The real solution to the ICO’s Direct Marketing Code
Since the introduction of GDPR, many firms have begun to fear the knock-on effects of tighter privacy controls on customer…
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Why direct mail is medium of choice in these rainy days
As we adjust to working from home and self-isolating from our colleagues, friends and family, we remain hopeful that we…
Spooner on: It’s the end of the world as we know it
“But what does it mean, the plague? It’s life, that’s all” – Albert Camus, The Plague. So, the omni-benevolent, balti-fed,…
Why Covid-19 may be trigger for digital transformation
Everyone wants to know what makes a successful digital transformation programme and how brands can embrace digital to transform their business….
How direct mail can help to beat the coronavirus blues
Yesterday I was waiting to catch a train to London from Leeds. The first thing I noticed was the distinct…
Gender parity will take more than just one day to fix
International Women’s Day rolls around every year, and although it serves to highlight the inequalities that women continue to face,…
Why data is the real fuel of outdoor advertising growth
When Vote Leave stuck that now infamous £350m number on a bus, the campaign influenced a nation, but how many people…
Life after the cookie monster: What you need to know
We all knew it was coming and the cookie is finally crumbling. Earlier this month, when Google announced it would…
Why the CMO and CIO are the ultimate power couple
Today, 89% of companies compete primarily on the basis of customer experience, and while 80% believe they deliver ‘superior experiences’,…
How can your organisation become the next Netflix?
Consumer decision making is changing, and that’s impacting brand loyalty. This became clear to me while I was researching a…
Why brands must work harder for true personalisation
In a world where customers are flooded with thousands of marketing messages a day, the explosion in digital content across…
What does the future leader look like…if they do exist?
The future of work will bring a number of challenges, such as a digital talent shortage and the need for a strong employer…
2020 and beyond: Let tech work to free up creativity
With the new decade well and truly underway, this landmark is the perfect time to think what the next few…
2020 and beyond: It’s time to build the circle of trust
We’re already hearing a lot of talk around trust and ethics/values and we expect there to be a greater emphasis…
2020 and beyond: Data services they are a-changin’
Despite GDPR now being an established piece of legislature, there is still great uncertainty in the market surrounding what is…
2020 and beyond: Charting the rise of ‘brainwave’ tech
As we enter the new decade it is only natural to start thinking about what the future might bring. I…
2020 and beyond: Why digital wallets will pay dividends
Just over a decade ago, consumer payments were revolutionised by the launch of contactless cards, followed hot on the heels…
2020 and beyond: Is your brand orchestration-ready?
Marketing orchestration is nothing new. In fact it is really quite old. It first came to prominence back in 2013,…
2020 and beyond: Time to finally clean up your act?
This time last year, I was optimistic about the future of the data and database marketing industry. After all, far…
Why brands must act now to tackle their customer data
Most people now recognise data is the lifeblood of business, but are you confident that your customer data is accurate,…
Spooner on: The biggest Xmas TV ad review of the year
It is that time of year again. A heavy, all but palpable, sense of doom hangs over the neatly appointed…
Why first-party data is the gift that keeps on giving
For years, digital marketers have paid hand over fist in the digital gold rush for data. Instead of a tangible…
Why CMOs are putting their faith in digital and data
The chief marketing officer instruction to drive growth shows no sign of letting up, with good reason. No one role…
How marketers can benefit from 5G network roll-out
The fifth generation of mobile technology is on its way. Ericsson predicts that 1.5 billion users – 40% of the…
When push comes to shove, beware a messy break up
We are being encouraged more and more to consider switching – our insurance policies, banks, mobile providers, tea bags, even…
Why it pays brands to be more offensive with their data
Data is the backbone of modern enterprise. It drives, improves and supports business advancement and growth. But despite its progressive…
Why digital advertising needs a human touch to thrive
The dark arts of digital advertising analysis are facing a barrage of criticism for failing to give brands a full…
Spooner on…how to attract young talent to the industry
Polymath, world-renowned chicken-breeder, lacrosse-captain, Gaelic-dancer, Lord McKelvey is many things, but one thing he is not is patient: “Spooner, you…
Getting in shape is crucial for changing agency culture
Nowadays, tight deadlines, constant requests and 24/7 communication mean it’s increasingly hard to stay on top of everything whether it’s…
SMEs must be more agile in their marketing strategies
With over 5 million SMEs in the UK – accounting for 99.3% of all UK businesses – it is fair…
Get under the skin of your customers to boost loyalty
In today’s fickle consumer landscape, creating effective marketing and rewards programmes is no longer about simply driving transactions, but about…
Age-old marketing solutions no longer cut it for CMOs
Chief marketing officers of the global consumer brands that have long dominated the industry, face a constant challenge to find…
Why the future is bright for those with marketing skills
Back in May we saw the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) skillfully rebrand as the Data & Marketing Association to better…
How to ensure data-driven tech is not a flash in the pan
With Dmexco 2019 just around the corner, there is an air of expectation of what will be the most hotly…
Why marketing is in need of an augmented reality check
Today’s brands face a significant dilemma: in an increasingly ‘always on’ digital world where it’s never been easier to reach…
Why memberships are key to winning consumer trust
Membership is about providing a feeling of belonging, identification and a stronger connection and it follows that trust is of…
What’s best, zero party, first party or third party data?
Earlier this summer, Google announced it would be updating Chrome to provide users with more transparency about how sites are…
Don’t let video management give you a major headache
For many businesses, video is now an integral part of their marketing strategy, with 87% of marketers using video as…
Do you have the propensity to make better decisions?
Propensity is a word we use a lot in marketing, and not much anywhere else. Marketers and brands want to…
Why clients need agencies now more than ever before
Since I entered the industry in the mid-Nineties, the “agencies are dead” trope has periodically done the rounds. Various extinction…
Three steps to ensure location data puts you on the map
There is growing recognition that the application of sophisticated behavioural insights, derived from location-based data, has the potential to unlock significant…
Rewarding loyalty? Most schemes are running on empty
Hardly a week seems to go by these days without a new loyalty scheme launching or an established one having…
Bellwether gloom: Reasons to be cheerful parts 1 to 6
With the latest IPA Bellwether Report showing direct marketing budgets being revised down by the lowest level (-9%) for more…
How to unlock the power of first-party customer data
It is widely recognised that the ever-increasing digitisation of media is generating a wealth of data, which, if harnessed correctly,…
How local data-driven activity can save the high street
There has been a grim inevitability to the recent closure of physical stores from long-standing retail brands. To many, it…
Why diversity is the secret ingredient in effective AI
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are often touted as the way to automate a wide range of tasks, from predicting…
How brands and retailers can tie the knot with data
Brands versus retailers – it’s a battle that has rumbled on throughout the ages. The contest is more magnified now…
Don’t be blinkered to the data issues of ‘see, snap, buy’
It has long been recognised that a picture is worth a thousand words – a view reinforced by MIT research…
Spooner on…the harrowing demise of direct marketing
“Bangtails! BANGTAILS! The Johnson Box! THE JOHNSON BOX!!! Self-mailers! Call-to-action! CTA! CTA! Coupon! Coupon! Coupon! It’s the ******* cash-register! Make…
Outer space: how to give your mailings plenty of welly
Believe everything you read and you might be forgiven for thinking that print marketing is suffering a long and painful…