A marketer’s explanation of the ‘Rule of 72’.
The Rule of 72 is a 'rule of thumb' calculation used to quickly estimate how long it will take for an investment to double in value, given a fixed annual rate of return. It was first introduced by Italian mathematician Luca Pacioli in 1494, a...
Will you embrace the new competitive sledgehammer?
Sledgehammers in skilled hands can be both a significant tool of productivity, and a destructive force. AI is the newest sledgehammer on the commercial and personal block. It gives everyone the opportunity to write a blog, book, opera, make a movie,...
DeepSeek: the pin that burst the AI bubble or an existential threat?
The tech news of the decade blew up on Monday January 27, 2025. Nvidia, the darling stock of the AI revolution dropped six hundred billion (17%) in market capitalisation in one day. This is the biggest one day loss in stock market history. It sparked a selloff...
Australia Day 2025: A tipping point?
John Maynard Keynes once said, “The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.” On this Australia Day, it feels particularly apt as we continue to grapple ineffectively with deeply embedded issues that requires systemic...
Sonic branding suddenly made easy.
Close your eyes. Now think of the sound that happens when you open Netflix or HBO, the cello riff at the opening of Game of Thrones, the McDonalds 'ba dada boop ba' that ends every ad. You can 'hear' them in your mind, they are an unambiguous reminder...
The three perspectives of Strategic thinking you’re probably Ignoring
'Strategic thinking' is that thing most managers claim to do. Often their effort amounts to little more than scheduling next year's budget with a 5% increase across the board. It's like preparing for a cross-country road trip by only checking your rearview...
If you want to drive profit, you need to master price.
Small improvements in average price drive large improvements in profitability. Do the numbers. The normal expectation in consumer markets is that volumes will increase when you promote. Usually they do, but that period is usually followed by a period of...
A blogging introspective to start 2025.
A few days ago I turned 73. Well past any reasonable retirement age, but I cannot see myself as retired. While there is not the same pressure of past years, the thought of playing golf and going to lunch a lot does little for me. In late November last year,...
A marketer’s explanation of AI ‘Tokenisation’
'Tokenisation' is a term bandied about by my AI literate colleagues, commonly at least 40 years my junior. Usually, the term is used in the context of 'it takes X number of tokens to complete this job' or similar. In AI, tokenization is like breaking a sentence or...
Australia’s manufacturing success: winning the race to the bottom.
Around this time two years ago, I questioned the effectiveness and fairness of the initiatives bundled into the 'National Reconstruction Fund.'I am still questioning.With an election looming in early 2025, I expect a predictable flurry of press releases from both...