The Big Black Door blog

Our inside scoop on the latest marketing happenings  

Gareth Turner Gareth Turner

SBR 49: WHAT CAN AN OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVE GIVE YOUR BRAND?

Scaling an FMCG food business is challenging, especially when it comes to marketing. As a business expands, its marketing needs become more complex, and it becomes increasingly important to have a solid strategy in place.

It’s something I chatted about in a recent podcast with Ben Norman. If you don’t have robust thinking at the start, then you’re setting yourself up for failure down the line. Just like I did when laying a laminate floor many years ago.

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Gareth Turner Gareth Turner

SBR 48: YOUR BRAND IS way MORE THAN A LOGO

When we think of iconic brands, it’s the logo that often comes to mind first. Yet, a brand is much more than its visual identity—it’s a living thing. And while logos and colours matter (who knew people could get so worked up by a car rebrand…), they’re just one piece of the puzzle. A strong brand goes far deeper.

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Gareth Turner Gareth Turner

SBR 47: WHAT’S THE SECRET TO A GREAT MARKETING CAMPAIGN?

Have you really got a marketing strategy, or just a set of tactics? 

Everyone says they have one, but have they really?  In our experience many just have a set of tactics and are left wondering why there’s no consistency in their marketing performance. Your strategy needs to set the guardrails for how you’re going to achieve your business objectives.  And that starts with taking time to understand the problem.  

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Guest User Guest User

SBR 44: WHAT THIS MARKETER LEARNT AT LUNCH!

Vicky Murray shares her thoughts and marketing perspective on the recent Lunch! show. Including the rise and rise of gut heath and how HFSS restrictions represent a huge opportunity for some brands.

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Gareth Turner Gareth Turner

SBR 42: BEING BOLD WITHOUT THE BULLSH*T. HOW TO CUT THROUGH.

I hosted a panel discussion at Mad//Fest this year with Annie Morris (Co-founder of Spoon Cereals), Pam Digva (Co-founder of Sauce Shop) and Sam Dolan (founder of Jazz Hands marketing and former head of marketing at Birdseye).

We had a lively discussion about bold marketing, which I’ve tried to summarise into five themes.

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Gareth Turner Gareth Turner

SBR 41: New Lurpak SpreadABLE Marks A SHIFT IN STRATEGY

The plant-based movement has taken yet another significant step forward. Arla Foods, one of the largest dairy producers in Europe, has announced the launch of a plant-based version of its iconic Lurpak spread. This new product signals not just a response to changing consumer demands but also a bold strategic move in a rapidly evolving market landscape. The reason this is particularly noteworthy to me, is that Arla is owned by dairy farmers, and Lurpak is the crown jewel of their portfolio.

Commercially, it makes sense to me. But I do wonder about how this piece of NPD might affect the brand’s credentials in it’s heartland of butter.

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Gareth Turner Gareth Turner

SBR 40: How to Make Your Trade Marketing SpenD Work

In a presentation at the recent Bread & Jam event, we shared our experience on making trade marketing spend effective for FMCG brands. In this blog post, we share some of those thoughts.

Trade spend is crucial for getting products onto retailers’ shelves and into shoppers’ baskets and for cementing the relationship with your category buyer. The primary goal for most brands is to grow penetration – which, simply put, is achieved by making your brand easy to think of, easy to find, easy to buy and easy to use (from “How Brands Grow” Byron Sharp, 2016). Trade marketing has a role to play in several of these stages, and so should be considered strategically.

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Gareth Turner Gareth Turner

SBR 39: FANCY SOME COPYWRITING ADVICE?

I have a copy writer friend who is developing a cohort based group training course across 6 weeks or so to help small brands who might be on a tight budget to perfect their brand copywriting skills.

If you think this might be of interest, send me a DM and I’ll put you in touch - she’s scoping it at the moment and you’d have a chance to shape it to be EXACTLY what you need!

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Gareth Turner Gareth Turner

SBR 38: FED UP WITH FEELING LONELY?

We had some great chats with other food & drink founders at the Bread & Jam event and as a result have set up a WhatsApp group to share opportunities and challenges - if you fancy joining in, click the button….

This group is for brand marketers and founders of brands who are looking to scale. I’ve no idea how to define that in a more helpful way, but I think we know what we mean. It’s an informal, safe and welcoming space where we can share challenges, frustrations and hopefully the odd useful suggestion.

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Gareth Turner Gareth Turner

SBR 36: Measure twice, cut once. get your thinking straight

A wise man once told me, “Measure twice, cut once.” This is as applicable to a brand’s marketing strategy as it is to building a kitchen cupboard.

This means investing the right amount of time upfront to make your marketing efficient and effective. Ensuring that every penny spent and every minute of effort is pulling your brand in the right direction. That time is not inertia or a distraction from your day-to-day tasks; it’s about improving your chances of success with the right plan.

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