A few months ago, Oystercatchers and InnerGroup started discussing a question that many marketing leaders are wrestling with: what does the optimum hybrid marketing model actually look like? Most organisations today operate somewhere between fully in-house and fully outsourced. They have internal creative teams, agency partners, specialist consultancies, production partners and an increasing number of […]
Intrepid early-career agency talent braved a tube strike and thoroughly miserable weather to make it to the latest Oystercatchers X-Series on Thursday 5th June – they were rewarded with a conversation that was well worth the journey. The topic was one close to many hearts: how to build a meaningful, fulfilling and long-lasting career in […]
At the latest Oystercatchers Club event, the conversation explored not just how organisations embed AI into teams and culture, but something arguably more important: the role of the individual operating the technology. To unpack this, we were joined by an expert panel featuring Matthew Kershaw, Rahim Hirji and Alexandra Foster. The Real Differentiator: What Humans Bring to AI The […]
Last night’s Oystercatchers X-Series brought together a group of early-career agency talent to focus on a skill that underpins long-term success in our industry, but is rarely taught properly: networking. Led by Benj Chilcott, the session explored a practical and grounded approach to using networking as a key facet of a career in agencyland. In […]
The corporate graveyard is full of brands that once looked invincible. BlackBerry. Blockbuster. British Home Stores. For years they dominated their markets until suddenly they didn’t. At the latest Oystercatchers Club evening we gathered a group of senior marketers to explore a simple but uncomfortable question: how do brands stay relevant when the pace of […]
2025 started off relatively sedately. But there were already some indications of the seismic shifts that lay ahead. Speculation on one of the biggest mergers in this industry’s history had started, Donald Trump’s imminent return to office was upon us and NASA confirmed that 2024 had been the warmest year in history. But what has […]
What it comes to pitching, if you’ve been around the block, you will have trodden the well-worn path of traditional pitch processes many times. You know, the one that starts with a chemistry session, moves onto a briefing with Q&A, followed by a tissue session, and ultimately a pitch meeting. At the most basic level, […]
A critical step in most – if not all – pitch processes is the chemistry meeting. It’s the first opportunity for brand and agency side marketers to meet. It’s when clients start making their assessment about whether they want to spend their time and money with your agency. Equally, it’s when agencies get to meet […]
At first glance, the world of marketing intermediaries might seem straightforward. After all, how many ways can you run a pitch process? And while that’s partly true, the real differences, beyond expertise, lie in the business models underpinning intermediaries. That’s where things get interesting, and where transparency becomes essential. Introducing the new ISBA Guide to […]
According to the Association for Talent Development, “companies that invest in employee training see 24% higher profit margins.” Now you might say there’s a clear conflict of interest there, after all, what else is that Association going to say, right? But if you want some additional evidence of the value of investing in your people […]