I first became aware of Wally Olins for the corporate identity work his company Wolff Olins produced for companies like BOC, 3i and Apple Records in 60s and 70s. So when the chance came to participate in an interview with the great man for the business magazine, Pipeline we published on behalf of IntercontinentalExchange, it seemed foolish to refuse.

Although the conversation with brand guru Olins took place six years ago, his insights are arguably more relevant now than ever. I hope you find it as interesting and thought provoking as I do.

The interview republished by kind permission of Philip Algar, economist and energy journalist in our Thinklets section.

There’s a scene in Ridley Scott’s film Blade Runner (1982) in which a photograph is constantly enlarged until the subject is clearly visible - pure science fiction. Well no, take a look at this photograph of Barrack Obama’s 2009 Inauguration in which you can zoom in on the image to see the smallest detail. It’s made up of 220 images and the final image size is 59,783 X 24,658 pixels or 1,474 megapixels, 295 times the standard 5 megapixel camera. An architectural photographer friend of mine said a number of years ago that we wouldn’t shoot digitally because the detail wasn’t there yet!

The latest research findings from Forrester and Marketing Sherpa show that in 2009, email marketing is expected to rise in popularity.  Low cost, targeted and measurable, it isn’t surprising that so many businesses are planning to use email to communicate with customers and prospects.  However, with so much competition in the inbox, marketers need to get email savvy and ensure they maximise their ROI.

Click through the Beechwood Guide to creating a successful b2b email campaign (below) to find useful research, handy hints and tips for email marketers.

Beechwood recently polled marketing professionals and asked them, what was the most important factor when selecting a marketing agency?

The results of the survey found that the three most important criteria for selection were:

1. Demonstration of results
2. Industry experience
3. Cultural fit

Given the pressure on marketing professionals in these difficult times to achieve measurable success, it was perhaps little surprise that 50% of participants considered an agency’s ability to demonstrate results as the number one factor.  This was closely followed by industry experience, with 42% considering this to be the first priorty in agency selection.

However, many marketers were keen to point out that these factors alone would not ensure a good fit between agency and client.  As one Senior Marketing Officer for a major financial corporation remarked, “The most relevant factor is how good a cultural fit you sense between the agency and the group managing it.  I’ve seen excellent agencies and great brand teams collide due to a poor cultural fit.  And egos have a huge role in generating the “fit” sensation”.