February insights: what are you worth, and problematic waterways that are much bigger deal than most people realise.

As well as being late because I forgot to post here after I sent the direct email, this is a shorter edition as there wasn't much worth sharing.

Normal service will resume this month and I promise there are some cracking insights to look out for.

It’s a truism in our sector that when budgets are tight, marketing and related functions are the first to get cut. But according to the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), many companies are choosing to keep their marketing activity alive. That’s potentially bad news for those who are cutting budgets.

Sticking with IPA, I strongly recommend checking out this event, on how to tell human stories with data – and that’s what it’s all about isn’t it? Here are the details: IPA Insight Summit 2024. It’s on for half a day in March, virtually or in person, and is at a price you can’t say no to.

What should you expect people to pay for your products or services? Kantar can answer some of that in this very useful article about communicating price. (It’s another reminder that none of us is as logical and rationale as we may think.)

I nearly didn’t include this next article because of the prevalence of ‘uptick’ mentions. I may have to write a strongly worded letter of protest to YouGov. Anyway, this update on brand movers should interest any company with a good public profile or that aspires to have one. It also includes mentions of what any organisation might consider as part of its metrics mix.

YouGov have also published a further update on the top brands overall, plus those that are most improved. Pant purveyors M&S are top of the ‘good’ list but what’s really interesting is that P&O have started to recover after a torrid spell when they were one of the most demonised companies in the country. They have a long way to go but at least they’ve crawled out of their pitiful negative score.?

One of my favourite work trips ever was to Panama where I was representing a client at a trade conference. (Listen – in my decade working for the NHS and Edinburgh Council, a day trip to Elgin or Falkirk was considered exotic, so you bet I’m mentioning Panama!) Anyway, the visit included a trip to see major expansion works at the Canal and an epic return leg on a train through the rainforest. I also discovered that the Panamanians nicked the idea for their hats and what makes them special, but that’s another story.

I digress. The point is that canals are causing a lot of trouble and even if they fall into the Dull-But-Important category for most of us, we’d all do well to pay attention. Most people will know about the attacks in the Red Sea affecting traffic through the Suez Canal. But its counterpart in Panama is also having issues as McKinsey explain, and that will have an effect on economies.

At an even larger scale, another McKinsey report suggests the trading world is getting smaller, with huge implications for supply chains and even geopolitics. This long read is for masochists only.? As far as I can tell, it’s saying that everyone should get busy figuring out how they’re going to be affected and start adapting.