Lisa Story is a senior brand, reputation and communications strategist with over 25 years’ experience at the top of the industry. Here she argues that the marketing industry’s obsession with “bravery” is often a symptom of weak strategic foundations. Truly bold creative work depends less on courage than on rigour, judgement and organisational confidence.
Blog
Are smear campaigns on the brink of industrial revolution?
AI tools like Google Gemini Omni are making it faster, cheaper and easier to create convincing fake content, and launch smear campaigns, at scale. The organisations most likely to withstand such reputational attacks will be those with enough credibility that people instinctively believe them when they say: “that’s not who we are”. 1440’s Robin Grainger discusses.
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Third wave digital disruption, and what it means for communicators
For decades, search engines have been our gatekeepers to the online world. Today, social and AI matter more and more. Alex Pearmain, Co-Founder of OneFifty Consultancy, explores how this “third wave” of digital disruption is reshaping how brands are found, trusted and understood.
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Does AI spell the end of keywords for searchers and the searched?
As AI search eats into conventional search engine traffic, the tyranny of keywords could be at an end, writes 1440’s Robin Grainger. That can only be a good thing.
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In a crisis, people don’t think straight
When crises break, the urge to “kill the story” or minimise any hint of wrongdoing, can still end up doing organisations harm in the longer term. Better crisis and issues planning in times of calm can help, as 1440’s Guy Corbet explains.
Start-ups both with and without scale-up ambitions
Not all businesses aspire to hyper-growth. But too many of those that do fail well before they achieve their potential. What might tip the scales in founders’ favour? Sam Knowles, Founder & Chief Data Storyteller at The Insight Agents, explores.
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Time to adjust your set? How multichannel marketing could be working against your brand
Chasing perfect performance for each channel can pull marketing and communications in different directions. Shifting opinions depends on joining the dots and keeping the narrative steady, while letting each channel shine. 1440’s Robin Grainger discusses.
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Behaviour change: why finger-wagging doesn’t work with youth vaping
Millions of young people in England vape regularly. How can public health bodies and other organisations encourage them to act differently? Ed Gyde, CEO of Audience Social Marketing, discusses.
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When is good enough good enough?
Does using AI for creative work lead mean a trade-off for quality and impact? 1440’s Guy Corbet explores.
The power of breaking lines
One reality in media, as with politics in our post-digital age, is how quickly stories become atomised. This impacts brand equity too, as strategic communications advisor Gavin Haycock explains.