2023 : A YEAR IN REVIEW. From the best thing for Small Businesses - to minding the Trends
We bring the 2nd full year of Front of Mind to a close. ICYMI - I look back at the letters shared each month and in the lens of today. Bar August - I had an excuse!
Here we are again, the most wonderful time of the year. Then again, we passed that last month based on what I previously wrote…
This time last year I used the monthly drop to corral the first year of Front Of Mind’s letters into one email, to give both new and existing subscribers easy access to old posts, but to also help myself review the year’s work, to identify possible changes of tone (if any) and to see if the hyperbole of the given time affected anything, and indeed if I should challenge myself and see if anything new is indeed here to stay and be evergreen.
It is a great exercise (that was actually well received by you) that I recommend for your own pursuits by the way; not only does it give you a sense of (however fleeting) pride in your ongoing work, but enables you to critically evaluate previous thoughts penned.
So below I review month on month, including the one with the excuse of no post, alongside the headline topic, considerations to take away and a link to original article if needed. From trends and the power of media, to the small business marketing realities and ancient philosophy lessons, there’s hopefully some food(s) for thought…
JANUARY : New Year, New Marketer You
Befitting the fresh start energy the calendar change brings, I personally find January a great time to start again; as one of those weird people who loves the no-mans-land days between Christmas and New Year, I use those days - apart from to eat too much cheese and drink wine - to write things down, reflect on year and with all earnestness/delusion, plan the utopian following year. It seldom works like that, but an intention is good. Anyway, this links to some cracking resources, people to follow, articles and books to read. Fill your boots!
READ : A JANUARY FAVOURITE - Personal Development and ways to become a better marketer
FEBRUARY : The Power of the medium elevating creative work
Creative is the most important driver of effectiveness based on any data you see from WARC / IPA / Nielsen; it is the visual manifestation of all the work, the gliding swan the consumer sees, with planning and media, data and technology the swimming beneath. However many of these need the medium to embody the message, and as I try to reinforce, “The very best things come from media and creative getting a seat at the table early doors, and delivering an integrated advertising masterclass”.
READ : Everyone loves the CREATIVE, but often the MEDIA makes it so much better.
MARCH : A Stoic approach to marketing
I bleed my own external passion and philosophies into day job here. But the lesson here is less one of knowing the text and the ideologies (this isn’t a cult, I promise), but more a reminder that humans have invariably been the same since the dawn of time, and focusing on what you can control will affect change (and accepting what you cannot) :
…if you break it down, the human mindset, the rationalising of the emotional, the pack mentality, the fact you will encounter difficult people throughout your working and living week, that is a tale as old as time, and if we met a time travelling Roman today but wearing clothes from your high street retailer, you’d arguably not notice the difference.
Read MARKETING STRATEGY : 2000 Years Later
APRIL : Why 2023 is the same as 2022, 2021 etc..
The world was at its AI conjecture peak at this point, so this was a reminder that ebbs & flows are par for the course, and despite the hype, you can look at historical context and realise that regardless, fundamentals (and the year of mobile) endure :
…we can learn from this oh so cosy past of human nature. Of emerging trends regressing to a norm. Of disasters coming to an end. Of everything then nothing. Of storms in teacups. Over time, these things should be seen as extra tools, to deliver products, solutions and maybe even the promotional advertising/copy side, but at the end of it all, just think what are we trying to do here?
READ : MARKETING FUNDAMENTALS - 2023 doesn't change things, neither did 2022, 2021...
MAY : Learn from the supermarket, the best promoters of all
Showcasing an almost embarrassing way to spend my free time, I shared a photoshoot that got out of hand on my walk around a local Tesco. With a global cashflow consumer squeeze combined with the industry advent of retail media, this unpacks the real OG of ad space on retailers, and the behavioural science techniques in your supermarket. There is a lot to learn, just by observing as well as filling the basket…
READ : RETAIL SPECIAL - 7 Marketing Modules from a walk around the supermarket
JUNE (SPOTLIGHT) : Some real marketing talk for small businesses
In terms of of ego-boosting metrics, this got the most engagement, readership, social shares etc, as it obviously said something which I was increasingly realising; there are many young businesses and SMEs who don’t always believe the marketing fundamentals would apply to them. They absolutely do; in fact they are to your benefit. Meanwhile it is important to take stock of the cons as well as the pros, get real, and start form a different baseline.
…there is one thing I can confidently say - there is no dogmatic , once-size-fits-all approach. Yes of course, there are marketing fundamentals, proven evidence and research which everyone should know about, but we have to be realistic in terms of budgets/needs/the view on marketing/the day-to-day pressures of the founder wanting to feed their family. So next time you hear of best practices or 10x hacks, please take a moment to reset your compass to your own business need. A corporate or well funded start-up you’re likely not.
READ ON : SMALL BUSINESSES - the realities, and some real Marketing pointers for the 'little ones'.
JULY : 39 year old me contemplating what this marketing lark is all about
An article of introspection and encouraging marketers to adopt such self-consideration of the triumvirate of the Customer they are trying to market to, the Brand they are marketing/work with and the You that has to do it. It is without doubt a reflection of my own pre-turning-40 existential woe that I was in for a few weeks, but all the same, I hope it gives food for thought about what we try to do every day!
READ : MARKETING - Who are we doing this for? (3)
(AUGUST: The one that got away)
My birthday month. Turned 40, had a couple of parties. Took myself to South of France, Totally switched off from extra effort. Highly reactive. Life is like that. But consistency isn’t just uniformity, it is coming back too when falling off the horse! Hell, I don’t think I even had a horse that month. However, I love
by and around this time he wrote about the power of the hardest to measure Outdoor (OOH) comms channel. Read here!
SEPTEMBER : There is segmentation, and there is targeting
Coming back with a back to school lesson on the fundamentals that have been much eroded over time. Performance advertising and platforms have encouraged hyper targeting for recapture, vanity metrics etc, but it is dangerous…
“The thing with targeting of course is that you are speaking to one segment with one thing, and as a consequence, likely not speaking to another segment about that thing. So when we serve one thing there we are not elsewhere. Is that really the answer for your brand? Are we assuming the buyers are only those who you think they are?”
Segmentation however is a different thing, and breaks down the whole pizza rather than just having a slice. Not to be confused. Or just don’t do it if badly done. Read on beyond the dodgy analogy…
READ : TARGETING - Bad segmentation is often worse than no segmentation
OCTOBER : Trending topics, to follow or not?
Whilst embracing and accepting the fundamentals, here is a reminder that some things are here to stay based on the dictionary definition of trend, which is essentially a direction of travel. 2 provocations : AI is here to stay for example, and is the one that is most pervasive yet sadly most prematurely defined and alienating (the term itself has a branding issue) and greenwashing and performative societal issues are an ongoing concern. But you would expect the signalling to die down once organisations are called out for their hypocrisy.
READ : TRENDS - They matter as much as they don't. For you that is...
NOVEMBER : Sales and Promotional periods, pros and cons
To mark the silly season of Christmas shopping and associated known price promotion cadences / sale events e.g. Black Friday, it is a chance to look at the marketing levers, the 4Ps and how Price & Promotion are separate levers, and do not necessarily or automatically have to become a ‘price promotion’…
READ : PRICE & PROMOTION - 2 of the 4 'P's to think about this season
Which brings us here to DECEMBER : a chance to reflect
The end of the year, I am tired, I am trying to move house, my throat is sore, and for many of us, it has been at times challenging. But I look back at a personally great year of entering a new decade (I think it is good anyway), of developing my consultancy’s outputs with an updated prop of services, adding Chartered status to Fellow in CIM and of course with much pride, doing a 2nd full year of Front of Mind. 83% growth in subscribers YoY feels good! Thank you! Consistency is key, even when you don’t feel like it (I didn’t at one point of course) and in the world of brands for example, they often say that marketers get bored of brands a lot quicker than customers do. Create the memory structures and the brand assets etc etc. So I hope you have not been too bored and at least one of the months titillated.
Keen to press Shut Down on the laptop to match the waning energy levels. But I hope you and yours have the finest Christmas break or equivalent, however you will be celebrating. It just leaves me to say thanks for subscribing, reading, engaging, conversing and supporting this, you are appreciated and I will see you in 2024 with hopefully a 3rd year of trying to make sense (of the world of marketing, not myself, but maybe that too..).
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
SA
P.S. I really hope you are getting a semblance of value out of this. If so, and you think any other marketer or business owner would, feel free to share/forward this to them. Also, follow me on LinkedIn, The place formerly known as Twitter or even my company page. If you want to discuss working together, you need some marketing advice, or simply something I’ve said, drop me a line. Thanks and happy reading/marketing!