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What we’re re-thinking.
Strategy notes from inside the studio on paid media, organic, brand systems and AI automation. It’s the thinking we used to keep private, posted openly so you can read the practice before you hire it.
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Showing 25 to 48 of 117 older posts, newest first
How to choose a veterinary marketing agency: start with the new UK price rules
How UK and US vet practices can choose a marketing agency, starting with the CMA's price rules and whether the practice is independent or part of a group.
How to choose a gym marketing agency: start with the number your gym runs on
How to pick a gym marketing agency by the number your gym runs on, why big chains' January joining peak points to an autumn decision, and what to check later.
How to choose a beauty brand marketing agency: judge how it handles claims before you judge the portfolio
Judge a beauty brand marketing agency by how it handles claims, evidence and creator disclosure, because the brand stays answerable for what the agency writes.
How to choose a jewellery marketing agency: make it describe the piece before it sells the piece
Jewellery sells on trust in what a piece is made of, so test whether an agency can describe the metal and stone lawfully before you judge its creative.
How to choose a fashion marketing agency: judge every number after returns
Four numbers, a worked break-even sum and a claims check show whether a fashion marketing agency can be trusted with your ad budget once returns are counted.
How to choose an ecommerce marketing agency: judge it against numbers you already trust
An ecommerce agency should be judged against your own margin, order count and customer list. Here is how to get that data ready before you hire.
How to choose a performing arts marketing agency: pick for the stage your show has reached
How to pick a performing arts marketing agency by the stage your show has reached, with the price, fee and review rules to check at each one.
How to choose a music marketing agency: know which kind of help you are buying
How to tell promotion from stream selling, and what to check at each stage of hiring a music marketing agency, from shortlist to first weeks.
How to choose a hospitality marketing agency: find out which bookings it can actually change
Follow a pound of marketing budget by the route it takes, from agency fees to platform commission and advert prices, and see what a hospitality agency can change.
How to choose a marketing agency for creators: read the paperwork before you hear the pitch
Ask any agency for a sample report, an approved ad, its contract and a sign-off record, then read each one closely before you decide on the pitch.
Why people read your marketing and still do not buy
When a page gets read, gets liked, and produces no sales, the usual cause is not the wording. It is that the offer asks the buyer to translate a description into an outcome, and to carry all of the risk while they do it.
How to get found without spending on ads
Free distribution works the same way paid distribution does: pick a channel, show up on it consistently, and let the channel's own mechanics compound your reach over time. The difference is what happens when you stop.
The three emails a one-person business actually needs
Most solo businesses have a list they never email, because sending feels like it needs a strategy first. It needs three emails: a welcome, a regular one, and an ask.
What an AI product film actually costs (we made one without a studio, a crew, or the product)
We built a full exploded-view product commercial for a camera that does not exist. No studio, no crew, no product. Here is what it actually took, and where this method still fails.
Why Does ChatGPT Recommend Your Competitor Instead of You?
Ask ChatGPT the same question ten times, log every brand it names and compare appearance rates. One answer proves little. Here is the full check.
How to Check Whether AI Is Recommending Your Brand
The free way to check whether AI names your brand, why one look tells you almost nothing, and what the tracking tools actually measure.
How Much Does Social Media Management Cost?
Not the average, which nobody can source properly, but what the monthly fee actually buys: scope, deliverables, and how a thin package gives itself away.
How Much Does a Website Cost in the UK?
A website costs two things: the build and the running. Real UK platform prices, what actually drives a quote, and the ongoing cost nobody mentions.
How Much Does SEO Cost in the UK? The Actual Survey Data, and Where It Runs Out
What the two most-cited SEO pricing surveys actually say, why the average everyone quotes is too high, and how to judge a quote from anyone.
llms.txt Explained: What It Does for an Ordinary Business Site
An llms.txt file summarises your site for AI agents. What it is, what Google says about it, what changed in version 2, and whether your site needs one.
When website animation earns its keep (and when it is just a tax)
What our own 64 MB scroll film cost to build and to load, and the test for when a website's motion is worth its weight.
Make your website readable to AI: the complete fix
The complete, hands-on fix for the three checks in Google’s agentic browsing audit: a real llms.txt file, agent-readable page structure, and a layout that holds still. Every step, nothing held back.
How to Measure Marketing ROI (Without Fooling Yourself)
How to calculate marketing ROI honestly: the formula, the costs people leave out, why last-click inflates some channels, and when ROI is the wrong call.
Marketing Attribution, Explained in Plain English
Last click, first click, linear, data-driven: marketing attribution models explained in plain English, plus why platforms over-report their own results.
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The Social Target · Limited · Est. 2017 · London