A new model = a real brand

Picture_21 The phrase "a different perspective" is synonymous with Marcus Brown.   He's one of the boldest, most daring marketing bloggers I've ever had the pleasure of getting to know.  So it came as no surprise to me that he has crafted a completely new model for serving up ideas to clients.

The Ides of March works like this.  In his own words…

All you have to do is get in touch and tell me what the problem is. It could be anything from developing a new kind of pizza, changing a process, launching or developing a new product, improving something, telling a story, repositioning something, finding staff, or getting your existing staff to smile. It could also be an idea for winning a piece of new business or finding the missing link in a brand thingy you’re trying to do for a client. It could be anything.

So you send me your problem and I’ll get back to you within 24 hours with any questions and tell you how long you have to wait for my idea. When I’ve come up with something I’ll send it through per email and you can have a look and a think and if you think you can use it then you pay me.

And you pay me what you think the idea is worth. It’s completely up to you. The absolute minimum per idea is 10 Euros. Once you’ve bought the idea it’s yours. You own it.

If you choose not to buy the idea it remains my property and I will post it on this blog.

I think anyone in the business has pondering this pricing model but we've got too much overhead and too little courage to try it.   I can't wait to watch it take off and be ridiculously successful.

And I get a front row seat.  One of the mechanics Marcus has added to his company is the creation of his Senate.   A world-wide smattering of professionals that Marcus can call on as he needs them.  I'm proud to be among the list.  Here are my fellow Senators:

Victor Houghton, Jason V. Lonsdale , Grant McCracken, Christian Baujard, Todd Foutz, Angus Whines, Sean Howard, Tim Keil, Age Conte, Rob Campbell, Mark McGuinness, Rob Mortimer, Luc Debaisieux, Faris Yakob, Dan Germain, Nina Zimmermann, Paul H. Colman, Mark Earls, Fredrik Sarnblad, Andy Boucher, Richard Huntington, Henry Lambert, John Grant, Andrew Hovells, Gavin Heaton, Sebastian Oehme, Rory Sutherland, Russell Davies, David Brabbins, Charles Frith, Beeker Northam, William Humphrey, Mark Goren, Giles Rhys Jones, Gareth Kay, David Bausola, Philip Hubertus, John Dodds, Graeme Douglas, Amelia Torode, Drew McLellan, Dan Shute, Niku Banaie, Paul McEnany.

Marcus is boldly going to a completely new space within an age-old industry.  Do you think he'll have any trouble differentiating his business from the pack?  This is about actually doing something different, rather than just talking different about the same old thing. 

That's branding at its core.  You start by doing something different.  What are you doing that's different?

Related posts:

You can't expect spin to fix a broken industry

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7 comments on “A new model = a real brand

  1. The passion is there, and of course that’s infectious and authentic. I believe him to be a real marketer, and not just another wannabe agency with primarily a design background but rusty on the business aspects.

    Sounds like he’s over diversified in his field of talents, yet he will call on the list of ideation partners he has.

    Net opinion (if Marcus reads this): “Viel Spass und Glück damit! Herzlich gemeint :)” I wish you much fun and luck in your endeavor! With warm/earnest intention 🙂

  2. Amelia says:

    As one of his “Senators” I am looking forward to being a part of something that actually sounds quite different and the potential to be extremely interesting!

  3. Will says:

    Here here – I’m very excited to be involved in this.

  4. Mario,

    What I love about Marcus’ idea is that he generously is going to let us all watch and learn.

    And I expect we will learn quite a bit.

    I wonder if people will be smart enough to follow his counsel?

    Drew

  5. Amelia and Will,

    Like you…I am looking forward to being a part of the journey!

    Drew

  6. Drew, thanks for the shout. It’s already fun, and watching me fall over every no and then should be both entertaining and informative to boot.

  7. Marcus,

    Not only will it be interesting to watch you weave your magic but I am also curious to see how the marketplace responds.

    One of the things I like and respect so much about your work is that you have a courage that most (myself included) can only dream of.

    Drew

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