We really enjoyed our time with the Adelaide Thunderbirds and Netball SA. Recently Netball SA and the Adelaide Thunderbirds needed strategic marketing leadership to cover a maternity leave position. For 2 days a week over 2023, Brand Nexus consulted with Netball SA’s CEO, Senior Leadership team and their Board to lead their marketing and events team and deliver a three year strategic marketing plan. A consulting arrangement like this gives an organisation flexibility to switch on capability as required and enough contact time to ensure the marketing team are delivering to objectives. The TBirds won the Suncorp Super Netball Premiership that year and while we can’t say our marketing and event strategies contributed to this, it was certainly a bonus sharing that experience. Brand Nexus continues to work with:

- Department of Infrastructure and Transport (EzyPlates) (South Australian Government)

- StudyAdelaide (South Australian Government)

- Adelaide Motorsport Festival

- Australia China Business Council (GreenChannel Podcast)

- Australian Surf Rowers League (Day For It Podcast)

- Manser Wines

Recently I was part of a panel talking to start-up entrepreneurs about marketing and brand-building. A question from the audience was which books I would recommend to read about marketing so I went back through my physical and virtual bookcase to pull out some that have influenced me over the years. It’s not a definitive list and there are many I’ve likely left off, but here are some that have shaped and are shaping my experience in the business.

In the 1950s and 60s, there were two school of thoughts about advertising. David Ogilvy, who started his agency a year before Bernbach, believed that advertising is a science that relies on formula. For Bernbach, on the other hand, advertising was an art.

Sports-lovers back winners but Australian F1 driver Dan Ricciardo hasn’t been winning a lot lately. But that hasn’t stopped him from being arguably the most popular driver on the F1 circuit - not just here in Australia but around the F1 paddock and around the world. And here are the five reasons why.

A concept gaining popularity in the U.S. at the moment - and particularly in the start-up world - is the "Fractional" C-suite. As the name suggests, a company can access a high-level CFO, COO or CMO at a fraction of their time - 1, 2 or 3 days a week - or as-needed. This gives a client flexibility of gaining high-level marketing resourcing but at a fraction of the cost.

A custom podcast for your brand is an ideal way to keep current customers engaged and retained or to attract new customers. If your content is entertaining and contains relevant information, your customers will keep returning to your website for appointment podcast downloads. If they’re coming to your website, they’re not going to your competitors’.

Brand Nexus produces “The Pub Test Podcast with Mark Bickley & Dan Demaria” and is working with some clients to produce their own bespoke custom podcasts. Entertain to engage while discreetly informing prospective customers with your own commercial messages.

Have a listen to see if Bicks and Dan can engage your customers with your own custom podcast:

www.ThePubTestPodcast.com.au

Tom Roach is a respected VP of Brand Planning at Jellyfish in London.

Tom nails what he describes as the seven principles of effective marketing communication. I agree with Tom 100% as these principles were the basis of my career in advertising and marketing. Read Tom’s article here.

“You cannot sell a man who isn't listening” - Bill Bernbach

The company I worked at which had the most influence on my career was DDB Sydney.

The “B” was Bill Bernbach – considered the “godfather of modern advertising”. I tried to convince the new interns I was the “DD” but nobody was buying it.