Simon Mainwaring

We First provides consulting and training to help companies tell the story of their good work in ways that build their business

Consumers

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This week I had the pleasure of speaking at Connect Now in Australia with some great people including @garyvee @briansolis @debs @missrogue @huxley @silkcharm @fibendall @worldnomads and @problogger (all great people to follow). We learned a lot from each other and the conference was a huge success so congrats to @SiobahnBilfun. At one point Gary and […]

This week I had the pleasure of speaking at Connect Now in Australia with some great people including @garyvee @briansolis @debs @missrogue @huxley @silkcharm @fibendall @worldnomads and @problogger (all great people to follow). We learned a lot from each other and the conference was a huge success so congrats to @SiobahnBilfun. At one point Gary and …

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The old adage goes, “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it”. This has never been more true than in the days of social media. So how do you create effective content? How to you capture attention, engage hearts and minds and drive conversation. I’ve been getting this question a lot (and it …

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Check out this virtual choir (virtually) conducted by Eric Whitacre. Without overstating things, it struck me as emblematic of the dynamic at work across social media and its transformative potential. Here we see people otherwise unknown to each other raising their voices in harmony directed towards a common goal. At the risk of sounding lofty, …

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“Radio equals listening to the playlists of unknown radio people. Newspapers equal reading the playlists of unknown newspaper people. I want to read and hear lists curated by people I know.” I read these words a couple of weeks ago. They touched on an important trend that will change the advertising industry. Traditional silos (television, …

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These are fighting words, especially from an ad guy such as myself, but I see several reasons to argue the case. 1. CONSUMER GENERATED CONTENT HAS EARNED RESPECT: Last week the New York Times contained a provocative piece noting that the most popular Super Bowl ad was created by consumers (Doritos). This is just one, …

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For a long time advertising has operated on a conceit that brands and consumers were in dialogue when, in truth, brands were dictating consumer behavior, pushing messaging on the public and often exploiting their trust or gullibility. Phrases such as “We’re here to help you”, “We put you first” and notions like customer-centric companies sounded …

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