Stop chasing Reddit; five lessons for getting GEO right
For a while there, Reddit looked like it might be the cheat code for GEO… AI likes human conversation, Reddit…
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Spooner on… is AI really stealing creative careers?
Lord McKelvey has asked me to write a column offering hope to creative people in this age of AI dominance….
All you need to know about the changes at the ICO
If your responsibilities include data protection, you’re probably no doubt aware that the UK regulator is moving to a new…
Get better work, and fewer surprises, from your agency
Most client-agency relationships max out at competent. The brief comes in, the work goes out, everyone’s happy enough, but nobody…
‘Connected packaging’ is scaling fast, are you in shape?
Every conversation about agentic AI agents and ecommerce assumes the AI agent’s journey starts online, but it actually begins on…
Why travel data soars above retail for privacy-first ads
Access to scalable, privacy-compliant data is currently one of the most important topics in media today. Major holdcos are investing…
Why a little bit of friction helps build the experience
For years, the dominant thinking in customer experience has been to remove friction wherever possible. And in many cases, that…
Is your brand really selectable in a world driven by AI?
Most of us spend far too long scrolling Netflix before choosing something to watch. The platform has thousands of titles,…
Why the clock is ticking to get your AI strategy in place
When 2026 began the industry took a collective breath. An AI onslaught overwhelmed. Vendors, platforms and tools flooded the zone….
Why attribution fixation is getting in the way of growth
The advertising and marketing industry has spent the best part of 20 years building increasingly sophisticated ways to describe its…
CMOs need to stop chasing budget to build influence
Brand has always been an engine of growth. According to Gartner research, companies with a strong brand strategy are twice…
Why expanding from US to the UK is not all plain sailing
For many US brands, the path to going global now runs straight through the UK. A steady stream has been…
How to get chosen by AI platforms that control search
ChatGPT is now the fifth biggest website in the world. That single fact tells you more about the future of…
How to restore trust in your marketing measurement
Platform bias has long been a known problem, whether it be Google, Microsoft, Meta or Tik Tok. Marketers, and more…
Direct mail industry needs decisive not divisive action
The UK’s postal landscape is facing renewed turbulence. Royal Mail, already under scrutiny for missed delivery targets, has entered what…
Three priorities for CMOs in the new AI-driven world
There is little doubt 2026 marks a defining moment for CMOs. AI is no longer a peripheral tool – it is…
Why it’s not Google’s fault when your campaign flops
Marketers love a culprit. When a campaign underperforms, it’s easy to imagine a platform update sitting behind the problem or…
How brands can drive change in the automotive space
In 2026, the most interesting customer experiences won’t happen on a website or in an inbox, they’ll be integrated into…
Get your kicks in 2026… top marketers have their say
With the Christmas break now a distant memory for most, the first few weeks of 2026 have thrown up more…
Get your kicks in 2026… by getting audio in the mix
As we head into 2026, one thing is clear: audio advertising is no longer the quiet workhorse of the media…
Get your kicks in 2026…by channelling IRL in the AI age
Over the past 12 months, several social, political and technological shifts have been gathering momentum. Individually they’re interesting, but taken…
Get your kicks in 2026… with six online fundraising tips
Online donations have forged ahead of traditional offline fundraising as the default way to give money to charity: 60% of…
Get your kicks in 2026… by being ‘cool’ with the gang
Each generation redefines what it means to be cool. Gen Alpha is no different, but as the first generation to…
Get your kicks in 2026… by giving women the essentials
What women consider “essential” has always revealed more about culture than consumption. When a product becomes something she cannot imagine…
Get your kicks in 2026… with omnichannel engagement
The concept of omnichannel engagement may be nothing new but, as we head into 2026, it’s no longer a nice…
Get your kicks in 2026… by offering paid experiences
For years, marketers have fixated on the attention economy – fighting for a few more seconds of a consumer’s scrolling…
Get your kicks in 2026… by embracing ‘golden oldies’
It has been well documented that data and marketing budgets are tight, and what money that is available seems to…
Get your kicks in 2026… with testing-led direct mail
Data-driven marketing has never had more capability than it does right now. We can target almost anyone, almost instantly, across…
Spooner on… The Toxic Xmas Telly Smog of the Year
Yuletide greetings one and all! I was not there for London’s Great Smog of December 1952 when impenetrable miasmas caused…
Spread the word on the value and impact of marketing
CMOs face a paradox: while they are often skilled storytellers with external audiences, many struggle to effectively communicate the value…
Mini MBA: Those trained for yesterday, are old hat today
The most popular marketing education in the industry is teaching you to fail. Mark Ritson’s Mini MBA has trained thousands…
AI won’t replace marketers, it’ll replace lazy marketing
Artificial intelligence isn’t coming for your job. But it is coming for your bad habits. For months, the headlines have…
Subscriptions are easy; getting them right takes effort
Subscription-based models have long since moved beyond digital entertainment. Once synonymous with streaming services, they now extend into household goods,…
How to encourage shoppers to purchase your brand
Traditional economic theory assumes people make rational choices, but behavioural economics shows emotions and biases play a much stronger role….
Data-driven sampling: Small sachet; big growth engine
Sampling is one of marketing’s oldest tactics – a centuries-old method built on the simple premise of try before you…
Inside the shift that’s making ads more human, not less
While headlines scream endlessly about AI, something far more significant is happening beneath the noise in digital advertising. AI is…
Why the rise of ROAS has got everyone hoodwinked
The migration of return on advertising spend from a useful measurement to a key strategic KPI has occurred largely without…
The danger of telling ourselves what we want to hear
Earlier this year my wife and I were gripped by Apple Cider Vinegar, the Netflix drama based on Belle Gibson’s…
How programmatic DOOH boosts independent agencies
Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising has historically been one of advertising’s most exclusive clubs, but where legacy relationships and red tape…
Beware the march of the ‘Frankenstack’ martech army
If you’re a modern marketer, you live or die by your martech. Fortunately, we recently carried out research among 250…
Why cutting marketing in hard times is fatal for brands
In times of economic downturn or uncertainty, businesses often look inward – streamlining operations, freezing hires, and yes, slashing budgets. In…
Why it’s time for a major rethink of the creative model
One of the recurring issues clients face is paying for resources they don’t need. I once had a client tell…
Spooner on…pushing the envelope of effective marketing
There is no sound. The great threshing sheds are silent. No gardeners toil in the rose garden, the physick garden,…
AI is a game changer but why is it all so cringeworthy?
It’s mid-May and LinkedIn has spent the past few weeks is losing its mind. Some of the excitable posters are…
Getting to grips with the present, and future, of gifting
Gifting isn’t just about exchanging presents; it’s a deeply ingrained social ritual that reveals as much about the giver as…
Growth is not enough; CMOs must be market shapers
The challenges faced by CMOs are numerous: declining budgets, an ever-expanding scope of responsibility and difficulty proving the value of…
How to seamlessly integrate GenAI without a disaster
It’s pretty clear now that the LLMs and generative AI we are currently working with aren’t the birth of Skynet,…
Combat marketing tunnel vision for the bigger picture
Finding the appropriate balance between commercial opportunities and marketing investment has been a long-term challenge for brands. Recent research from…
All In Census: Why the industry needs your involvement
Despite talent retention challenges in 2025, opportunities for data-driven progress remain. Initiatives such as the All In campaign, with the…
How to choose the right path for digital experiences
There is little doubt we are at a crossroads for digital experiences. On the one hand, consumers are more expectant…