
Sleeping Barber - A Marketing Podcast
Ready to rethink business strategy and supercharge your marketing game? Join hosts Marc Binkley and Vassilis Douros as they break down big questions at the crossroads of strategy, marketing effectiveness, and creative impact.
From real-world case studies to hot-off-the-press business news, each episode dives deep into how modern companies navigate complexity. Plus, interviews with global thought leaders bring you fresh insights and actionable strategies to drive growth and build unforgettable customer experiences.
This is your backstage pass to smarter thinking and better business results.
Latest episodes

Jul 4, 2024 • 32min
SBP 078: The Barber's Brief - July 4, 2024
Welcome back to another episode of The Barber’s Brief. A segment where we cover news that caught our eye, a marketing moment where we highlight a case study, and our ad of the week.
We hope you enjoy the show!
Our Hosts:
Follow our updates here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sleeping-barber/
Get in touch with our hosts:
Marc Binkley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/
Vassilis Douros: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassilisdouros/
In The News:
Nike ramps up innovation to combat sales slip in ‘transition year’
Link: https://www.marketingweek.com/nike-accelerate-innovation/
Ritson on Creativity - WARC Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mark-ritson-on-creativity-brand-and-the-need-for/id1563243327?i=1000660441127
The Boston Marathon Got a New Logo and Runners are Not Happy
https://www.fastcompany.com/91148937/the-boston-marathon-got-a-new-logo-and-runners-are-not-happy
Get ready for the Echo-Verse: New Rules of Cross-Channel Marketing
https://hbr.org/2024/06/the-new-rules-of-marketing-across-channels
Marketing Moment
The Field Trip to Mars - 2018
Video: https://youtu.be/FIS_JkNnCeI?si=vglmjRBUtyoXXs2O
Lockheed Martin, a Global Security and Aerospace company wanted to Inspire interest in Mars exploration and STEM education.
The Brief:
Space was/is experiencing a cultural Renaissance to rival the excitement of the Space Race. SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Mars One, and movies recaptured the general public’s imagination with space. It is estimated that humans will set foot on Mars within two decades, making STEM education more important than ever. So they set out to inspire the next generation of deep space explorers, creating a VR experience that shows them what it’s like to visit Mars
Solution & Cultural Context:
They rendered 200 sq. mi of Mars’ surface based on real Mars geography and mapped it to D.C streets.
Then we bought a school bus.
The bus was gutted and equipped with custom electric glass that switched from transparent to opaque, plus 4K transparent LCDs, while preserving its school bus appearance.
Integrating our Mars landscape, custom screens, GPS, accelerometer, magnetometer and laser velocimeter, the bus became a VR headset. When it moved, Mars moved and when it turned, it turned on Mars.
Impact:
Generated extensive social media buzz and media (NBC, ABC, and Fox, Engadget, Futurism and Digital Trends) coverage.
Trended on Facebook globally for over 24 hours.
Featured in major news outlets and tech sites.
In a week after it’s debut, Lockheed Martin saw a 3000% increase in Mars-related conversations post-launch, 260% more than spaceX.
Videos of the experience garnered over 6 million views.
References:
https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/spotlights/out-of-this-world-an-inside-look-at-the-making-of-field-trip-to-mars
https://www.dandad.org/awards/professional/2017/direct/26343/the-field-trip-to-mars/
Audience Q&A (2-3 minutes):
Jon Lorenzini post - Do you know marginal ROAS is better than incremental or regular ROAS?
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jonathanlorenzini_marketingscience-marketinganalytics-marketing-activity-7209922721428729858-wi0B

Jun 27, 2024 • 1h 12min
SBP 077: Creativity In Service of the Customer. With Andrew Tindall.
Welcome to the Sleeping Barber Podcast, where business leaders get the best and most credible information on marketing, strategy and innovation.
In our latest podcast episode, we sit down with Andrew Tindall, Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships at System1, to explore the crucial role of creativity in advertising.
Andrew shares his journey from starring on "The Young Apprentice" to leading global partnerships at System1. Learn why creativity ranks second in driving ad profitability, the pitfalls of AI-generated content, and the elements that make ads truly effective. We also discuss why dull ads pose the biggest risk to your business and so much more.
Don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the brightest minds in marketing.
Enjoy the show!
Our Guest:
Andrew Tindall
SVP Global Partnerships @ System1
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-tindall/
https://system1group.com/
Our Hosts:
Follow our updates here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sleeping-barber/
Get in touch with our hosts:
Marc Binkley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/
Vassilis Douros: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassilisdouros/
Podcast Literature:
Holistic Effectiveness Framework https://www.linkedin.com/posts/andrew-tindall_advertising-marketing-activity-7202563554573438976-Oh8T
Creatively Awarded Ads are Average https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2024/05/21/creatively-awarded-ads-once-effective-are-now-officially-average
Creative is undervalued https://www.linkedin.com/posts/marcbinkley_we-marketers-underestimate-the-value-of-activity-7188522028625231872-0GXU
The best & Wurst of pre-testing https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2024/04/25/the-best-and-wurst-pre-testing-why-marketers-need-visit-my-sausage-factory
Majority of B2B ads are ineffective https://www.marketingweek.com/majority-b2b-creative-ineffective/
Kantar - Paul Dyson https://www.kantar.com/inspiration/advertising-media/the-advertising-multipliers-that-matter-are-not-what-marketers-think
Definitions for Paul’s Work https://www.thinkbox.tv/research/thinkbox-research/the-drivers-of-profitability#the-drivers-of-profitability
TimeStamps
0:00 - Podcast Intro and Introduction to Andrew Tindall
3:22 - Andrew’s career from TV to Medicine to Alcohol to Ads
7:10 - The importance of good product design - Burger King
8:30 - Creativity is the biggest driver of ad profitability
11:57 - The problem with AI-generated creative & platform metrics
13:38 - Why do we undervalue the inputs and overvalue the outputs
16:53 - Making time to think
20:15 - Awards for creativity vs. creative effectiveness
24:34 - Refusing to learn performance marketing
26:09 - Why we’ve not seen massive effects in creative effectiveness
27:45 - Measuring effectiveness with System1
31:08 - eSOV + Emotion drives profitability
35:16 - Nearly 75% of B2B ads are not effective in the long term
36:45 - B2B customers are not different than B2C
38:50 - Creative effectiveness is against a benchmark
39:59 - Strategy is critical for effective advertising
41:58 - 3 elements of effective ads: Unique, Engaging, Craft
46:30 - Dull ads are the biggest risk to your marketing investments
48:43 - Outdated ideas on pre-testing ads
50:04 - Shit that arrives at the speed of light is still shit
52:08 - Post-pod with V & Marc
Where to Listen:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-sleeping-barber-a-business-and-marketing-podcast/id1609811324
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4v0kaM350zEY7X2VBuyfrF?si=7083317d5afd488b
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sleepingbarberpodcast
© 2024 Sleeping Barber

Jun 20, 2024 • 29min
SBP 076: The Barber's Brief - June 20th, 2024
Welcome back to another episode of The Barber’s Brief. A segment where we cover news that caught our eye, a marketing moment where we highlight a case study, and our ad of the week.
We hope you enjoy the show!
Our Hosts:
Follow our updates here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sleeping-barber/
Get in touch with our hosts:
Marc Binkley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/
Vassilis Douros: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassilisdouros/
In the News:
Nvidia's 10-for-1 Stock Split Is Over. Here's What's Next for the Stock.
Link: https://www.fool.com/investing/2024/06/16/nvidias-10-for-1-stock-split-is-over-heres-whats-n/
Meta announces new enhancements to Reels and AI-powered solutions at Cannes
Link: https://www.socialsamosa.com/2023/06/meta-reels-ai-solutions-at-cannes/
How to Kill Creativity
Link: https://hbr.org/1998/09/how-to-kill-creativity
TikTok ads will now include AI avatars of creators and stock actors
Link: https://techcrunch.com/2024/06/17/tiktok-ads-and-branded-content-will-now-include-ai-avatars-of-creators-and-stock-actors/
Marketing Moment: Highlighting Case studies (3-4 minutes):
Bubly / Buble Launch - ARF Advertising Research Foundation
Link: https://thearf-org-unified-admin.s3.amazonaws.com/ARF%20Ogilvy%20Award%20Case%20Studies/2020%20ARF%20David%20Ogilvy%20Award%20CS/Buble%CC%81-vs.-bubly.pdf
Challenge - Gain market share in a fast-growing category
Background
PepsiCo looking at breaking into a emerging category
La Croix was established market leader with 20% MS
Product lacked personality
Sparkling water category $2b industry by end of 2018
CAGR around 20%
Expected growth over the next 5 years of 74%
Targeting millennials = generation play
Insight
Adulting is hard
millennials dealing with adulting want an everyday sparkling water brand that felt as fun, colorfoul and playful as soda.
Used customer interviews, social listening, quant/qual message testing & google search trend analysis
Most other brands had very little personality
La Croix was positioned as fancier than others - name became territory for playful approach
Creative
Brand took on a “playful instigator” role
Focused on fun & colour in media placements, partnerships, creative and spokesperson (buble)
Launch
2019 superbowl kickoff with Buble convincing people how bubly was pronounced
Partnership with Ellen Degeneres show featuring Buble in a fun skit
Snackable video on most platforms, GIFs, BublyV.Buble gif
Media placements on TV, CTV
Results
77% increase in brand awareness among category users
Doubled retail sales in 2019 to $250M
Purchase consideration grew by 2x
Tripled category share
La Croix reported 16% drop in 3rd quarter earnings
Ad of the Week
Paddy Power - Danny Dyer and Peter Crouch star in Paddy Power's new Euros advert
Link: https://youtu.be/BdavDrqE2jg?si=vyfH-5jhmfesqcM4
Danny Dyer (English actor and presenter) brings his Cockney charm to Paddy Power’s ad, capturing the nation’s excitement for the tournament with a humorous twist. The commercial playfully pokes fun at British quirks, featuring diverse characters who deliver sarcastic ‘compliments’ to the English. From Italians mockingly admiring our fashion to Germans grumbling about World Cup chants, and Dyer himself, portraying the quintessential English dad abroad, the ad is a witty celebration of our national character.

Jun 13, 2024 • 1h 13min
SBP 075: Trending Tensions In Marketing. With Esther Benzie.
In our latest podcast, we sit with marketing veteran Esther Benzie to explore the evolving marketing landscape. From her experiences at CIBC and P&G to her insights on the balance between brand and performance marketing, Esther shares invaluable knowledge that every marketer should hear. Discover the impact of digital channels, marketing specialists' rise, and marketing sustainability's future.
Don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the industry's best. Enjoy the episode.
Our Guest:
Esther Benzie - https://linkedin.com/in/estherbenzie/
Senior Marketing Executive
Formerly the:
:: VP of Brand and Advertising @ CIBC and
:: VP Brand Operations @ P&G
:: Board Member of the AssociationAssociatiom of Canadian Advertisers
Our Hosts:
Follow our updates here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sleeping-barber/
Get in touch with our hosts:
Marc Binkley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/
Vassilis Douros: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassilisdouros/
Timestamps
0:00 - Opening
0:44 - Intro to Esther
4:38 - Learning marketing foundations through CPG
7:30 - How digital changed marketing departments
10:30 - The negative impact of digital on creative
12:19 - Non-Viewable Impressions
15:20 - Talent Development - Specialists vs Generalists
22:45 - The shift from brand to performance and back
30:14 - What got lost in “Performance Marketing”
32:40 - How digital advertising change content supply chains
36:28 - An awakening with performance marketing
40:25 - Strategic objectives may differ from digital performance indicators
43:55 - How digital channels like Pinterest align with brand objectives
47:15 - The evolution of marketing performance metrics
55:06 - How to find out more about Esther
Post-Pod with V and Marc

Jun 6, 2024 • 35min
SBP 074: The Barber's Brief - June 6, 2024
Welcome back to another episode of The Barber’s Brief. A segment where we cover news that caught our eye, a marketing moment where we highlight a case study, and our ad of the week.
We hope you enjoy the show!
Our Hosts:
Marc Binkley - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/
Vassilis Douros - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassilisdouros/
Follow our updates here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sleeping-barber/
In The News
Ad Age: American Airlines Fired Exec After a Marketing Change Aliented Corporate Clients
Link: https://adage.com/article/marketing-news-strategy/american-airlines-fired-chief-commercial-officer-vasu-raja-after-marketing-strategy-change/2562716
Paul Worthington Newsletter - Off Kilter - Oops, AI did it again Looking at some of the failings of AI
Link: https://www.invencion.com/off-kilter
Fast Company - How Amazon created a winning streaming formula: shows based on airport books for dads
Link: https://www.fastcompany.com/91134058/amazon-prime-video-streaming-airport-books-for-dads-james-patterson-cross
P&G’s Chief Brand Officer Mark Pritchard talking about inclusivity
Link: https://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/beauty-features/marc-pritchard-on-serving-all-and-each-to-drive-market-growth-1236389828/
Marketing Moment - The Power of Positioning // Apple - The Turnaround
Background
Back in 1997 - Apple was in big trouble
They had just lost $800m
Low market penetration and market capitalization of $2bn
Michael Dell - when asked how he planned to fix the organization, he was planning to shut it down and give the money back to shareholders.
Steve Jobs returned to re-focus Apple, and there was a lot of anticipation
In August of the same year, Jobs addressed the future of the company at MacWorld 1997.
Brand Positioning and Strategy
Before getting to the Think Different campaign, they defined the new positioning of Apple, where they identified three core tenets.
Simplicity
Creativity
Humanity
These three tenants became core to Apple and were a major part of the brief that went into the brief to TBWA\Chiat\Day, which famously led to the iconic “think different” campaign.
Revival and Growth
Why was this so powerful? It comes back to the three tenants:
It was a simple message
It was about creativity
And celebrated at its core, humanity
Due to its simplicity, it also worked well across media channels (print, TV, OOH etc.)
The Think Different campaign bought Apple time and got them out of trouble.
Due to this newfound mental availability and the constant product innovation (see iPod) by 2003, Apple had an evaluation of $8bn.
However, because they wanted to grow globally as well, they re-brief Chiat/Day for a global iPod campaign was when “silhouettes” was born, which leaned again against the three core branding positioning tenants.
By 2006, Apple had turned a corner. Now worth over $70bn, it returned to its core product, computing. Going after Microsoft who had dominated for decades the space. The campaign, “Get a Mac” was born. Why did this campaign work?
Apple created an “enemy”
highlighted Apple’s simplicity and creativity
Positioned against Microsoft’s complexity
What Lessons can we date from this example?
Simple positioning always beats complex positioning - It is important to be clear, and consistent with your brand positioning,
Differentiation is possible through positioning because it can also help with price volatility helping you to drive profits
Links:
Mark Ritson on the power of Apple's brand positioning (youtube.com)
Ad of the Week - Heinz Ketchup
Fighting counterfeiters of people refilling Heinz ketchup bottles with different brands of ketchup
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-TkRINrr4A&t=92s
© 2024 Sleeping Barber

May 30, 2024 • 40min
SBP 073: Creative, Yachts and Apple Spritzers, with Conor Byrne
We are back with our second episode of the Mindless Marketers with our friend of the podcast and fellow podcast host of That's What I Call Marketing, Conor Byrne.
We switched things up in the episode, where this time we selected three marketing topics drawing inspiration from Tom Fishburne's Marketoonist, while we introduced a new segment that we hope you enjoy!
Get in touch with the hosts:
Marc Binkley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/
Vassilis Douros: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassilisdouros/
Conor Byrne:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/conorbyrne/
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction01:19 - Convince Your C-Suite: The Real Impact of Creativity07:30 - The Evolution and Challenges of the CMO Role11:47 - The Creative Brief11:50 - Data-Driven Marketing: A Double-Edged Sword17:50 - NEW SEGMENT - This or That!18:45 - Campaign Pre-testing26:13 - Does Creative Inform Media, or Media Inform Creative33:03 - Differentiation vs. Distinctiveness
Where to Listen:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-sleeping-barber-a-business-and-marketing-podcast/id1609811324
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4v0kaM350zEY7X2VBuyfrF?si=7083317d5afd488b
Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84MWVjYWJhNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwji_oSOopP-AhXnlo4IHTZKBgYQ9sEGegQIARAC
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sleepingbarberpodcast
© 2024 Sleeping Barber

May 23, 2024 • 32min
SBP 072: The Barber's Brief - May 23, 2024
Welcome back to another episode of The Barber’s Brief. A segment where we cover news that caught our eye, a marketing moment where we highlight a case study, and our ad of the week.
We hope you enjoy the show!
Our Hosts:
Marc Binkley - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/
Vassilis Douros - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassilisdouros/
Follow our updates here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sleeping-barber/
In The News
Red Lobster Filing bankruptcy because of shrimp
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/20/business/what-went-wrong-at-red-lobster/index.html
Netflix is Launching Its Own Adtech
https://www.adexchanger.com/tv/netflix-is-launching-its-own-ad-tech/
Creatively awarded ads have average effectiveness
https://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2024/05/21/creatively-awarded-ads-once-effective-are-now-officially-average
Marketing Week - Tighter budgets and effective choices
https://www.marketingweek.com/tighter-budgets-effective-choices-your-marketing-week/
The Marketing Moment
Effectiveness of Tourism Australia's award-winning 'Dundee' ad - Mark Ritson
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHgfp83k-10
Background
Big Insight - Strategy Before Tactics
2007 - 2017 Tourists visiting Australia was up 11% BUT
The increase of Americans visiting was much smaller - up 1.3%
The big challenge was the barriers to travel relative to the competition
Australia has high levels of awareness & a desire to visit
But the big problem was intention
Relative to the UK, France, and Italy Americans had ½ of the intention to visit down under
Barriers include
High travel costs
Length of flight
Not enough time to travel
Campaign Strategy
Communication Objective: Increase traveller intention
Business Objective: Grow US Spend from $3.7B to $6b by 2020
Target: High Value Traveller (higher spend & frequency)
Positioning - A beautiful place to meet refreshingly irreverent people
Campaign
Looked like a paid parntership for a new movie Son of Dundee movie trailer release in 2018 with Danny McBride
Superbowl release trailer #2 with Danny & Chris Hemsworth
Started promotions characters & partners like Quantas Airline videos addressing many of the questions preventing Americans from travelling
Results
Most viewed ad in the Superbowl
Won a gold Effie
Intention increased by 83%
13% increase in bookings from American tourists 1 year in
Ad of the Week
Samsung swipes at Apple over controversial ‘Crush!’ ad for iPad Prohttps://www.marketingdive.com/news/samsung-apple-controversy-crush-ad-ipad-pro/716431/Samsung Video: https://youtu.be/v1YuCMHTGd4 Original Apple Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntjkwIXWtrc
Samsung’s Response: Samsung released an ad titled “Creativity Cannot be Crushed” as a rebuttal to Apple’s controversial “Crush!” ad for the iPad Pro.
Ad Details: The Samsung ad features a musician finding a battered guitar in the aftermath of the Apple ad and playing music with the help of a Galaxy Tab S9.
Apple’s Apology: Apple apologized for the “Crush!” ad, which was criticized for being hostile to creativity, and halted its TV run.
Industry Reaction: The quick execution of Samsung’s ad highlights the need for marketers to respond swiftly to social media trends and conversations.
Noteworthy: Following this story’s publication, a spokesperson for BBH USA confirmed Samsung’s “Creativity Cannot be Crushed” ad is running on social channels and does not have paid media support.

May 16, 2024 • 1h 1min
SBP 071: Niche Does Not Mean Tiny. With Dr. Hermann Simon
Ever wondered about the companies leading global markets from behind the scenes? Our latest podcast episode features Dr. Hermann Simon, who unveils the mystery behind his book 'Hidden Champions.'
These mid-sized, niche companies are more influential than you think. Tune in to learn the strategies that make them successful and how they contribute to the global economy in ways you never imagined.
We hope you enjoy the show!
Our Guest:
Founder and Chairman of Simon-Kucher & Partners: world's leading pricing advisor with offices in 27 countries
https://www.simon-kucher.com/en
Inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of fame
Visiting professor at Harvard, Stanford, Tokyo Business School, INSEAD etc
Co-Author of multiple books including Confessions of a pricing Man, Beating Inflation and Hidden Champions
Our Hosts:
Follow our updates here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sleeping-barber/
Get in touch with our hosts:
Marc Binkley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/
Vassilis Douros: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassilisdouros/
Timestamps
0:00 - Intro to Hermann Simon
2:40 - Why Germany is so successful in exports?
4:18 - The growth of Hidden Champion research
5:20 - Defining hidden champion companies
7:17 - Apple’s value chain of “deep tech”
9:22 - Niche businesses aren’t always tiny
10:28 - 3 pillars of Hidden Champions strategy
11:25 - Customer proximity is one of their biggest strengths
12:32 - Hidden Champion’s innovation advantage vs. enterprise orgs
16:01 - How niche focus leads to technological advantages
20:49 - Profitability vs. Market Leadership motives of Hidden Champions
21:45 - Pricing strategy of Hidden Champions
22:48 - Niche companies are not without competitors
24:18 - Why Germany produces so many Hidden Champions
29:12 - Competitive advantages - a 22 year overnight success
31:59 - Government’s role in developing supporting eco-systems
34:12 - Talent development & Leadership style of Hidden Champions
37:00 - The role of M&A
39:35 - Innovation processes inside Hidden Champion orgs
42:10 - Take-aways from Hidden Champions
46:55 - Post-pod with V and Marc
Background Research & Literature:
Simon, H. (1992). Lessons from Germany’s midsize giants. Harvard Business Review, 70, 115–123.
Simon, H. (1996). Hidden champions–Lessons from 500 of the world’s best unknown companies, Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
M&A has an 50-90% failure rate https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-90-mergers-acquisitions-fail-155000525.html
Profit or Growth - You lie in the bed you make https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/10422587211059991
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/worlds-exports-by-country-one-chart/

May 9, 2024 • 32min
SBP 070: The Barber's Brief - May 9, 2024
Welcome back to another episode of The Barber’s Brief. A segment where we cover news that caught our eye, a marketing moment where we highlight a case study, and our ad of the week.
We hope you enjoy the show!
Our Hosts: Follow our updates here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sleeping-barber/ Get in touch with our hosts: Marc Binkley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/ Vassilis Douros: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassilisdouros/ In the News
In the News
Meteoric Rise & Fall of Prime:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/meteoric-rise-stunning-fall-prime-130900275.html
Adweek: Google Delays Cookie Deprication a Third Time
https://www.adweek.com/programmatic/google-delays-cookie-deprecation-for-the-third-time/
Why most launches fail to grow your brand?
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-do-most-launches-fail-grow-your-brand-prof-dr-koen-pauwels-wwsfe/
lobal social media ad spend to approach £200bn in 2024
https://www.marketingweek.com/social-media-spend-200bn/
Marketing Moment: McDonald’s: A 15-Year Brand-Building Triumph
Background
In the early 2000s, McDonald’s faced significant challenges in the UK. Cultural outrage and negative perceptions threatened its very existence. However, the brand’s resilience and innovative approach helped them turn the tide.
The Crisis
Context: McDonald’s was once a beloved part of British life but had lost its luster.
Crisis: A series of events damaged brand perception, putting the business at risk.
Abuse claims - https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66231131
McDonald's runs out of milkshakes in England, Scotland and Wales - https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58315152
The Unique Approach
Emotional Brand-Building: McDonald’s focused on emotional connections rather than just transactions.
Target Audience: Instead of narrow segmentation, they aimed to reach the entire nation.
TV Advertising: TV remained their primary medium, allowing broad reach and emotional storytelling.
Results
Commercial Growth: Despite PR crises, market fragmentation, and Covid-19 disruption, McDonald’s thrived.
£4.7 Billion Net Revenue: Their brand-building efforts contributed significantly.
Case Study Gold: Recognized as the most effective restaurant brand case study by IPA.
References:
Mcdonald’s Marketing Strategy 2024: A Case Study: https://thebigmarketing.com/mcdonalds-marketing-strategy/
McDonald’s: Keeping customers Lovin It for 15 yearhttps://www.thinkbox.tv/case-studies/brand-films/mcdonalds-keeping-customers-lovin-it-for-15-years
Ad of the Week
Trucker Napp VW Meteor
Link: https://youtu.be/5RBayTVBUlQ?si=CxGSUuaH9nyJmErN
42% of auto accidents are related to lack of sleep
In Brazil, truck drivers suffer the highest # of fatal accidents while on the job
Pressure to get deliveries to a location often forces them to not sleep
VW & Livelo (Brazil's largest reward program) created the Trucker Napp app
Connect smartwatch to the Trucker Napp app
Earn points for sleeping
Better sleep quality = more points
The more points a company fleet earns, the more discount the company gets from VW
Timestamps
0:00 - Introduction
0:45 - In The News
0:50 - Prime Energy (The Rise and Fall)
5:40 - Google's Cookie Deprication Delayed. Again.
9:04 - Why Most Launches Fail to Grow Your Business
14:00 - Social Media Has Now Overtaken All Media Channels in Spend
17:00 - The Marketing Moment - McDonald’s: A 15-Year Brand-Building Triumph
23:00 - Audience Q/A
27:00 - Ad of the week

May 2, 2024 • 1h 27min
SBP 069: Slaying Marketing's Sacred Cows. With Dale Harrison.
This week's episode of the Sleeping Barber podcast features Dale W. Harrison, Commercial Strategy & Marketing Effectiveness Consultant @ Inforda Services. Dale features an extraordinary background from physics to finance and marketing.
We dive into the fallacies of demand generation, the truth about ROI, and the impact of brand awareness. Don't miss this enlightening discussion that will leave you with a new perspective on marketing strategy.
Enjoy the show!
Our Guest:
Dale W. Harrison
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalewharrison/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BiotechBestPractices
Our Hosts:
Follow our updates here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sleeping-barber/
Get in touch with our hosts:
Marc Binkley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/
Vassilis Douros: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassilisdouros/
Timestamps
0:00 - Introduction
2:46 - From experimental physics to finance to marketing
10:22 - Faith-based beliefs like lead nurturing and scoring
14:19 - Why some marketing measurements aren’t metrics
17:54 - Lead scoring, MTA & sales velocity should never be performance metrics
23:05 - Comparing the path to purchase of real customers to interpreted intent signals
31:15 - Why ROI is a troubling metric
36:41 - Performance vs. Brand advertising are different asset classes
44:34 - Business value of brand - it makes things more effective AND efficient
46:54 - The point of brand campaigns
51:11 - Mulit-Touch Attribution - just because you can measure something doesn’t mean it’s useful
57:39 - Billboard & radio
58:51 - The fallacy of demand generation & intent signals
1:13 - Post Pod with V and Marc
Background links:
Not All Marketing Metrics are “measurements” - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dalewharrison_%3F%3F%3F-%3F%3F%3F-%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F-%3F%3F%3F%3F-activity-7170140668697276416-iTMJ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
Marketing Effectiveness vs. Efficiency - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dalewharrison_%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F-%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F-activity-7148782037108178944-IEUL?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
Marketing ROI is not a real number you can calculate - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dalewharrison_%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F-%3F%3F%3F-%3F%3F-%3F%3F%3F-%3F-activity-7152401810681483265-yeeT?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
IS MTA actually Even Attribution? - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dalewharrison_%3F%3F-%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F-%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F-%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F-activity-7165085278636822528-pcGY?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
How the CFO Sees Your Marketing Budget - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dalewharrison_%3F%3F%3F-%3F%3F%3F-%3F%3F%3F-%3F%3F%3F%3F-%3F%3F%3F%3F-%3F-activity-7168655113627062272-Sgpo?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
Demand Creation does not exist - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dalewharrison_%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F-%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F-%3F%3F%3F%3F-%3F-activity-7157471671409373184-Ob9v?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
Where to Listen:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-sleeping-barber-a-business-and-marketing-podcast/id1609811324
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4v0kaM350zEY7X2VBuyfrF?si=7083317d5afd488b
Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84MWVjYWJhNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwji_oSOopP-AhXnlo4IHTZKBgYQ9sEGegQIARAC
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sleepingbarberpodcast
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