bd2 insights

There are no winners in the pandemic. Apart from big tech. And PPE suppliers.

Categories: digital + social media

The forced closure of the high street and fear of leaving home has inevitably benefited online businesses and the tech big 4 signalling the end for several traditional retailers.…

The rule of 6

Categories: digital + design + user experience + ecommerce

First impressions count for a lot - especially online as your competitor's site is but a click away.…

Content is key to Google rankings

Categories: digital + marketing

Google promotes good content and it will always try to put the best, most relevant content in front of people based on what they search on and the quality of the content itself.…

Conversational content

Categories: marketing + social media

A conversational approach to content in your marketing communications is, well, common sense really because a friendly approach is far more likely to attract and engage your audience and build an ongoing dialogue.…

Helping The Senator Group adapt to the 'new normal'

Categories: digital + design + user experience + ecommerce

The pandemic has had a catastrophic impact on many sectors and created huge challenges for most, forcing business models to adapt rapidly.…

It's the fine details that make all the difference

Categories: design + Brand

It might be subtle, but DesignStudio have done a great job in refreshing AO's brand identity as this quick review discusses.…

"I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my lad. 'E's dead... E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker!"

Categories: digital

Internet Explorer has once again been voted the worst thing about using the web, but there's some good news for all IE haters - especially developers - as Microsoft have announced it will kill off IE in 2021.…

The QR code resurrection

Categories: digital

QR codes arrived with a bang in the 2010s and quickly became widespread then, the little square boxes with their random splatter of smaller squares, were gradually seen less and less and it seemed like they were slowly dying. Then the world changed.…

Self retrospective

Categories: bd2 + design

When lockdown started I misheard the instruction to self-isolate and start a series of self-illustrations for, well for my own amusement really, but judging by the comments on Linkedin they tickled a few people so here's the full retrospective.…

How do you get people's attention?

Categories: marketing + business to business + social media

It’s not easy getting people’s attention at the best of times. They’re busy or distracted and often seem to be oblivious to what’s happening around them, so how do we capture the attention of business customers and prospects?…

Be design led.

Categories: design

I believe that design, or indeed any other form of creativity, is something that’s in you, something you must be passionate about and that you have to live and breathe it.…

Form over function. Function over form.

Categories: design

Something that looks beautiful simply because of the “wow” factor of the design has a value of course, but to keep the users' attention and build long-term loyalty, your messaging and content has to deliver value beyond just a pretty picture.…

The impact of COVID-19 on marketing plans

Categories: marketing

Digital advertising business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing budgets are expected to grow by nearly 80% on average in 2021 according to the latest research by technology sector experts Gartner.…

Unsocial media (part 9) - Facebook consistently disappoints by being reactive rather than proactive

Categories: digital + social media

Facebook has long been accused of doing little, at best, to combat hate speech, bullying and illegal activity on its platforms but even now, when its finally driven to act, it’s on their own terms and with an ongoing underlying sense of denial.…

I heart MG

Categories: design

“I (Heart) New York was the perfect logo at the time he created it and remains so today. We lost a brilliant designer and a great New Yorker.”…

More concerns for Wordpress website owners

Categories: digital

The popularity of Wordpress, the world’s most widely used content management system, continues to make it a target for hackers and cyber criminals.…

The art of storytelling

Categories: marketing

If you want to deliver good stories on your website, blog or any of the various platforms you publish on, the focus should be in increasing your investment in visual stories, whether that’s video or imagery, and on the art of storytelling.…

Wordpress is the world's most popular CMS, and the most targeted.

Categories: digital

Just because something's popular, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's the best. Budweiser, for example, is the world's biggest selling beer with over 40 Billion bottles sold every year, but to me at least, it's a beer-coloured, flavourless liquid with bubbles.…

Marketing in the time of Coronavirus

Categories: marketing

The new Marketing Week webinar series, The Lowdown, last week featured Professor Mark Ritson’s views on marketing in the time of Coronavirus. He took us through his predictions for the next couple of years and explained what brands can do to gain competitive advantage during the uncertain times ahead…

Wecrashed

Categories: digital

"Let's build the largest networking community on the planet." Emailed former Wework CEO Adam Neuman at 1am one morning to the company's first employees before they even had a single tenant. The Wework story is a fascinating one of what happens when incredible ambition combines with multi-billion dollar investment seeking 'unicorns', the illusory truth effect and what happens when the hype runs out.…