“Platform business” models, done well, are the unicorns that fuel the imaginations of young entrepreneurs and investors alike. They’re designed to provide value, have a healthy network affect and have (potentially) multiple income streams. — Done poorly (typically retroactively), platform businesses become siloed and restrictive white elephants — when the intention of the platform was not one of value creation but rather a distraction from an already commoditised product, cost cutting or efficiency building for the owner.

We keep seeing a (normally peer-pressured and unmotivated) move of major businesses to become ‘platform’ businesses. To offer your clients more than the usual set of products that they started off with. Banks started offering airtime, airtime businesses starting offering banking services. Both offered insurance and then both tried to…

In the industry of marketing, advertisers and agencies there seems, to some, to be a battle between 2 forces — agency & client. Two sides of the same coin. On one side we have agencies. They’re typically fight for creativity, the idea(!) …

Creativity is sold as an exclusive service that can only be delivered by a special few; those with creative titles in creative industries. — Design Indaba reminded me that creativity can come from (literally) anywhere. David Droga apologised to the audience for having to listen to a marketing person and I was a little taken back. The arrogance of the marketing and advertising world fell down on me like a ton of well-designed, eco-bricks.

Why distinction is important — Imagine being a judge at the World Martial Arts Championship. Imagine walking into a massive arena where 50 of the best martial artists in the world are there in the hope of winning the title, and winning the crowd’s hearts. Now, imagine each one of these martial artists, alone, in…

Programmatic, Digital, Drones, AR, VR, Ai, Blockchain, Pepper the Robot, Influencers, Big Data and all the rest of the “trends” we see lately are not ideas. — They are methods, resources, inputs and channels that form part of a larger strategy to reach audiences in a meaningful way. They do not solve for shitty products, bad messaging, poor timing or shallow creative. If used, they should be part of an integrated approach that includes some insights-driven marketing and communications.

An article I wrote with Nicholas Nesbitt. Find it here.

Like me, you might have a world of creative resources floating around anywhere from your downloads folder to your desktop or in job folders. — Here is my attempt to help organize your creative assets. Feel free to download the whole creative resources folder structure here. Here’s what it’s made up of: The root contains almost all types of files you would need or have in your creative library, from vectors and audio to video and Photoshop actions.

If you’re a designer, freelance or part of an agency, you’ll understand the frustration of not being able to find what you’re looking for. Even worse is when your own filing system is so bad you get lost in your own work. — I have been guilty of both, and although I am not a designer anymore, I was going through my old work and started the process of filing properly. …