It’s the new year. It’s a time of new beginnnings, new opportunities and experiences. It’s also that time when people make resolutions (which most likely get dropped after a month or so). But did you know that resolutions are not just for individuals wanting to lose weight, read more books, etcetera? Resolutions can also be for work and for business. How so? Acclaimed speaker and advertising maven Dave McCaughan gives some very useful insights:
“The big strategic issues of your business will be the same and the real insight has not changed. What you will find is that people’s behaviour changes very little despite all our panic about the minor shifts in media, retail, user habits that have happened in the last five years.”
“Give the best and most meaningful experiences to those people you care about with no expectation of response or public credit. Let them enjoy the experience of your effort in the way they choose to enjoy, be personal and caring and don’t judge if they love you by a posted picture ( it won’t always be there ).”
Usually, the first day of the working year is a good time to catch up with colleagues and friends from the office. But the second day feels different, gloomy and even funky. It’s when the first meetings of the year comes up, catching up on emails and deadlines creep in…but you can turn it around by looking at the incoming news for the year. Dave explains more here.
- Instead of focusing on “trends”, focus on the “people who sometimes choose to buy my stuff“
It can be stressful to think about the new trends. It puts on the pressure that your business and brand “needs to be a part of that”. A little shift in mindset could help. Dave goes into detail here.
- Think about what story your brand tells.
“Libraries and advertising agencies are actually very similar places. And they are at least in theory all about stories.” Here, Dave talks about how to have a real brand story with a basic structure you have to know about.
Dave McCaughan is an advertising and marketing expert who has been working in strategy planning and communication campaign development for the last three decades as a part of McCann, one of the world’s largest advertising and communication companies.
Currently based in Bangkok, Dave continues to be a speaker and marketing commentator in Japan, Hong Kong and other parts of Asia. His extensive experience in working in advertising has led him to be known as a thought leader in youth marketing and influence of media changes on the society.
Dave has talked at over 500 conferences globally and has been a regular columnist for journals like Advertising Age, Japan Close-Up, Mumbrella, Camoaign Asia and is about to start regular columns for Japan Consuming. He is a board member and contributor for ESOMAR’s Research World and leader of BIBLIOSEXUAL , a consultancy that brings together his long term passion for understanding the interaction of people and media with brands and stories.
Contact us if you are interested in having Dave McCaughan inspire your team.