Can we all agree on what ‘metaverse’ means?
What is this thing we’re calling the metaverse? There’s a steep learning curve for much of the emerging technology I write about – quantum computing, precision medicine, artificial intelligence, solid state batteries and cybersecurity. Three years after writing about the quantum technologies landscape in Canada, I’ll return to the same topic but different country, come across new words and reach for the dictionary. Except it wouldn’t be much help because everyone means something different, and...
A lightbulb moment
I have a magpie mind; I collect information. But, I fail to accumulate knowledge. Fleetingly, I’ll be a world authority on a subject because I’ve spoken to experts and interviewed thought leaders. All that research benefits my clients, but it doesn’t stick in my head. The last thing I learnt gets pushed out to make room for new words. Recently, I was writing about retrofitting to replace fluorescent tube lighting with LEDs. The client referred to the phasing out of fluorescent lighting in the...
Curation for the (COVID) duration
Are you avoiding the news? According to research by the Reuters Institute, 60 per cent of people say they always, often or sometimes avoid news during the present Covid-19 emergency. Well, this is a news-free zone. As we endure the second month of lockdown, I share with you the best distractions from the rolling doom-and-gloom. What do you mean we can come out now..? I haven’t finished Better Call Saul. What I’m watching The Banff Mountain Film Festival will release new additions to their...
Marketing thru COVID – a plan of sorts
COVID-19 brought the film and TV industry to a halt, more or less overnight on 17 March 2020. The next day, I jumped on a call with the two owners of Power Gems, and we came up with a way to harness the six years spent working together to build a global brand. The Manchester-based business designs and manufactures a specialist lighting product for film and TV production, with the majority of sales overseas. My approach I created a one-month campaign to strengthen their online marketing efforts...
The Future of Fintech for The CA
About twenty years ago, I got my first experience of working on a business magazine. Amid deadlines for a Masters in Journalism and early morning shifts at a press cutting agency, I filed my first piece for The CA magazine. Back then, the magazine was produced in-house, by a dedicated team of writers and designers, in the Stockbridge office of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. The magazine then went out to a competitive tender and the River Group has become the latest content...
Moby, Elton John and The Ghost Writer
Is it ever worth reading the Afterword, the bit at the end of a book that explains how it came into being? Below is an excerpt taken from Porcelain, the coming-of-age memoir written by musician and DJ, Moby: “When I first talked to a literary agent about writing a memoir I mentioned that it would be really fun to hire a writer. My literary agent said: ‘You’re descended from Herman Melville. You need to at least try to write the book on your own.’ And happily, it turned out that I love to...
AI, machine learning and robots
What AI and machine learning mostly need is an image makeover. I’d like to set something straight. Writing about AI and machine learning does not always involve robots. Sometimes it does, like CHIRON, a pioneering ‘care-in-the-home’ system which in the future may help people to stay living independently in their own homes for longer. That’s just one application of AI and machine learning and would make for a good picture: a robot delivering a misplaced pair of glasses to an older person...
Virgin vs The Gym Group: Who’s winning the sign game?
When you visit the toilet on a Virgin Train you see this:At The Gym Group this is what you see: Two campaigns using a playful persona, only one is a success. The Virgin Trains one is irritating and tiresome – that’s even before Will Ferrell was brought in to provide the pre-recorded message: "Please don't flush nappies, sanitary towels, paper towels, gum, old phones, unpaid bills, junk mail, your ex's sweater, hopes, dreams or goldfish down this toilet." Talking toilets? No thanks. The...
Defining your target audience: Gaffers, best boy and grips
I like to believe I’m a copywriter who understands my client’s industry and business, but what exactly is the difference between a gaffer and a best boy? Fortunately film critic, Antonia Quirke has made a series for BBC Radio 4 – Quirke’s Cast and Crew, where she explains who does what in the film industry. In the first episode, Gaffer & Best Boy, she talks to members of the film crew responsible for all things electrical. He who controls the light So, we discover, it turns out the gaffer...
Is finding your ideal customer in the DNA or A/B?
How do you find your ideal customer? In the ideal world, you would conduct extensive research. You would learn about your target customer’s likes, their interests and occupation. In the real world, you may only know what pain point your product or service addresses. From that though, you can figure out what features would be attractive, and write about the benefits of buying your product or service. Often, you need to go mass market, and spray and pray, which isn’t ideal, but it does work on...