lessons on the Power of an Engaging Brand Voice
Bradford Alhambra February 2025 - Hamilton Production
Read articleWhy Brand Tracking Still Matters and How to Evolve And Improve Your Brand Tracking
Brand tracking, a staple of market research, has long been a critical tool for understanding brand health and guiding strategic decisions. In the UK alone, brand tracking accounts for an estimated £1 billion…
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Brand Narratives: Why Planning For Change Can Be the Catalyst for Growth
Brand loyalty runs deep—even among people who are not loyal customers.
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Risk Aversion: Gender Differences and Their Impact on Marketing Strategies
Why understanding risk and marketing are close partners.
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Rebranding the UK’s Largest Independent Vending Company
Client: Montagu Group Limited
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Elevating Safety: Prime Systems’ Brand Transformation
Prime Systems, a trusted provider of health and safety systems to some of the largest UK businesses across retail, hospitality, and leisure, has long been recognised for its agile and flexible online…
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Optimising your brand for AI-driven search
As a brand strategist specialising in B2B and Technology, it's clear that the landscape of search engine optimisation is evolving rapidly and that most brand experiences start and end in the digital…
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The Importance of Brand Memorability in B2B and Financial Services Brand Development
Much of my focus is on creating strong brand foundations, and marketing strategies, that add value to a business. In my experience "brand" is seriously misunderstood by many, and the theory of how brands grow…
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The Benefits of Holidays and What Brands Can Learn
Having just come back from an epic trip to Egypt and seeing not only the ancient sites at Luxor but also some of the challenges of development in a country that is 93% desert ... I felt there was no better…
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In pursuit of brand magic: considerations when starting a complex brand hierarchy review project:
I work with teams to resolve complex brand hierarchy challenges, these often occur when businesses grow or when change and business acquisition happens at speed, or indeed a business has grown in a siloed area…
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Why Brands Are Like Pets: A Deep Dive into Trust, Comfort, and Brand Love
Today is national pet appreciation day. This got me thinking about our pets; the impact they have on our lives, the trust we place in them, the personalities we afford them, the importance of our pets in…
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Nurturing Employee Appreciation in a Company of One: A Guide to Self-Recognition in Solo Consultancy
In the realm of business, especially in the realm of solo consultancy, it's easy to overlook one essential aspect: employee appreciation. It is 8 years since I started working for myself as a solo consultancy,…
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Crafting the Brand Strategy of Black Lab Digital
In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, as a growing SEO agency standing out amidst the competition requires more than just expertise—it demands a unique identity and a compelling brand strategy.…
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Developing your sustainable business focus
I work with several brands that are looking to improve their sustainable impact – be this by improving their processes, giving back with sustainable CSR initiatives, or developing more sustainable products.
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Building a Sustainable Founder-Led Fashion Brand: A Guide to Ethical Success
As a consultant, I work with businesses of all sizes from start-ups to multinational global businesses. The fashion industry has long been criticised for its unsustainable practices, from fast fashion's rapid…
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Creating Brand Possibilities in Tech Consulting
In April 2022, Propel Tech as we know it today was born. Working with the senior team at the then Pace IT, Think Collectiv in the summer of 2021 undertook a 6-month brand review and eventually full rebrand process.
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CIRCOLL: Building a Sustainable Legacy: Brand Development for a Sustainable Underlay Brand
In today's increasingly eco-conscious world, sustainability has become a core concern for consumers and businesses alike. This shift in mindset has paved the way for the growth of sustainable brands across…
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Supporting the next generation of marketers
At the end of July I took the plunge and supported a young person in getting some work experience, as a one person consultancy who works from co-working spaces, home and client offices, I was initially worried…
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Inspirational Women - Maya Angelou
On international woman's day, I wanted to share just a few inspirational quotes from Maya Angelou. In the noise of today, Angelou's words deliver a strong and human message of strength, respect, tolerance and…
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Developing effective training - Putting learning principles into work practice
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Brand Love
On Valentine's day what better topic to talk about than Brand Love.
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The start-up brand strategy - making your brand pay
Start-up brands... the challenge for start-up brands is very different from established brands, the approach and need for brand investment depends not only on the scale and ambition of the business but the…
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Using brand archetypes to drive business growth
There is much debate about the value and merits of brand archetypes as a tool to develop brands. I find brand archetypes a useful tool for targeting personality and the positioning of a brand in a marketplace.
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Inspiring creativity in teams, trainers, brands and marketers
Inspiring a creative passion for brands.
Read articleHow expectations impact on our lives and how brands can support positive expectations
Last night I attended a fantastic talk by David Robson, https://davidrobson.me, David is an award-winning science writer specialising in the extremes of the human brain, body and behaviour.
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Creating a powerful brand manifesto
Your brand is one of the most important assets you have, it differentiates you from your competition and communicates your “Why” ‘How” and your “What”.
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The art of influence. Impacting how people think, feel and do with your brand and marketing:
A fundamental aspect of creating great brands, advertising and marketing is to understand human psychology and the impact of language, semiotics, and communication on how people act, behave and feel.
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FE teaching - my journey so far
Restarting my learning journey:
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Building Resilience
We are in a time of unprecedented change. Last week I attended a NABS course on Building Resilience under pressure. www.nabs.org.uk
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Grow profit by creating synergy between your brand and your business
Synergy between you brand and business is critical to business success yet often it is overlooked. A core differentiator I often see in successful businesses is tightly aligned business and brand strategy.
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The power of collective thinking to solve business problems
Complex issues require intelligence beyond that of any individual. Yet in the face of complex, problems or challenges that require us to innovate we typically revert to what we know.
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