Jeremy Bullmore reflects on the magical power of words and wonders why copywriters’ efforts seem so thoughtlessly clumsy

While researching his book, Jim Stengel visited a company that has successfully grown its image and profits. Here, he explains some of the unusual business ideas behind the brand

THE QUESTION of how much control we, as marketers and brands, should hand over to the consumer in relation to our communications is an increasingly pertinent one.

Despite the extensive coverage of the idea of ‘sustainability’, less than half the population (44%) know that it refers to the environment.

IN MANY respects, both the Toyota recall and BP oil spill incidents represented a ‘perfect storm’ crisis situation. A rare combination of factors have caused them to be definitive case-studies in crisis management.

IN THE Quarter 3 issue of Market Leader (p55), Julian Saunders signs off with the comment that ‘maybe HR needs to hire not just the brainy types but also those who love to party’.

HUBPAGES, FOUNDED in 2006, just gained its millionth page.

The best advice I ever got … Use your head, trust your instincts and follow your heart. The worst advice I ever got … The careers advisory service at London University said: ‘You’ll never get into advertising unless you are Oxbridge.’

How are you feeling today? Are you feeling noble? Even saintly? Probably not. Well maybe you should be. Because marketing – properly understood and executed – is a profoundly moral activity. But sadly, nobody knows it.

In 1991 Stephen King wrote a prescient article predicting, among other things, the rise of the ‘corporate brand’ in coming years. And lo, this has indeed come about.