Thinking Out Loud
The Modern Marketing Blog.
Thinking out loud about transformative marketing, business disruption, social impact marketing and everything in between.
We take inspiration from our clients, our partners (business and otherwise) and sometimes, even our kids, to provide modern marketing advice and fresh thinking on what being a collaborative marketing thought partner means in today’s complex digital landscape.
Look around. Leave comments!
- by Abena Perryman
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- Apr 5th, 2022
Among all the headlines about the pandemic and its many effects on our lives, there have been rumblings of “The Great Resignation”.
- by Abena Perryman
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- Mar 8th, 2022
Unending Pressure. Exhaustion. Burnout. Where do women go from here on this International Women's day 2022? Women have paid a heavy toll.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Jan 18th, 2022
Working virtually has become increasingly common over the past years, especially since the pandemic. Navigating the many technology tools available can be a challenge. Here are 4 virtual collaboration tools to support your collaboration efforts.
- by Leah Andrew
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- May 4th, 2021
Wondering why brand strategy matters in today’s day and age? Here are 3 compelling reasons it matters more than ever.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Apr 27th, 2021
Developing key messages? Pay attention to these seven criteria for key messages that resonate with your customers.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Apr 20th, 2021
What does brand strategy include? There are 3 elements to brand strategy: promise, personality and positioning.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Apr 13th, 2021
The stuck cargo ship in the Suez Canal lacked agility - both physically and strategically. For many, agility is now considered a survival trait for organizations to steer through the ever changing waters of the global pandemic.
- by Abena Perryman
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- Mar 23rd, 2021
Creating effective buyer personas can sometimes be overwhelming and challenging. If you are working to rethink your buyer personas, follow these simple guidelines.
- by Abena Perryman
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- Mar 16th, 2021
Focusing your time and energy on persona development will directly impact your bottom line. If you’re still questioning the value of building customer personas, read these 5 benefits.
- by Abena Perryman
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- Mar 8th, 2021
On this International Women’s day we say thank you to the phenomenal women thought partners we are lucky to collaborate with.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Mar 2nd, 2021
These days most conferences and events continue to be virtual. But, engagement and networking are still the top challenges that organizers face in the virtual world. Make your next online workshop shine with these virtual event engagement ideas.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Feb 16th, 2021
A strong digital marketing strategy is key to an effective marketing plan. When building your marketing strategy, avoid these 3 common pitfalls.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Feb 9th, 2021
How do you go about effectively creating and identifying opportunities for innovation? Here are 5 pieces of advice to spark innovation in your organization.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Feb 2nd, 2021
Ted Lasso is a relationship marketing genius. Here are four tips from Ted to help you build your own client relationships.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Jan 19th, 2021
Need to tweak your marketing strategy? Check out these six marketing strategy guidelines.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Jan 12th, 2021
Need to make January resolutions? Here are three ideas to help live a purposefully unrushed life.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Dec 15th, 2020
2020 saw many marketing leadership skills gain attention. Here are 8 that will continue to be relevant in 2021.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Dec 8th, 2020
Strengthening client relationships is a journey in continuous improvement. How do you continue to build relationships when your typical tactics are no longer available to you? Here are five insights into how to strengthen existing client relationships.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Dec 1st, 2020
Building trust with prospects during a global pandemic, when in person meetings are almost impossible, is no easy task. We must look to new ways to build trust. I'm sharing five ways people are building trust with new clients and colleagues in our new normal.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Nov 11th, 2020
Building strong client relationships during a pandemic requires more than doing great work that adds value. It also requires emotional intelligence skills.
- by Abena Perryman
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- Oct 30th, 2020
With less than 7 days left to the US presidential elections I am glued to the media. I never really paid attention to the emotional marketing that is required to get a candidate elected. And frankly, it is fascinating.
- by Abena Perryman
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- Oct 12th, 2020
Thanksgiving is that time of year that makes me reflect and acknowledge all that I have to be grateful. This year what are you grateful for?
- by Leah Andrew
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- Oct 6th, 2020
With kids back in school, here are three reflections on how homeschooling has actually improved my skills in patient leadership - including the idea that it’s actually about you, not them.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Sep 29th, 2020
Ever heard of fuzzy logic? I hadn't until a recent conversation with my father in law. I decided to break it down and talk about why marketing leaders need to use it more to guide decision making.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Sep 24th, 2020
What does customer experience mean? For me, it’s about the little, unexpected things brands and organizations can do to create great experiences for their customers. Read on for more reflections.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Sep 10th, 2020
With the majority of events now virtual, online presentation tips are more important than ever. Here are 10 ways to nail your next virtual workshop.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Sep 1st, 2020
Here are 3 quick tips for handling crisis communication leaders can apply in any stressful situation, inspired by an off grid canoe trip with 3 kids under 9.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Aug 25th, 2020
What is collaboration? Collaboration is often cited as an important skill for marketers and non marketers alike. But in my experience, few know how to do it successfully.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Aug 17th, 2020
During a client conversation recently, I nonchalantly mentioned the 7 functions of marketing. My client stopped me and asked for more detail. Suddenly I found myself expanding on this idea.
- by Abena Perryman
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- Aug 7th, 2020
Brand agility isn’t a competitive advantage - it is a survival trait. Today’s successful businesses have learned to change to stay relevant.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Jul 28th, 2020
Get 3 quick tips to help you boost your creative thinking powers inspired by 3 actual conversations with my thoughtful, philosophical 6 year old son.
- by Abena Perryman
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- Jul 21st, 2020
Brand agility isn’t a competitive advantage - it is a survival trait. Today’s successful businesses have learned to change to stay relevant.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Jul 14th, 2020
If you’re considering engaging someone to help you navigate the next wave of transformation and marketing, check out these 7 questions.
- by Abena Perryman
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- Jul 7th, 2020
What will marketing look like post pandemic? Here are 5 marketing trends - from the rise of emotional intelligence to mainstay virtual teams.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Jun 30th, 2020
Happy Canada Day! What does being a Canadian brand mean to us? We’re sharing 4 Brand Values that we believe are Distinctly Canadian.
- by Abena Perryman
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- Jun 23rd, 2020
My quick acclimation to welcoming home a 7 week old puppy was a swift reminder of some essential coaching tips. Use these tips with your marketing or leadership team as your business is transitioning.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Jun 16th, 2020
Are you a recent grad wondering “is marketing for me?” Read these 11 marketing tenets and get insight into values you want your company to have.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Jun 9th, 2020
Wondering how to build strong marketing partnerships? As marketing thought partners, we believe a strong marketing partnership needs 5 agreements:
- by Abena Perryman
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- Jun 4th, 2020
In business, I learned quickly three topics to stay clear of: sex, religion and politics. However, recent events have compelled me to raise my voice in social network forums that I normally wouldn't express my social - political views.
- by Leah Andrew
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- May 26th, 2020
How do we need to rethink our marketing assumptions in a post COVID world? Here are 8 assumptions for consideration, reflection and discussion.
- by Abena Perryman
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- May 19th, 2020
Can you truly be “ready” for a pandemic? For me, the answer was a definitive “no”. Here are five pandemic marketing lessons I’ve learned so far.
- by Leah Andrew
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- May 10th, 2020
6 lessons on motherhood can be applied to our marketing approaches as well – from high expectation and commitment to the power of treats.
- by Abena Perryman
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- Apr 28th, 2020
Is your organization ready to accelerate digital transformation for post pandemic success? Here are six key elements an organization needs.
- by Abena Perryman
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- Apr 21st, 2020
With graduation around the corner for many young people, some might be wondering “is marketing a good major?”
- by Abena Perryman
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- Apr 2nd, 2020
If you need to reinvent your marketing department, we offer 6 elements to think about, along with some high level questions to ask yourself to help guide your own marketing transformation.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Mar 20th, 2020
It’s no secret that in the space of a week (ish) CoVid-19 has changed the way we live. Client calls are spent discussing how they should respond. Everyone wants to know, what is appropriate when it comes to marketing in a pandemic? Here are 3 questions to consider.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Mar 12th, 2020
Is your leadership team stuck in the past? Are you in the midst of a big industry change or do you sense that one is coming soon? Is a marketing thought partner your next move? Here are the 4 questions to ask yourself.
- by Abena Perryman
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- Mar 9th, 2020
This #IWD2020, I took some time to think about all the women who have inspired, mentored, coached, and supported me in my journey to where I am today. As I reflected on this, I was struck by some statistics that show both how far we’ve come, and how much more work there is to do.
- by Abena Perryman
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- Feb 3rd, 2020
Picking the right team member should look at: cultural fit, attitude (i.e. their the ability to learn), and the skillset required to make a contribution. When selecting a marketing partner those 3 items are just as important, but there are 6 additional questions that you should consider...
- by Leah Andrew
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- Dec 5th, 2019
B2B companies rarely have marketing as their immediate priority. Today’s digital marketing landscape requires a well thought out strategic marketing planning process.
- by Abena Perryman
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- Nov 15th, 2019
Collaboration is the new competitive advantage and there is no doubt that the right marketing thought partner can add value to your business. Learn 3 ways it can help your bottom line.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Oct 26th, 2019
What is a marketing thought partner? Expert, guru, thought partner and many others....these are all terms to express a person with superior knowledge in one area who can help people or organizations evolve.
- by Leah Andrew
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- Dec 10th, 2016
The other day I sat down with my 5 year old daughter to write her letter to Santa. As I reflected on her letter, I realized it held some simple truths that apply to marketing, as well as more broadly to how we live our lives on a daily basis.
- by Abena Perryman
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- Jun 10th, 2016
A week ago today Muhammad Ali, born Casiuss Clay, died at the age of 74, having lived a full life. Although he made his name within boxing, he transcended sports and was a true marketer, master brand builder and influential thought partner.
- by Abena Perryman
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- Jan 5th, 2016
Who is the Andrew behind Andrew Perry Marketing? Well if you ask for Andrew, you’ll be sorely disappointed. No Andrew here, just founding partners Leah Andrew and Abena Perryman.
