As summer finally shows its face in my part of the world and the year counts out, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who take the time to read, to comment and to publicise my posts. A blog is definitely a labour of love, even in this age of content marketing, and having others read, respond and feed into issues that catch my eye is hugely satisfying.
I’m often asked why I invest so much time posting. Three reasons.
I’m a brand geek. I love the ways brands work. I enjoy the ironies of how they work most effectively. I find them a great lens through which to look at business problems.
Secondly, I’m an avid reader and Upheavals is a great opportunity to share thinking that inspires me, from a full range of sources.
Thirdly, preparing posts generates amazing conversations with all sorts of people – from those I know very well (that’s you Christine, Alex, Blair, Jeremy, Sherryl, Di, Simon, Sarah, Mike, Adrienne, Gren and Sam) to marketers like Hilton Barbour and Sandra Pickering whose ongoing views, opinions and inputs I always look forward to. And of course Tom Asacker, whom I had the pleasure of interviewing in some depth this year for the inaugural Virtual Coffee.
Upheavals is also a work in progress. It’s an opportunity to document my thinking about brands, strategy, creativity and responsibility on an ongoing basis and as the theories, writings and opinions of others influence my approach. It is, or at least I hope it is, a blog that appeals to those with open and restless minds.
This year, visitors have tripled. That’s due in no small part to one big change: my involvement with Derrick Daye and the amazing thinkers and writers at Branding Strategy Insider. A warm and grateful hat tip to Derrick, Brad, Pete, Thomson, Walker, Nigel and Mark for making me feel so welcome.
In the year ahead, my consulting dance card is looking pretty full, at least for the first six months. A great trip to Malaysia this year though reminded me just how much I enjoy speaking as well as workshopping. I’m looking forward to more of that in 2014. Please contact me if you’re looking to shake things up a little.
In New Zealand, we’ll see the New Year in first tomorrow. As 2014 makes its way to you, may I wish you a happy, safe, productive and profitable year ahead.
Acknowledgements
Photo of “Pohutukawa (New Zealand Christmas Tree)”, taken by Sids 1, sourced from Flickr
