Hey, 

In a world of Ai, there is nothing like having to water a full size garden with a watering can due to a hosepipe ban to really ground you in reality - give it a try!

Before we crack on - thanks to those who have been in touch about our Brand Sprint programme - it's filling up nicely with some really interesting businesses, but we're still taking applications. If you're running a business and feeling overwhelmed about what you should and shouldn't be doing in your marketing - this is for you.

1- opinion

This week we have a guest post from our Head of Social Laura Hartley (she's a good one to chat to btw if your social strategy could do with a kick up the bum).

Marketing still has a serious age problem, and I saw it play out in real time recently.

I was in a brand workshop, building out a customer persona for a woman in her forties.

Someone asked, "What should we call her?"

"Susan," replied the workshop lead.

It wasn't said as a joke. It was instinctive. Nobody questioned it, and for a second the conversation simply carried on. 

I meanwhile, had internally combusted and was in the process of scooping my NEARLY 40 YEAR OLD tongue back into my head to say, “Actually that is so wrong”. 

SUSAN???

I don't know any Susans IRL. Susan wasn’t in my form tutor group. If there was a Susan in my school at all she was staff and already pushing 40 herself back then. 

Here’s the issue I have. We clearly still have an incredibly outdated picture of what a woman over 40 looks like, acts like and cares about. Somewhere along the way, we've frozen that audience in time and continue to imagine them as the women we remember from our childhoods; the mums standing at the school gates in the 1990s in a natty BHS skirt.

Except those women are now in their sixties.

Today, women in their forties are one of the most economically powerful audiences in the market. They grew up alongside the internet, adapted with every wave of technology, use TikTok without irony, build businesses, create, invest, influence what their families buy and make purchasing decisions across almost every category.

The average 45-year-old today probably has more in common with a 30-year-old than our mums at the same age. 

And that's where I think we still get ourselves into trouble. Age is one of the weakest indicators of behaviour, yet it's still one of the first things we reach for. A 43-year-old founder, a 43-year-old NHS nurse and a 43-year-old woman who has just become a first-time mum may share the same demographic, but they don't share the same life. 

We spend huge amounts of time optimising media plans, refining creative and obsessing over performance data, but when it comes to defining the audience itself, we're often still relying on stereotypes. If they're out of date then anything we produce will be too. 

TLDR: This might not be about the name Susan. It's about the fact that one completely ordinary answer aged me by at least fifteen years in under three seconds.

2 - things to try this week in your marketing

Thing 1 -  Watch this video about pricing psychology 

What actually makes people buy things? The question asked by founders since the dawn of time. This video from orenmeetsworld was brought to our attention this week, a welcome refresher into the strategic art of product positioning and pricing. Watch to learn how to position products effectively, pricing hierarchy and the psychology behind what makes a customer add to cart. 

Thing 2 - Notice Behaviour

Often the best ideas are hiding in customer behaviour. McDonald's did it at Wimbledon with their 'Shake n' Serve' campaign. They'd noticed the cheeky ritual of dipping fries into a milkshake and decided it was good enough to amplify into a bigger brand moment. It all starts with paying attention to how customers naturally interact with your brand. Useful insights at the very least, it could kickstart your next campaign.

3 - inspo we've spotted this week

(1/)  Heatwave + Milkshake = nice billboard

Another nod to Macca's this week but when the heatwave brings back this banger of a billboard, it's hard not to feature it. Not many brands can pull this off of course but if you got them Distinctive Brand Assets - flaunt them!

(2/) Coca-Cola has had a glow up (of sorts)

Ok so it's definitely subtle! We did have to squint our eyes a little at the before-and-after photos of the logo changes on LinkedIn. 

But I suppose that's the whole point. A brand with this level of global recognition isn't going to go full on brand refresh like we see in the challenger space. They need to protect their distinctive brand assets - the red-and-white palette, the dynamic ribbon, the script logo.

Will anyone outside marketing or FMCG notice or care?

(3/) Reusability by Design. 🍸

What does it really take for customers to keep a glass? That's the question Newcastle-based drinks brand Kocktail set out to answer. 

Brands that spring to mind are Grind Coffee, with their pink subscription tin, and the glass ramekins from GU Pudding. Memories as a kid of the GU ramekins being brought out of the cupboard for special occasions, filled with homemade desserts at Christmas, snacks at parties and even used as a tiny herb planter for the kitchen windowsill. 

The answer is in these simple, everyday moments. 

Reusability starts with integration into a customer's world.

Kocktail's glasses are intentionally designed to be homeware staples. The type of glasses to store away for a cocktail night with friends. Not only do they look premium and on-trend, but have an easy peal label (no kitchen sink soaking required) and stack neatly the cupboard. It really is in the details.

As if we needed another excuse to place an order.

That’s it for the week - I'm off for a Kocktail.

🍸,

James

p.s. Wondering what Brand Hackers is?

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