Blog

Thoughts on everything that matters right now in marketing, communications, and insights.

Category: Marketing

Old battles and double-edged swords Posted on October 10, 2023 by Iosetta Santini

Notes from the audience of the Festival of Marketing Picture this: a warmer than average October day, a room filled with marketers from all walks of life, each armed with a notebook, a pen, and a cup of coffee. It’s Festival of Marketing Day, and, as I’ve run out of pages, I’m ready to read out my notebook to who wants to listen. Kill complexity First out to talk to the troops is the fearless marketing maestro Mark Ritson. I’m

Read More

Someone spilt Mustard on the red carpet! Posted on February 23, 2023 by Braden MacDonald

Back in December, we challenged you to find out your communication style with our Hollywood-themed quiz. Well, the results are in of the world’s first and only survey of insights professionals about communication. 260 of you completed our quiz and now we  are opening the envelope to reveal what we learnt about the insights profession. First of all, although the quiz was a bit of fun the issue is no joke: 63% of you stated that communicating data and insights

Read More

Get on the case Posted on January 25, 2023 by Lucy Davison

How to make case studies work for you in insights An insights company without case studies is like Batman without Robin. Demonstrating your value through a case study is fundamental to thought leadership and growth. Plus, there’s the added advantage that most clients are burning with curiosity and FOMO; the number one thing that they want to know is what you are doing or have done for other companies like them. But producing case studies is often a big challenge

Read More

The very long and the really short of it Posted on August 10, 2022 by Iosetta Santini

In the world of insights and research, marketing (if done at all) is frequently focused on short-term, tactical, lead generation. Agencies and suppliers come to us because they want more leads and see marketing as a support for sales and new business. In a digital environment, this seems to be an easy win. Create content to drive traffic and give you leads for your website, encourage clicks, capture data, measure, and target – and Bob’s your uncle. The problem is

Read More

Trends, teasers and triumphs: A recap of IIEX Europe Posted on July 13, 2022 by Braden MacDonald

Greenbook's IIEX events explore the intersection of technology and insights. Is there a better place to host IIEX Europe than Amsterdam? It's a trendy hotspot for many individuals and communities, and MRX is no different. So, you can imagine how excited I was as a (slight) newcomer to the industry to hop onto the Eurostar, arrive and take in the eternal beauty of centuries-old canals, before attending the two-day wonder of 'one of the most cutting-edge consumer insights events in

Read More

What can insights learn from Hollywood? Posted on June 9, 2022 by Braden MacDonald

When it comes to communicating insights, most people still rely on that dull event, the debrief. All our efforts are squeezed into one hour of bar chart hell. When we should be scintillating and exciting, we are studious and exhaustive. What can we do to change this? Where better to look for inspiration than Hollywood?! The glitz, the glamour, the lights, the camera, the action. The FAME. Here are my thoughts on what we can learn from Hollywood to ensure

Read More

GRIT Report: How to be famous Posted on March 31, 2022 by Lucy Davison

The challenge to stand out is as important in MRX as it is for washing powder or breakfast cereal. But yet again, in this GRIT Report, we see that researchers don’t make good marketers. The point of positioning is knowing what you do – and what you don’t do. In past reports, we have seen inconsistency from respondents within supply-side companies as to what their company does. And in this report again, “the employees of many supplier companies aren’t really

Read More

The secret sauce to being noticed Posted on July 14, 2021 by Braden MacDonald

‘Be noticed, be remembered, be understood,’ is Mars Wrigley’s motto when it comes to its advertising. But, as Michelle Gansle, formerly Senior Director of Insights at Mars Wrigley says, this mantra can also be applied to insights agencies when they approach clients. Speaking as part of the client panel on Day 1 of Insights Marketing Week (the COVID-friendly online reincarnation of IIeX’s Insights Marketing Day), Michelle joined with fellow client-side researchers Nijat Mammadbayli (UX Researcher, Adyen), Dieter Deceuninck (Global Director

Read More

The top three lessons to pay attention to in 2021 Posted on February 9, 2021 by Braden MacDonald

When we think about what this year will hold, we must look back at the impact of our ‘annus horribilis’, 2020. The challenges we faced have set us in good stead for this year, and have formed the basis of our 2021 lessons. From a communications perspective one thing stood out to us very early on last year. Those companies that didn’t have their digital marketing machine up and running were going to struggle. Those who so far had relied

Read More

Mastering change for Cambiar Posted on August 12, 2020 by Simon Dunn

Specialist MRX consulting firm Cambiar Consulting had a brand and website that had not been updated in years. It felt at odds with the personality of the company and the unique, smart work that they do within the industry. Through the initial strategy refinement work we did with Managing Partner, Simon Chadwick, we were able to pinpoint the core benefit they deliver to clients – value growth. This is what we call a “single overriding message”, the most important element

Read More