Jun 22, 2022Remapping the world: the rise of horizontal loyaltyIt’s time for another macro-trend piece. As long time readers will know by now, these are my crude attempts to sketch some of the more subtle forces shaping the world around us. …Politics8 min readPolitics8 min read
Jan 20, 2022Armani, aspiration, and the decline of luxuryIf we’re reductive about it, we might say there are really only two strategic levers a business can pull from a consumer perspective: Utilitarian Brand led When it comes to delivering value, these are basically the paths to do it. Utilitarian companies offer a genuinely useful and unique “function” —…Luxury9 min readLuxury9 min read
Nov 16, 2021Sex, sugar, and the supernormalThe following piece was written before everyone started talking about the metaverse, however as you’ll see the two concepts are deeply connected; hence I thought I’d repost it here. __ Following my piece a few months back on the phenomenon of concentration — the great invisible force shaping pretty much…Metaverse9 min readMetaverse9 min read
Sep 27, 2021The cautionary tale of Only Fans, and why it matters to your businessA couple of months back I wrote a piece about the trend of concentration — whereby technology is enabling attention and money to be pooled into fewer and and fewer people and organisations. That piece was extremely broad in scope, and considered the issue at a societal level, so here…Onlyfans6 min readOnlyfans6 min read
Aug 2, 2021Innocent, 21 Jump Street, and why consistency requires constant changeIn 2012 they made a new movie adaptation of the TV show 21 Jump Street, where two cops (Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill) go undercover as students in a high school to bust open a drugs case. Near the beginning it has this great scene which I think is, weirdly…Marketing Strategies6 min readMarketing Strategies6 min read
Jul 23, 2021The creative canvas — the key to building a charismatic businessSometimes people ask me the meaning of my company name, Basic Arts. It came from the original idea I had for the business, which in essence was to embed advertising-esque creativity and artistry into the very fabric of the company itself, rather than limiting it to external “media”. Basic =…Business7 min readBusiness7 min read
Jul 23, 2021Appreciating scale — what to do about the things you can’t controlThere is a quote you may have heard which goes something like: “I am a libertarian at the federal level, Republican at the state level, Democrat at the local level, a socialist with my friends and family, and a communist with my dog”. The idea is designed to reveal the…Scale6 min readScale6 min read
Apr 23, 2021Nickelback, Starbucks, and the power of in-authenticityEveryone agrees, apparently, that it’s good for a brand to be “authentic”. So much so that it’s become one of those overused words which people are increasingly embarrassed to use: like “engagement” or “purpose” or “millennials”. We all know authenticity is good, there’s no need to go on about it. …Brand Strategy5 min readBrand Strategy5 min read
Apr 9, 2021Know your enemyA couple of days ago I came across a great anecdote. It concerned the skirmish that broke out in the early 1750s between an Englishman called Jonas Hanway, and the hansom cab drivers of London. Hanway’s crime was being the first umbrella user in the city. Prior to that point…Marketing4 min readMarketing4 min read
Mar 25, 2021Something’s wrong with marketing — here’s how to fix itSomething is wrong with marketing. Looking back across my clients, I struggle to think of any that have a wholly positive relationship with it. For example: For those who invest heavily in it, it often becomes a confusing and expensive burden; all convoluted brand pyramids, wheels, houses, and onions; built…Marketing6 min readMarketing6 min read
