VTCT Skills’ Post

What does it take to build a brand that stands out in decision-heavy, risk-averse organisations? It’s a question many marketing leaders face, and it’s one that Collette Lux, Chief Commercial Officer at VTCT Skills, has answered time and time again. With experience at Unilever, BBC, King’s College, and UCL, Collette has mastered the art of applying bold, commercial branding strategies to sectors like education and not-for-profits - industries where caution often overshadows creativity. Take her work on BBC’s Perfect Day campaign or reframing the identities of King’s and UCL for example, these were strategic moves to drive trust, engagement, and long-term impact. Her approach challenges marketers to think bigger, even in risk-averse spaces, proving that strong branding doesn’t just belong to consumer giants - it can thrive anywhere. Want to know more: 🎧 Spotify: https://ow.ly/porX50Uqx1g 🍎 Apple: https://ow.ly/BI3A50Uqx1e 📦 Amazon:https://ow.ly/GqCp50Uqx1a ▶️ YouTube: https://ow.ly/u3YG50Uqx19 #BrandStrategy #MarketingLeadership #ThoughtLeadership

Marketing changes so rapidly that making an impact in a fast-paced world can be a challenge. IMPACT was the theme of The Marketing Society Scotland 2024 Changemakers Conference today. Hearing from different brands and their approach, discussing brand aesthetics, and how to unlock creative talent, we then finished with a brilliant session on the impact of a brave leader. Taking the day to spend time with fellow marketers, hearing stories about what is possible and learning new techniques has been amazing. It has been an insightful, inspirational and hugely motivating day. #ChangemakersIMPACT #marketingleaders

How should you create a new kind of value statement that is especially good for your own company? It's an important question for every leader to think about, especially as we cross the halfway point of the year and evaluate where we stand relative to our organization's annual goals. Learn why companies are moving beyond traditional core value statements to embrace more resonant and distinctive expressions of their ethos: https://ow.ly/Z2B750Spz3q #MissionStatement #ExecutiveCoach #LeadershipCoaching

Thought leadership Explained by a 5-year-old kid. Dholu: Golu, what’s this “thought leader” thing I hear from grown-ups? Golu: A thought leader is someone who shares really cool ideas, so everyone wants to listen to them. You remember how you made that super-awesome LEGO tower? Dholu: Oh yeah, everyone loved it! They kept asking me how I did it. Golu: Exactly! So if you kept showing kids new ways to build amazing LEGO stuff, soon everyone would start looking up to you for ideas. Dholu: So I’d be, like, a LEGO boss? Golu: More like a LEGO guide. Thought leaders share helpful tips, to teach others cool things. Dholu: So thought leaders aren’t selling anything? Just sharing their best ideas? Golu: Yup! They share things that make people go, “Whoa, that’s neat!” And because of that, people start trusting them. Dholu: Whoa... maybe I’ll be a thought leader in… cookie-eating strategies? Golu: If you are creative about it, then why not? Keep sharing your cookie tricks, and soon, everyone will be following your lead!

3x40 - This a new challenge our leadership team presented to the rest of our team in our quarterly review: 3x40 = Get 3 ads to spend up to 40% of ad spend in a platform. Here's an example: This client spent $1,442,273.34 in the last 30 days Their top 3 ads spent 33% of the total spend = $485,975.51 Why did we set this goal?We realized that while we have a 25%+ win rate for new creative concepts we launched, we didn't have enough major winners to scale across every client, beating controls frequently and break revenue/profitability records more effortlessly. That's the mission we are on. 3x40 is going to help us create the right creatives, that unlock meaningful scale! _____________________________ ♻️ Sharing is caring - will appreciate a repost, so more people can scale businesses faster. And follow Nehal Kazim for more content like this!

What do Microsoft, Netflix, Novartis, Spotify, TD, General Mills, Publicis, The Walt Disney Company, Deloitte, Philadelphia 76ers, Goldman Sachs, Volvo Group, Apple and Major League Baseball (MLB) have in common? These influential organizations were researched by my Rutgers University students to deliver recommendations for large-scale change initiatives. Join our Spring 2025 cohort for "Strategic Communications for Organizational Change." 15 weeks of insightful dialogue, tangible solutions, career-building, and social impact. Register today. #RevolutionaryThinking #SocialImpact #ChangeManagement #LeadingChange #DeepLearning

Are you customer obsessed? In his book Daytrading Attention, Gary Vaynerchuk compares the way brands should approach marketing with the way comedians prepare for their comedy special - testing, analysis, and iteration. A non-intuitive truth about building a CPG brand is you don't get to decide who your customer is. You can tailor and target your marketing in the beginning, of course, based on your hypothesis. But one aspect of customer obsession is having an open mind and learning who they are. What do they like? Why do they like your brand? What stories resonate with them? Eric Martindale shared recently that consumers don't want brands - they want friends and experiences. Are you continuously providing a better friend and experience to your consumer? ------------------------------------- I help innovative and #betterforyou #CPG founders grow their emerging brands with #finance leadership. Please reach out for a free profitability and cashflow planning strategy call!

What does it take to thrive in a world dominated by tech giants? HBS Professor Feng Zhu and doctoral student Bonnie Yining Cao, in their work featured in Smart Rivals, reveal how traditional businesses like Domino’s and Best Buy succeed by doubling down on their unique strengths—whether through standout in-store experiences or innovative partnerships. Their insights, paired with ideas on resilience and data-driven decision-making, offer a blueprint for navigating today’s complex business landscape. Read more: #Leadership #Innovation #Resilience #HarvardBusinessSchool

Excited to be interviewed in the latest edition of Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management‘s alumni magazine about creativity in business. The notion of creativity has traditionally been more closely associated with artistic endeavors than with corporate leadership. But in a world of accelerating change and disruption in which novel challenges have become the norm, C-suite leaders are increasingly celebrating creativity as a vital talent. Simply put, creativity is fast becoming an increasingly essential talent for leaders to unlock business value. If you’re intrigued, here’s a link to the article:

"We’re all agreeing with each other, but we are missing❓ a vital part of the equation: What’s everyone else thinking and feeling? It’s a potential blind🦯 spot for planners. It’s a blind spot for a lot of advertising. I force myself to break my comfort-bubble🫧, by embracing unexpected things that don’t meet my tastes or worldview, whether that is reading The Daily Mail🗞️, listening to an Andrew Tate interview (yuck), jigging along to mumble rap, or watching Love Island." Dan Bowers, Chief Strategy Officer at TMW Unlimited, knows that in today’s fast-paced marketing world, clarity is key. Under his leadership, the agency has achieved double-digit growth by blending data-driven insights with bold creativity to drive real impact. Bowers’ approach? Find out here: https://lnkd.in/e5pC7REF #MarketingStrategy #GrowthLeadership #DataDrivenCreativity #TMWUnlimited #InnovativeThinking