CIM GLR

Well what a weekend it has been. I went to the coast up to Bunderburg and my husband and I got caught in all the Tsunami warnings for South East Queensland. So on the way home we drove inland and discovered some tiny towns that we never even knew existed such as Goomeri – the winner of the ‘neatest town’ award, Ban Ban Springs which I got excited about and then discovered there were no springs, and Nanago which was a very small country town and made me feel like I was really in the outback!

The latest news in Australia hot off the press at the moment is that Kmart has decided it wants to go against tradition and open on Anzac Day which is a memorial day that Aussies take very seriously over here – so there is a public outcry at the moment. It will be interesting to see how it affects their brand in the long term.

Australian market recovery
Things are looking up here in Australia economy wise with Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens recently reporting that Australia’s economy is stronger after the GFC which is very positive – see the article for more details.  In addition Stephen Long of ABC News recently reported that Australia is showing encouraging signs of economic strength, with new figures showing a 5.5 per cent increase in new business investment in the final quarter of last year. See link. At the end of his article Long remarks that the Reserve Bank is worried that Australia is entering a new economic upturn with spare capacity.

Nicola Austin

Recently some colleagues of mine had the unexpected honour of a phone-call from the Harvard Business Review asking if they would submit an article. Why? Well, it turns out that their approach to understanding the post-recession consumer is something of a rarity. Read on…

Marc Duke

Don’t panic this is not a post about sustainability or recycling but rather on some of my musings on pitch ethics based on personal experience. Having been a consultant for the last seven and a half years, I rarely find myself in straight pitch situations, I have found myself on the selection panel a fair few times or reviewing proposals for work as well, so not sure if I am the best man to comment, but here goes. Read on…

No one said the recession would be easy. Cost cutting is a fact of life and so are procurement departments. Scrutiny has never been more fashionable. The sooner marketers accept that and use what they already know about building relationships to improve communication and processes, the better. After all, many businesses won’t consider purchasing marketing services without involving a procurement team. But don’t let that worry you. A recent article in The Marketer puts it all in perspective.