Simon Mainwaring

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

Brands

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AdAge recently did a great article on micro-sponsorship highlighting leading brands like Quaker Oats and Pepsi that are reaching out to communities for their stories and ideas around positive social change. To me this begs the question, are these marketing or research campaigns? In my mind they’re a little of both and a smart thing […]

AdAge recently did a great article on micro-sponsorship highlighting leading brands like Quaker Oats and Pepsi that are reaching out to communities for their stories and ideas around positive social change. To me this begs the question, are these marketing or research campaigns? In my mind they’re a little of both and a smart thing …

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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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This is such a period of amazing transformation for brands, the advertising industry, corporations, media and consumers. Each player not only has to make sense of a new marketplace but has to remake themselves in order to thrive. Finally they have to let others know about it or they’ve wasted all that effort. The same …

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Social media has opened the door to far more effective dialogue between brands and consumers. Like any relationship, though, if both parties aren’t equally invested it’s unlikely to last. At first, many brands just rushed to have any sort of social media presence. In my experience it went something like this. Twitter account. Check. Facebook …

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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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Last week the Brookings Institute kindly included me in the U.S./Islamic World Forum in Qatar. It was a fantastic collaborative and learning experience. The theme for our working group was ‘New Media in the Age of Globalization”. Our group was comprised of State Dept. officials, religious leaders, private sector business leaders, Middle Eastern philanthropists and …

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