Inspiration

Content Creation

The Rise of The Machines

September 24, 2016February 26, 2020By CAT 1 Comment

Well, after thirty years of publishing, the Independent and the Independent on Sunday have ended their print editions in late March and, although they’ll continue online, it is a sad indictment of the changing face of the media.

At its peak in the late 80s, the Independent was selling more than 400,000 copies a day but its final paid circulation had fallen drastically to around 56,000. Internet publishing wasn’t even possible then, let alone a priority. The big strategic question then was whether the newspaper should be reformatted, from broadsheet to tabloid, to bolster sales against the already-tabloid Times, which seems almost laughable by today’s standards. (more…)

Training

Star CAT’s Encore

July 5, 2014February 29, 2020By CAT 3 Comments

Avid followers of my blog may recall that, in March, I was invited onto Star Radio 107fm to divulge my thoughts on PR in the music and entertainment industry as part of the Cambridge Marketing Colleges Marketing Review show. (more…)

Promotions

It’s Time

April 13, 2014November 5, 2015By CAT No Comments

They say that a day is a long time in politics. In the music industry, a decade seems like a lifetime.

In a short space of only a few years, the way we consume music has changed unrecognisably, metamorphosing from the fantastic plastic through to pint-sized compact discs and settling on the current darling of choice…the digital download.

Whatever next? Cranial implants? You may smile, but that ‘fantasy’ may not be confined to the realms of science fiction with recent developments in China already pushing the boundaries of android technology. (more…)

Training

Music PR Is The Star

March 16, 2014January 11, 2017By CAT 1 Comment

Last month, I was invited to divulge my thoughts on PR in the music and entertainment industry as part of the Cambridge Marketing Colleges Marketing Review feature on Star Radio 107fm.

I don’t often swap my usual position with the microphone to become the subject of an interview but it was great to give people an insight into the world of music PR and to dispel the myth portrayed in Absolutely Fabulous that it’s all about cracking open the “bolly dahhhlings“. (more…)

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It’s Getting Hot In Here

December 20, 2013November 13, 2015By CAT 2 Comments

I read a story recently about a little ginger seal pup who was being shunned by its fellow colony members. Nature can be cruel…and so can the human race.

It reminded me about an old Scottish saying about “being the talk of the steamie” – a reference to the gossiping ladies who used to frequent the Glasgow public wash-houses in the ’40s discussing the antics of the local community. (more…)

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Perception, The Final Frontier

October 5, 2013February 1, 2016By CAT No Comments

Recently, I caught an interview with Aerosmith’s lead singer, Steve Tyler, who made a comment that made me contemplate things: “We’re just living on the tail of a comet.”

I have long been a star-gazer. I often catch myself stealing a sneaky peak at the heavens, dreaming sub-consciously of galaxies far, far away. But that’s another story.

It is fascinating, though, to consider our place in a universe that we barely understand, even more so when you put it in the context of being just a mere speck in space and time. (more…)

News

A Nation of Shopkeepers

September 1, 2013December 2, 2015By CAT 3 Comments

freelancer n : A person hired to do specific assignments, not employed continuously

The world of the freelancer is a stressful place to be.

In my career as a Communications Specialist I have worked with many different clients, in many different business sectors and have often been approached by marketing, advertising and PR agencies to provide freelance support.

(more…)

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Watching You, Watching Me

August 10, 2013December 2, 2015By CAT 2 Comments

I found myself in a North Norfolk pub a couple of weeks ago.

I confess that there is nothing strange about that, in itself, but what followed filled me with surprise and bewilderment.

I was participating in a photoshoot with rock photographer Nick Elliott and Scottish hit makers The Marmalade when poor weather stopped play and forced us to take refuge in the rural drinking establishment.

(more…)

News

Kicking The Business Bucket

August 2, 2013December 2, 2015By CAT 2 Comments

I often chat with fellow business owners and self-employed people during the course of my working day and there’s a challenge which appears to be facing everyone – how do you manage to make your finances go further in Britain today?

It seems that most small businesses and, let’s be honest, individuals are struggling to balance the books, as a recent Which? poll revealed. (more…)

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The Advertising Effect

February 24, 2013December 9, 2015By CAT 2 Comments

There’s something about the ‘Lynx effect’ series of adverts that I admire. And it’s not simply down to the personal connection I feel to the angelic realm that was the subject of one of their recent creative treatments.

With many of their contemporaries floundering as advertising has become increasingly sophisticated, Lynx has continued to ride the crest of the creative wave to produce adverts that reflect the latest consumer attitudes. (more…)

News

Two Fingers Of Red Eye Please

February 2, 2013December 9, 2015By CAT 3 Comments

I often have a date with Mr P Grigio. He’s cool and strong and visits me regularly. Oh, we have such fun together.

He’s enormously good company and has been a constant companion through many a crisis, being completely relied upon to provide just the perfect level of support when needed. Even on the most difficult of journeys he has been right by my side. (more…)

News

Even Butterflies Can Cause Chaos

December 21, 2012December 9, 2015By CAT 2 Comments

Thoughts are like butterflies that flutter through your mind, fragile and fleeting.

So incredibly ethereal are they, that to capture every detail of their delicate creation is almost an impossibility.

Three of these gorgeous ‘butterflies’ visited me in quick succession last month, perfectly formed as complete, utterly brilliant ideas, emerging from their chrysalises ready to reveal their immense beauty to the world.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that they would have changed my life dramatically if, and this is a very big ‘if’, I could have possibly remembered what they were. Distracted at the crucial moment of recall, the little ‘creatures’ dissolved into the recesses of my mind and the details were lost forever. (more…)