Blog
Communicating value: How good marketing shines a light on innovation (OTC Houston 2013 digest pt II)
The offshore industry, on display at OTC Houston this week, has always been associated with technical and technological advancement, as exploration and production takes place at deeper depths in more extreme environments. As an industry built rooted in engineering, we talked …
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Facing up five marketing challenges impacting energy sector innovators (OTC Houston 2013 digest pt I)
Preparing for the OTC show, it has been very interesting thumbing the industry magazines and looking at prominent companies sponsoring and advertising their products and services. For me, too many industrial manufacturers targeting sectors like oil and gas spend vast …
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Brand messaging: how to stay informed and keep control
We live in the golden age of social media, where Twitter, Facebook and blogs rule the roost, and where brand reputations are made and ruined in an instant. A new wave of citizen journalism has taken a global hold, with …
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Taking a technology led approach to exhibition stand design
Nothing beats a first-hand experience and your trade show booth is like your shop front. These days, retailers go to all kind of extremes to get people through the door. Take the scantily clad surfer dudes who hang around outside …
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PR to take on the world
As an international B2B marketing communications consultancy, BDB works with global companies to build their profile and reputation across the world. These international capabilities have enabled us to successfully respond to the needs of global packaging solutions specialist tna. BDB …
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Hot desk – the importance of research in marketing communications (part II)
In my previous blog on desk-based research, I provided an explanation as to why the research (and in particular desk-based research) process is so crucially important for b2b marketers hoping to develop a strategic, evidence-based marcomms campaign. I also outlined …
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Vitafoods: a sharp focus makes for exhibition success
In my experience, time flies not only when you’re having fun, but also when things are going really well. That’s how I feel about Vitafoods. It seems like only a few weeks since I came back from last year’s show, …
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Natural ingredients to steal the show at in-cosmetics 2013?
A hot topic at this year’s in-cosmetics in Paris will be the industry’s continued focus on natural ingredients. Of the 640+ exhibitors, many will be showcasing how cosmetics manufacturers can develop natural, chemical-free products that attract increasingly health- and label-conscious …
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Traditional trade shows – a valuable opportunity for the packaging sector
As marketing and company travel budgets remain firmly under the microscope, many industry experts had predicted that the traditional tradeshow could soon be consigned to the history books. A casualty of the online revolution, a growing number of organisations are …
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Email marketing – the phoenix from Google Reader’s flames
The recent announcement by Google that it is to shut down its RSS feed aggregator, Google Reader, probably flew under the radar for many in a busy news week that included announcing the new pope and the parliamentary vote on …
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Don’t be scared of social media – it can be your friend!
Last week I attended Pro2Pac in London, where I ran three workshops on how companies can use social media in the packaging industry. Despite this being one of the more forward-thinking sectors when it comes to embracing social media and …
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Do or die: 6 b2b marketing trends to be embraced
Most people make predictions at the beginning and end of the year. As things move so fast in b2b marketing, I wanted to blog now on the trends b2b marketers should be aware of, but might not yet be capitalising …
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The fundamentals of good design
In the world of industrial marketing, we’re communicating more than ever before whether that’s through the web and social media, videos, games or other channels. So we mustn’t underestimate the effect visual and interactive communications have on influencing perceptions and …
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Make your brand memorable
He Who Pays The Piper Once upon a time… …functional food and nutraceuticals manufacturers could really go to town on their product marketing. Then regulations tightened, EFSA started to dictate on-pack wording and everyone started to play safe with woolly …
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Be inspired
As a creative agency, we are fascinated by where inspiration comes from. Where do those little sparks of energy that create the best ideas, designs and solutions to problems arise? Understanding what inspires people helps to build stronger working relationships. …
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A Window on the North-West? Russia opens up to Manchester
Following on from his previous blog on Russian culture and customs, John shares his insights after recently attending the NorthWest Insider’s breakfast conference on Doing Business in Russia. With a new low-cost route between Manchester and Moscow scheduled to begin …
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Hot desk – the importance of research in marketing communications
Few marketing professionals would disagree that a marketing communications campaign must be underpinned by a clear and well-defined strategy, if it is to meet and exceed its objectives. However, while a ‘strategic approach’ is upheld as industry best practice, a …
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There’s no deserts here: export potential in the Middle East
When the US looks at a region for export growth, you know it is on the rise. And with US exports to the Middle East reaching more than $66 billion last year[1], it is time for the region to shine. …
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Four tech developments to consider in future B2B campaigns
Over recent years BDB has been creating innovative apps (for use at exhibitions and as sales tools), designing virtual online events, and delivering rich media emarketing and more. We like to keep on top of what’s happening and here’s a …
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Remembering who your B2B customer is
We stumbled across a brilliant piece of research from Google this week, hidden away on its Think with Google site, as we were reflecting on how B2B companies promote themselves – and to who. Specification selling is complicated. A segmented …
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Public relations – hot right now
The future of public relations looks bright, if a recent PRCA careers event is anything to go by. At the “Breaking into public relations” conference attended by nearly 200 undergraduate and post-graduate students from across the UK at Manchester Metropolitan …
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Being brave in the new packaging world
Regular readers of my blog posts will know how passionate I am about all things international. It’s not just a hobby, or a result of my education, which focussed heavily on languages and international business. It’s because, over the past …
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Why you need to market smarter in 2013, and how to do it
It’s nearly the end of January. You might be feeling pretty pleased that you’ve planned, budgeted and agreed all your 2013 marketing activity. Or maybe you’re painfully aware that you haven’t yet – and are thinking you now need to …
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What are your b2b digital marketing priorities for 2013?
Speaking as part of the recent Smart Insights online digital marketing summit, digital director René made the case for a focus on “back to basics” b2b digital techniques for 2013. Available on-demand for free now on BrightTalk, René’s 45 minute …
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New Year: new creative thinking
How are your New Year resolutions working out? If you’ve already failed to maintain them, take heart in the fact it is probably because of the way you’ve set about attempting to keep them. We lose desire because we often …
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