“Woke”: How a Word Changed Meaning - and Why You Should Care The strange journey of “woke”, shifting public language, and what it means for brand strategy in 2025 Few words have travelled as far, or mutated as quickly, as "woke". It began as a compliment, became a political football, turned into an insult, and
Conspicuous Consumption: Why We Buy to Be Seen (and What Marketers Need to Know) The psychology of status-driven spending, identity through possessions, and how marketers can ethically tap into our need to stand out. From designer trainers to Instagrammable brunches and £1,000 reusable water bottles, we live in a world where purchasing power doesn’t just
When Corporate Spin Backfires: From Pepsi’s Protest Fiasco to Dieselgate When Brands Try to Shape Reality - And Fail Corporations have long used persuasion, positioning and crisis PR to bend perception in their favour. Whether through glossy advertising, “values-driven” messaging or emergency comms, brands often try to steer public opinion rather than simply serve it.
The Fogg Behaviour Model: What Nike, Duolingo and Amazon Can Teach Us About Changing Consumer Behaviour Why understanding motivation, ability and prompts can make or break your marketing campaigns Human behaviour isn’t random - even when it seems like it. Behind every purchase, sign-up or swipe is a subtle mix of motivation, ability and
Reefer Madness, D.A.R.E. and the Video Nasties: Marketing Lessons from Propaganda Fails What the Satanic Panic and Kony 2012 teach about audience insight, truthful storytelling and avoiding the Streisand effect. Propaganda tends to evoke images of heavy-handed political messaging, but at its core it’s simply a form of marketing, or at least communications; an attempt
The Korean Wave: From Gangnam Style to Squid Game and K-Pop Demon Hunters5 How South Korean pop culture conquered the West - and why marketers should be paying attention In 2012, a man in sunglasses and a blue tuxedo galloped across the internet. Gangnam Style by PSY wasn’t just a viral hit; it was the
Why the Best Adverts Appeal to Both System One and System Two Thinking Understanding the psychology of fast and slow decision-making in marketing When we talk about how consumers respond to advertising, it’s tempting to believe that decisions are made through cool, rational analysis. Price points, product features, and comparative benefits seem like the
The Persuaders: The Top 5 Most Famous Uses of Propaganda From wartime posters to cinematic persuasion - and what marketers can learn from history Propaganda might feel like a dirty word in marketing - but many view it simply as; persuasion at scale. The line between propaganda and marketing has always been thin, as explored
What Marketers Can Learn from Cognitive Behaviour Theory For advanced practitioners who want more than heuristics and headlines. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is a family of evidence-based methods designed to change what people think and do. Pioneered by Aaron T. Beck and building on Albert Ellis’s Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, CBT has amassed decades of
Public Relations vs Propaganda: A Historical Perspective for Marketers How Marketers Can Learn from History’s Greatest Persuaders - from Edward Bernays to Wartime Campaigns Public Relations (PR) and Propaganda both revolve around influencing public opinion, but they have evolved along very different paths. For marketers, understanding the origins, evolution, and key distinctions between PR and
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