My Philosophy

This what I stand for, and how I approach my work with clients;

Understand what drives people

Good marketing places humans at the centre of the design process. This is not only about uncovering unmet needs in our target market, but understanding why we do what we do along the buyer journey, and ultimately what makes people feel good about our brands.

Create a meaningful difference

Products should not be different for the sake of being different. They should also solve a problem that is important to the customer, and relevant to short term priorities. If we have a good answer to the question, ‘are we creating a meaningful difference for our customers’, we know we’re on the right path.

Position for leadership

Aim to be first in your market. The followers never do as well as the leaders. First to market means first to mind. The 2nd and 3rd comers do ok, but not nearly as well as the those who created the category. Don’t be a me-too. If you can’t be number 1, don't enter the market.

Be bold and original

Don’t be afraid to stand out. You won’t get ahead if you do exactly the same thing as your competitors. To create something truly original takes confidence because it will get a reaction, both good and bad. Be bold, make a statement and let our customers decide if it’s good or not.

Stay on-purpose

It's easy to get distracted with what competitors are doing, or influenced by social commentary. But listening to others generally means you’re spending valuable time and resources just to keep up. To get ahead, know why you’re going where you’re going, foster your unique capabilities, and define your own path.

Make every job count

It's easy to get bogged down on fun things like logos, awards, and other activities that might make us feel better about ourselves, but don’t actual don't contribute to pushing the business forward. Choose to only work on delivering more value to your customers, or generating more sales.

See innovation as a process

There is no such thing as overnight success, or a ‘silver bullet’. There will always be low-hanging fruit, but true value creation requires a longer term view. Marketing is a discovery process where you seek to gain customer insights, implement ideas with the greatest impact, and measure feedback. You adjust and repeat the cycle again. It takes a few iterations (or pivots) before you start moving ahead of your competitors.

It's OK to start before you see the end

It’s not necessary to have a detailed product specification before you start your journey. You don’t always see the best outcome at the beginning. Let your vision and customer centric value proposition be your blue-print. The creative process is an opportunity to experiment with different prototypes, view them in situ, and test with customers. These feedback loops are important parts of the design process.