In the previous post, Ian covered critical parts of developing your brand from the inside out. Why you exist. Who you are. What your plan is. All incredibly important parts of defining your brand. But, all about you.

We were invited by SETsquared, the world’s No1 University Business Incubator, to run a workshop for 15 startups on the principles underpinning the creation of a brand.

Here’s a summary of From a Great Product to a Great Brand – Episode 1.

Our eye-catching campaign Invisible Protector for the innovative new Airliner product created a tension between what’s seen and what isn’t. Produced in association with Vittoria, Yanzi Creative and the EF Nippo team, we delivered a series of Hero, Hub and Help assets for digital media, building on The Ride Ahead brand idea.

Is purpose an indulgence business can scarce afford faced with the more immediate challenges brought about in the wake of Covid? To answer that we surely have to first define what we mean by purpose in the first place. Here’s why the way we think about purpose is worth unpicking.

As the business world begins a journey to whatever normal is, one thing is for sure – it won’t require everyone in the office all the time.

During the past year, one lesson has crystallized for me. In or out of office, creativity requires clarity. In fact, there are nine conditions for creativity – but overall it dies without clarity.

What did Firehaus learn last year that we’d like to pass on? Read on dear friend…

The renewable energy of creativity can power innovation, adaptability and growth in uncertain times.

Got it?

When I put my marketer and marker pens to bed at night the question returns.

‘Am I the problem when it comes to the climate crisis?’

What marketers can do about it and how Lou Reed might help.

Five tips to help you get your marketing aligned before the buyers arrive.

Purpose-this, purpose-that. The marketing industry is tearing itself up arguing about whether it ‘works’ in ads or not (and thereby missing the point). All the while investors and businesses are slowly coming around to the idea that you can not only make profits and do good but that you will make more profits if you do good.

Last year Firehaus launched Spark, our Conditions for Creativity diagnostic, with the specific intention of helping businesses identify what they’re currently doing to both boost and block creativity across all their staff.

Now, a year in and with the comparative data of 10 businesses and over 160 individuals have gone through the process, I thought it would be interesting to reflect on what we’ve learned along the way.

Much has been said of late about the subject of home or remote working, often from the perspective of the home-worker themselves. But what about the managers of remote teams keen to support how fresh thinking can happen? We re-think what is meant by ‘creative environment’ and provide advice on how managers can therefore help shape it.

Messy Middle? What are you talking about?

I’m glad you asked. The ‘messy middle’ is a new concept from a recent report from Google on how consumers make decisions about purchases. Think of it as a potential replacement for the marketing funnel, marketing’s Schrödinger's cat.

The Future of the Corporation initiative from The British Academy rightly positions Purpose in the boardroom not the marketing department. But that should ignite more creativity, transparency and trust.

We’ve brought together a group of like-minded partners to discover how the Covid-19 crisis was impacting the marketing strategies and activities of the brands and suppliers based here. The Discovidery survey is the result. By discovering more we can understand more and play an active role in the sector’s recovery from the pandemic. Our view being that greater collaboration enhances the prospects of all.

I’ve been lucky enough to work with Paul on many occasions. It’s been interesting to see how he allowed his instincts and ‘eye’ to guide his creativity, rather than being a style copyist. His visceral approach to image making found it’s natural home in fashion. So let’s find out more.

Scenario planning? What are you talking about?

I’m glad you asked. Scenario planning is a way of undertaking strategic thinking and planning with uncertainty baked-in. It allows you to plan and prepare even when you’re not entirely sure which way the world is going.

What can a creative mindset teach us about handling uncertainty and driving business growth? In our latest blog, we explore ways in which the worlds of art and business are not so dissimilar.

Next up in our series of short conversations with our diverse Firehaus Crew, we discuss what we can learn about creativity from programming with Matt Hardy, tech-aficionado and founder of hydramind.