Celebrity marketing: tired trope or misused asset?

Continuing my mini-series assessing the quotes of advertising mogul David Ogilvy, read part one here – David Ogilvy’s definition of ‘pure’ advertising is digital PR – I examine his thoughts around the use of celebrity marketing and how the marketing legend might have been wrong… Even since David Ogilvy’s death in the late 90s, marketing has shifted and evolved. To understand how, you only need […]

Does brand authenticity really matter?

Journalists need proof of it before referencing a new source and politicians aim to hammer the point home at every debate. The same, it’s argued, is what marketers strive for. Marketing, in its simplest form, is meant to persuade a customer to buy a product or service, more often than not through some sort of […]

Poor storytelling hinders successful film marketing

This post hints at spoilers in Star Trek Into Darkness, SPECTRE, Game Of Thrones and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Film studios have been heavily criticised in recent years for for frankly half-hearted attempts to hoodwink audiences — all as a result of inherently flawed storyline choices – creating a huge impact when it comes […]

The Force of Star Wars Marketing

10 years ago the Star Wars prequel trilogy limped to a close and the film franchise was as good as dead. Now, it’s all change. The history of the films’ success is widely known. Ahead of the release of Star Wars in 1977, George Lucas had already rejected a higher director’s salary in favour of […]

Tears and laughter: how brands use emotional marketing

John Lewis has once again taken hold of the social media conversation with the release of its 2015 Christmas advert. Featuring a cover of Oasis’ Half The World Away by Norwegian singer Aurora, the response has generally been positive, although not without criticism or satire. The Guardian’s analysis is particularly amusing… #MoonHitler. Nevertheless, putting aside any […]

The inspiration behind five company names

Perhaps one of the hardest decisions for anyone starting a new business is what to call the flipping thing. It can have a huge impact as, rightly or wrongly, customers infer so much from a name. They might assume it’s too small to meet their needs, too big so they’ll be expensive, or put off […]

Dave Endsor

PR, marketing and business. Expect self-deprecation and light sarcasm.

Does brand authenticity really matter?

Poor storytelling hinders successful film marketing