Paul Worthington

I can appreciate Dan Rockwell's explanation of how leaders can empower rather than overpower our teams. He couldn't have said it better: "Get out of the way. People stop creating when leaders give solutions." Frequent interjections from leadership can quickly backfire, leading to disengagement and over reliance on leadership. #Leadership #LeadershipLessons #StrategicSilence

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Talked to Ad Age about why CMOs unrealistic expectations about AI cause them to abandon projects. An important read. As CMOs address change management, level-setting expectations may also require them to reassess the fundamental purpose for why they are adopting AI… Thanks for the chat Asa Hiken https://lnkd.in/erYhQVvr

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Hard to believe that this continues to be hotly debated and protested by both client and agency slide leaders. The answer seems obvious. I would argue against testing a Brand's positioning strategy with consumers. If the right leaders have the right inputs / data (especially consumer and competitive understanding), I recommend not testing a strategy per se. Rather, I encourage clients to move briskly into creative development and then test the creative. This serves as a disaster check on the strategy and also paves way to getting business building creative in market.

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Here, Martin Coyle provides an excellent plan for building a mental availability strategy. This is critical for all those who are curious about mental availability and how it enhances the strategic direction. #mentalavailabilityassessment #mentalavailability #brandstrategy #marketing #brand

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Now up at Contagious - WARC discusses how they help make the case for making creative impact. We need to ask difficult questions of the c-suite because : 2/3rds of brand assets are perceived as weak. There is a $189B “cost of dull.” WARC and System1 say more than half of ads tested today are meh. weak. (See chart). Instacart acknowledged they needed to put brand and performance in one budget. So they made their creative tied to shopping message. It pays to entertain. (Think: Liquid Death.)

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By this definition from the WARC Future of Strategy Report 2024, strategy shouldn't FOLLOW nor constrain and parcel it's influence into tiny problems. It wont be STRATEGY, it will be expertise, separation of silos and specialism. Lets go build brand systems in strategy communities. 🔲 #STRATEGY2024 #EstrategiasDeComunicción

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Oh boy, so a mysterious third-party is crawling and indexing your site and feeding that to Perplexity. How wonderful :) -> In response to plagiarism allegations, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas says the company “is not ignoring” robots.txt, but does rely on third-party web crawlers "Srinivas said the mysterious web crawler that Wired identified was not owned by Perplexity, but by a third-party provider of web crawling and indexing services. Srinivas would not say the name of the third-party provider, citing a NDA. Asked if Perplexity immediately called the third-party crawler to tell them to stop crawling Wired content, Srinivas was non-committal. “It’s complicated,” he said." #perplexity #google #seo #ai

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Behind the paywall there’s some great stuff here…. Gap has been all over my LinkedIn FYP these last few days which to me is an indication they are working there way back into the hunt. To Danny Weisman’s point - this isn’t always about “impressions” but rather impressions with purpose. I’m old enough to remember you went to GAP for quality clothing that felt great on and held up to weekly washing. Should be a great lesson in how brands & media now more than ever need to work in tandem. Something Steven M. and I with our consultancy Moy & Halter often are talking extensively to or are listening in on brand marketers with great insights like: Diana Haussling, Vinny Rinaldi, Alyson Griffin, Casey Hurbis, Dave Kersey and Sri Rajagopalan about. What’s your opinion on how creatives and media strategy teams can better align through the planning process? Leave an opinion below 👇

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Maybe measuring last click isn’t the best way. It’s actually archaic and only building growth for Big Tech, and not your company. “Our research across hundreds of brands in dozens of categories shows that it’s possible to rigorously measure and strategically target the feelings that drive customers’ behavior.” If marketing is in the business of selling something… and we know we all buy things based off a myriad of emotions… then maybe it’s time to start measuring something else. It’s not rocket science. It’s emotional science. https://lnkd.in/euwMST4u #brand #marketing #storytelling #video #controlthenarrative #emotionsells

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I think part of the issue is that like the cobbler's kids with no shoes, brand strategy/planning is just rubbish at selling itself. We all get lost in our ivory towers of cultural this and semiotic that, but ultimately what we uniquely do is deliver the messages that SELL more, make companies GROW and C-Suite get RICH. Tactics and technology are irrelevant if what you are communicating doesn't motivate people to act. I think too many strategists/planners are infatuated with the touchy-feely intellectual side of what we do. Yes this is important but it's the how, not the what. What we do is make every client dollar work harder. And that's something people need and will pay for.

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Naming is a creative project that requires rigor and (usually) consensus to be successful. With rare exceptions, that rigor and consensus come from: A) A strategy that helps us build from the brand's foundation to a set of criteria for what the name should say, and how B) A process to guide everyone through the steps that make us all feel like we've explored a wide variety of strategic names, and that we've filtered out all of the ones that could cause problems (by being risky, offensive, difficult to say, or simply not aligned with the strategy) Sometimes, people bristle at process and strategy. They sound like they could make a naming journey more expensive or inefficient. They sound anti-creative. But after you've done dozens (or hundreds...) of naming projects, you realize there is nothing more creatively supportive than everyone moving through proven steps with a shared vision of what a successful name looks like. In this week's Substack, I talk about why I love process and strategy so dang much—and what can go wrong when you decide to skip it. https://lnkd.in/ejFfWGrB

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Crafting a compelling brand story isn't just about selling products or services—it's about connecting deeply with your audience. Research shows that 92% of consumers prefer ads that tell a story rather than just pushing products, proving storytelling's impact in boosting customer loyalty and engagement. Think of Apple, not just selling gadgets but sparking a revolution in how we interact with technology, or TOMS Shoes, whose story of giving back resonates beyond their products. Stories stick because they're memorable—people remember narratives 22% better than plain facts, especially when they stir emotions. Whether it's through ads, social media, blogs, or podcasts, don't neglect the power of storytelling for long-term success. #Storytelling #Marketing #BrandIdentity

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In 60 minutes, I’ll give you a crash course on how strategists can use ChatGPT to write strategy, find insights, and create benefit ladders. I’ll also reveal my 10 best question prompts. Sign up here 👉 https://lnkd.in/g-x-Ztjq

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Squeezing the value: This article from Forrester suggests B2B CMO's aren't really expecting much in the way of budget increases next year. https://shorturl.at/FfVks, so getting the biggest bang for your marketing bucks is more crucial than ever. 💲 When KoalaB2B launched back in April, we did so because we believe in the power of #intent #data and its ability to shine a light on early buying behavior. 💳 Intent data is proving valuable to many. ZoomInfo's customer impact report suggests 62% of marketers engage more in-market accounts through intent. https://shorturl.at/4k4TR and plenty of others are achieving increased pipeline results. 🈺 So, if you're looking to maximise your budget and drive targeted leads through intent data then come check out www.koalab2b.com 🐨

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I always cringe a little when anyone refers to brands as 'people.' Brands can have a personality, of course. They can also claim to have and to abide by a defined set of values. But brands most definitely aren't people - they're businesses, maybe institutions, always a means to an end. Acknowledging this is a crucial first step to opening up meaningful conversations about value. What is a brand actually doing for you? What does it mean to be part of a brand's community? How can a brand be held accountable, and what are the limits to your leverage in these interactions? All of us are consumers. That doesn't mean we have as much power or enjoy as much affection from our brands as we've been led to believe. I've expanded on these ideas* in my article in for MediaCat Magazine's May edition. Let me know what you think. Natasha Randhawa Mike Piggott Note: There will be K-Pop ;) #consumer #consumerism #brand #brands #corporatebrands #peoplepower #culture #consumerculture #consumptionculture

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What do you think, is it worth the hype? A colleague shared this article with me today, and it is too good not to share more broadly. IMHO, most public sector orgs are far from ready for GenAI: 1.) because the tools are not mature enough, and 2.) because most orgs have some housekeeping to first (e.g. data, policy, processes). As my colleague pointed out, we haven't even really tapped into the full potential of more mature types of AI yet and some are ready to leap ahead to the unknown of GenAI. I'm here for it and excited about it, BUT...use caution when running toward the shiny new thing! https://lnkd.in/ePsappRB

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Great write-up by Jo Roberts following my presentation on AI and content automation best practices. Keep it human people!

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Welcome to the #downgradeconomy. The era of mindlessly pushing unwanted, overpriced products onto consumers is over. This has ushered in an age of discerning, value-conscious consumers who know what they want. They will use their wallets and voices to get it, calling for a radical overhaul of business models and strategies. CEOs and CFOs in the latest round of earning calls have admitted that the market's previous willingness to indulge in unnecessary goods is disappearing right before our eyes, or has already disappeared. My latest Marketing Accountability Council article provides an in-depth explanation of the reasons for this shift, showcases companies that are embracing this change, and offers suggestions on how marketing professionals can spearhead the transition towards a more customer-centric era. #downgradeeconomy #marketing #business #leadership

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