ChatGP wrote my bio, and I love it
Like many people I have been playing around with ChatGP to learn more about how it works, what it can do, and if it is capable of writing with emotion, and reflecting a brands personality.
Today I asked ChatGP to write my bio, and I'm impressed with the result. It's a great start, and has saved me significant thinking time.
Bio written by ChatCPT - Alison McDowell, Director Roadmap Strategy
Alison McDowell is a strategic marketer and proven brand builder with a passion for creating strong, meaningful and lasting relationships between organisations and their customers.
Prior to founding her own business, Roadmap Strategy, she had a successful career in marketing, sales and strategy at organisations such as BIG4 Holiday Parks, RACV and Zoos Victoria.
Her expertise in brand building, customer engagement, strategic planning and business development has seen her recognised as a judge of the Victorian Tourism Awards, and appointed as a non-executive director of The Otis Foundation.
In addition, she is the founder of Live Love Work Port Phillip, an initiative that works to connect and support local businesses in the Port Phillip area.
Alison is an experienced and successful leader with a track record in developing and executing strategies that result in growth and success for her clients. She is passionate about helping businesses to understand their customers, build strong relationships and develop strategies that deliver real value.
Alison is an enthusiastic advocate for small businesses and the potential they have to make a real difference in the community. She is committed to helping businesses to grow and thrive in a competitive market, and her passion and enthusiasm for the success of her clients is evident in her work.
Brief provided to ChatGP
Who is Alison McDowell - write an article please
- Strategic marketer
- Passionate about building brands
- Judge - Victorian Tourism Awards
- Founder - Live Love Work Port Phillip
- Director - Roadmap Strategy
- Non-Executive Director - The Otis Foundation
Case Study: Celebrating the women of Port Phillip
Brand: Live Love Work Port Phillip
Campaign: 2022 International Women’s Day
Since 2019, I have worked with my fellow Live Love Work Port Phillip Founders to celebrate the women of Port Phillip for International Women’s Day.
For three years we delivered a breakfast event that was bigger and better than the year before. Friends were made and networks built as we celebrated the women who live, love, work and run businesses in Port Phillip.
In 2022 we set ourselves some lofty goals. More people, a bigger venue, more sponsors, be famous throughout Victoria for our celebration of Port Phillip women, and keep building connections and strengthening relationships between attendees as we celebrated International Women's Day.
Our problem was the unstable environment that we were living in. Would the Omricon wave lock us down again or force attendance limits? Would people commit to pre-purchasing tickets six weeks before the event, and would they expect a refund if they were ill on the day?
While we were excited about delivering Live Love Work Port Phillip’s biggest and best event ever, we were also closely monitoring the risks associated with our breakfast, developing mitigation strategies, and investigating options available to us.
The external environment and community sentiment at the time was fluid making it challenging to forecast, and impossible to predict. By 14th January we needed to decide if we would proceed with our breakfast or revert to one of our back up plans, and if so which one.
We called past sponsors and attendees to ask them if they would be prepared to attend an in-person event in the first week of March? Would they pre-purchase tickets when they went on sale? Would they attend a Zoom event with a breakfast pack if the event was shut down, or a Zoom only event, and how much would they pay for a ticket?
The results were mixed, however the consensus at the time of undertaking the research was our audience was hesitant about pre-purchasing tickets and there were various levels of appetite to attend an in-person or online event at that point in time.
We agreed the unstable external environment and feedback from past sponsors and attendees washed against the financial implications was deemed a risk too great, and we chose not to proceed with our breakfast or remote event to celebrate International Women’s Day.
Instead, we created a campaign to lift our collective voices to a ROAR in celebration of International Women’s Day, and shine a light on the heart, soul and smarts of the women of Port Phillip.
We wrote stories about women in our community – the women who live, love, work and run businesses in Port Phillip and those who came before us and paved the way. Their stories were read and shared extensively reaching existing and new audiences across social media and business networking platforms.
We invited businesses to come on board as financial sponsors - and they did. Their support enabled us to run outdoor and social media advertising. And our traders and local businesses got behind us putting our posters in their windows.
Our results speak for themselves. We shared the stories of 27 women, we had over 200 outdoor posters across Port Phillip and 150 posters in traders’ windows to celebrate International Women’s Day and shine a light on the women of Port Phillip. Our campaign reached over 400,000 people and delivered 1.35 million impressions – a 100% increase in on the previous year results. And our audience and community said: ‘you were everywhere’, ‘I loved reading the women’s stories’, and ‘are you having the breakfast next year?’.
Live Love Work Port Phillips celebration of 2022 International Women’s Day was different. We missed connecting face to face, building relationships and feeling the energy in a room filled with people celebrating and supporting each other.
But we never lost sight of our overall objective to celebrate the women of Port Phillip. Our campaign was developed to connect people, and encourage them to come on the journey with us through sharing stories, recognising, celebrating and supporting each other.
Together, lifted our collective voice to a ROAR, in celebration of International Women's Day and the women who live, love, work and run businesses in Port Phillip.
I encourage all businesses when creating a campaign to keep your eye on your business objectives to ensure you remain focused on the campaign objectives and monitor the external environment and listened to your customers. Ensure your campaign evokes an emotional response and builds and strengthens the connection between your audience and your brand. Always measure and monitor the campaigns performance and undertake a Post-mortem to document your results (the good, the bad and the ugly), your learnings, and your recommendations for the future.
Alison McDowell
Co-founder Live Love Work Port Phillip
Founder, Roadmap Strategy marketing partner agency
If you would like to learn more about Live Love Work Port Phillip, what we have planned for the future, or find out more about working with us, sponsoring us, or supporting our next campaign please give Alison call on 0411 135 317 or email Alison@roadmapstrategy.com.au
My fellow Live Love Work Port Phillip founder and I operate marketing partner and creative advertising agencies in South Melbourne. We welcome the opportunity to learn more about your business, your marketing problems and explore how we can help you achieve your business goals. We can assist you as little or as much as you need across marketing strategy, brand, creative, websites, social media, PR, and outsourced marketing operational services.
Live Love Work Port Phillip Founders
Roadmap Strategy The Incubator
South Melbourne South Melbourne
P 0411 135 317 P 0408 956 151
E alison@roadmapstrategy.com.au E vesna@theincubator.com.au
We would also like to recognise and thank the businesses who sponsored our 2022 International Women’s Day campaign.
· Australian Grand Prix Corporation
· Cox Auto
· 13 Cabs
· Starward
And especially thank the women who allowed us to share their stories as part of our 2022 International Women's Campaign
- Amanda Bury, General Manager, Chisholm & Gamon
- Adrienne Oxenham, Owner, Babe's Farm Fresh Produce, South Melbourne Market
- Claire Culley, CEO, The OTIS Foundation
- Carla Butler, Owner & Sleep Coach, ORA Sleep Coaching
- Patty Karakostas, Hospitality & Experience Manager, Starward Whisky
- Faye & Jane Lewis, Publicans, The Emerald Hotel
- Wendy Stirling, President, Port Phillip Rotary
- Sophie Hanlon, Graphic Designer and Copy Writer, The Incubator
- Anna Budilov, Digital Marketing & eCommerce Co-ordinator, Patient Wolf
- Corinne Maxfield, Program Leader, Events, Tourism and Travel, William Angliss Institute
- Julie Scott, Chair, Chapel Street Bendigo and Adelaide Bank
- Jessica Bram, Director and CEO, Jewish Museum of Australia
- Myriam Boisbouvier-Wylie, Honorary Consul General of France in Melbourne
- Clare Mendes, Company Manager, Melbourne Writers Theatre
- Tatyana Anderson, Owner, Tatyana Design and Tatyana School of Couture
- Helen Doyle, Artist
- Belinda Felstead & Vera Lukic, Owners, The Integrative Hub
- Soula Alexander, Owner, The Voice
Trends - the rise of rail travel
Globally consumer travel behaviours and values are shifting.
We have been talking about slow travel for years, but like many things, covid-19 has accelerated consumers desire to take things more slowly, and as an industry and marketers many are clambering to catch up.
So what is slow travel? It’s about slowing down, taking the time to embrace the journey as much as the destination. It’s about catching a train rather than a plane, and not coming home from a holiday exhausted.
Research out of the UK is suggesting people are taking longer trips less often, the journey increasingly part of the holiday experience, and train travel continuing to gain modest market share.
With flights throughout Europe relatively short, many travellers are asking if they would be better environmentally and financially to travel by train.
Emissions from long distance rail is 20 times less than a commercial flight, with lawmakers in France exploring banning short-haul internal flights where train alternatives exist to reduce carbon emissions.
To further amplify interest in train travel and the environmental benefits, the European Union have claimed 2021 as the Year of Rail, further building consideration of train travel as an alternative to other transport types.
While the EU campaign is building on a solid base of customers, it is reaching a new target market with a narrative around being ‘green, safe and smart'. The campaign is positioning train travel as innovative, a transport solution for the future and the socially responsible transport option when travelling though Europe for business and leisure.
Around the world, tourism will continue to undergo transformation as consumer behaviours and values shift. Slow travel and a renewed love affair with train travel based on being green, safe and smart is just one the changes we are seeing and opportunity for the future.
Each month Roadmap Strategy will explore an emerging trends in marketing and tourism. Subscribe to our enewsletter at roadmapstrategy.com.au to keep in touch.
EU Year of Rail promotional video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAlD_79XmfA
Roadmap Strategy can help you navigate the future
Roadmap Strategy is a Marketing Partner agency based in South Melbourne.
We can help you with your marketing and brand strategy, or a completely outsourced marketing solution including creative, branding, social media and advertising.
We also offer marketing mentoring for CEO’s, marketing leaders and their teams to help build your business’ marketing muscle.
We’d love the opportunity to discuss the best way to help you achieve your business goals, by helping you as little or as much as you need.
Alison McDowell
Director, Roadmap Strategy
Growing your market share in a recession
Did your business successfully adapt your product, your channel to market, and maintain and attract new customers over the past two years? McKinsey & Company recently reported 75% of consumers switched to a new store, product or buying method during the pandemic.
With a bumpy ride forecast for 2022, and we grapple with a recession, businesses need to continue to adapt and adjust to their customers needs as we navigate the future.
While Roadmap Strategy are strong advocates for having a long term vision and plan, we encourage you to regularly check in on your plan to ensure you are still on track, or you need to adjust your path forward.
Consider the following
1. Do you need to adjust your business goals?
2. Have your customers’ needs changed?
3. Does your product need to be adjusted?
4. Can your marketing effort deliver better results?
Easy cost savings are in marketing – however ruthless cutting marketing spend is a mistake, and one that you will likely pay for in the long term, and maybe never recover from. Brands who stop advertising (go dark), loose their share of voice in the market, their customers forget about them and move to alternative brands.
On the flip side, businesses who maintain or grow their advertising spend during recessions not only set the company up to survive the recession, but they thrive in the period that follows.
This result has nothing to do with the recession, it has everything to do with advertising share of voice. Simplistically, if you are the only brand in the market advertising and promoting yourselves, your brand becomes the only brand in the segment for the consumer.
While during the recession it is likely you will experience a reduced return on your advertising investment, you will likely increase market share, and once the economy improves your chance to maintain market share is strong.
However, if you go dark, you risk a competitor or alternative product grabbing your customers attention, and the place in their heart that you once owned.
We can help you navigate the future
Roadmap Strategy is a Marketing Partner agency based in South Melbourne.
We can help you with your marketing and brand strategy, or a completely outsourced marketing solution including creative, branding, social media and advertising.
We also offer marketing mentoring for CEO's, marketing leaders and their teams to help build your business' marketing muscle.
We'd love the opportunity to discuss the best way to help you achieve your business goals, by helping you as little or as much as you need.
Alison McDowell
Director
Recognising excellence in tourism
The Victorian Tourism Awards represent an industry framework for peer recognition which fosters a culture for business development excellence and innovation.
Operating for over 30 years, more than 4,000 businesses have entered the awards. This year, for the first time VTIC have released a list of our 2021 Victorian Tourism Award finalists.
Well done to all the businesses who entered this year’s awards, and congratulations to the finalists
Finalists – 2021 Victorian Tourism Awards
*Please note: the above list does not include individual categories (29-30-31).
Our founder, Alison McDowell has been a judge for the Victorian Tourism Awards for the past seven years.
A tourism veteran, Ali is passionate about understanding what visitors value, and working with destinations and businesses to understand how to adapt and connect with consumers and visitors to achieve their business goals.
Alison is an experienced and multi-talented marketer across private, franchise, mutual and not for profit industries that include tourism, travel, accommodation, conservation, attractions, membership, events, agriculture and engineering.
Her corporate career has involved Director of Marketing, Communication and Digital Strategy for Zoos Victoria and National Marketing Manager for BIG4 Holiday Parks, giving me a strong background in complex brand strategy, target marketing and membership strategy, stakeholder engagement, and innovation and technology driven performance improvement.
Alison earned a Masters of Commerce (Marketing) and a Graduate Certificate in Competitive Systems and Practices (LEAN), is a Judge for the RACV Victorian Tourism Awards, Co-Founder of Live Love Work Port Phillip, and a past Industry Board Member and Acting Chair for Business Without Borders for Swinburne University of Technology.
To discuss your needs and how Roadmap Strategy can help your business, give Ali McDowell, our Founder a call on 0411 135 317 or email alison@roadmapstrategy.com.au
Leverage our experience
Sometimes you need a sounding board for your thoughts, and have access to someone with experience to help gain a different perspective and grow your skills.
Roadmap Strategy offer marketing mentoring to CEO’s, marketing leaders and marketing teams to help build your strategic marketing muscle, provide guidance help build your internal marketing and marketing management skills, and give guidance rather than learning through trial and error.
We offer one off, three month marketing mentoring packages, and tailored programs to suit your business, and your needs.
About Alison McDowell
A marketing leader passionate about building brands and developing and executing marketing strategies that connect with target audience and deliver on business goals and objectives.
Alison is an experienced and multi-talented marketer across private, franchise, mutual and not for profit industries that include tourism, travel, accommodation, membership, events, agriculture and engineering with the likes of RACV, Hertz, BIG4 Holiday Parks, Zoos Victoria, Swinburne University of Technology, SKM and PGG Wrightson Seeds.
Her corporate career has involved Director of Marketing, Communication and Digital Strategy for Zoos Victoria and National Marketing Manager for BIG4 Holiday Parks, giving me a strong background in complex brand strategy, target marketing and membership strategy, stakeholder engagement, and innovation and technology driven performance improvement.
I have earned a Masters of Commerce (Marketing) and a Graduate Certificate in Competitive Systems and Practices (LEAN), is a Judge for the RACV Victorian Tourism Awards, Co-Founder of Live Love Work Port Phillip, and a past Industry Board Member and Acting Chair for Business Without Borders for Swinburne University of Technology.
CLIENT INDUSTRIES INCLUDE:
Travel, Tourism, Accommodation, Membership, Agriculture, Building, Education, Early Childhood Learning, Couture
ROADMAP STRATEGY CLIENTS INCLUDE:
Belgravia Leisure, Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa, Wai Ariki Hot Springs and Spa, Caravan Industry Association of Australia, Kalparrin Incredible Kids, ViPAC Engineers, VTIC (Victorian Tourism Industry Council), Marysville Jazz and Blues Weekend.
To discuss your needs and how we can help, give Ali McDowell, our Founder a call on 0411 135 317 or email alison@roadmapstrategy.com.au
What is cause related marketing?
Cause-related marketing is a mutually beneficial collaboration between a for-profit and a non-profit designed to promote the for-profit sales and the non-profit cause.
A great example of cause-related marketing is the relationship between Qantas and UNICEF Australia. Twenty three years ago, these organisations created their highly successful Change for Good partnership. The partnership invited Qantas passengers to off load unwanted foreign currency after travelling on an international flight, and has collected in-excess of $28 million to support UNICEF’s global child health, child protection and education programs.
Successful cause related marketing starts with selecting the right partner.
For-profits need to understand their customers values and what’s important them. When selecting your non-profit partner consider the relevance to your business ie industry, geographic connection, size, shared values and vision.
Choosing the right partner with a natural fit will improve engagement with your customers and brand association value and deliver better return for all parties.
Examples of industry collaboration ideas include:
- Camping industry - supporting dark sky conservation
- Accommodation industry – supporting OTIS Foundation
- Supermarket – supporting food charity
- Family fun experience – supporting Humour Foundation
Aligned values is critical to successful long term partnerships. Shared organisation values, supported by strong relationships between their people become the glue that build strong lasting partnership, that campion and celebrate each other’s businesses for the benefit of both organisations.
With consumers increasingly defining themselves with the brands they use, it is no surprise they are prepared to pay more for products and brands that that reflect their personal values.
So choose carefully, the benefits and value for all parties can be immense driving for-profit sales, promoting the non-profit cause, and stronger customer relationships.
Roadmap Strategy is a niche marketing agency based in South Melbourne. We welcome the opportunity to work with you to explore and develop for-profit and non-profit cause related business partnerships.
Successful Christmas campaigns build brands by tapping into our emotions.
John Lewis is famous for their Christmas campaigns. The essence and value of these campaigns is in their ability to build an emotional connection with their audience to ensure the brand is in the audience consideration set when choosing a Christmas shopping retailer.
With a big brand approach, John Lewis develops a deep emotional connection integrated across tv, outdoor and print, and supported instore, merchandise, social, and public relations.
Roadmap Strategy’s favourite John Lewis Christmas Campaign remains the 2014 classic, Monty the Penguin.
Monty won hearts around the globe with a story of friendship, giving and of course love. The campaign performance metrics were off the charts, with over 350m social media views, soundtrack reached #3 on iTunes charts, 89% of tv audience had seen the ad at least once, and the campaign delivering GDP 141 incremental income for John Lewis.
However the 2014 John Lewis Monty the Penguin campaign, had an additional layer that made a real difference. Partnering with two charities, John Lewis promoted WWF’s Adopt a Penguin scheme to help support their work in conserving penguin habitat. In addition John Lewis donated a portion of every Monty the Penguin book sold to children’s charity Barnados’.
WWF reported a 350% increase in Penguin Adoptions, as a direct result of the campaign, and indirect value returned though awareness of the plight of penguin habitat, and knowledge of their broader adoption program.
John Lewis 2014 Christmas campaign is unquestionably one of the best they have delivered. It strengthened their brand, ensured they were in the consumers Christmas retailer consideration set and supported causes close to the audience’s heart.
Authenticity and connecting with your customers in an emotional way is where the magic happens. And this is never more pronounced and import as Christmas.
Roadmap Strategy is a niche marketing agency based in South Melbourne. We welcome the opportunity to develop your next campaign and get the rubber hitting the road, and helping you achieve your business goals.
Sharing achievements with impact
There are organisations everywhere making a difference, but the organisations that share their journey with their supporters, partners and donors build trust, connection and support.
Zoos SA are to be commended on their Impact Report. Not only for their work in saving species from extinction and connecting people with nature, but for taking us on the journey with them so we can love and support them even more.
We can all learn something from how Zoos SA connect with their community.
Why brand positioning is important
Brand positioning is basically influencing the consumers’ attitude toward your brand. It's the place your brand owns in the consumers heart (or not).
When successful, brand positioning will drive the companies behaviour to a point that it will appear in research as the things customers notice about them.
Often referred to as the heart of your marketing strategy, simplicity in your brand positioning is the key to success.
Simple words that capture the essence of the offering in a way that is accessible to all members of the organisation and appeals to customers. Complexity on the other hand will only serve to kill the brands execution.
And while simplicity is incredibly difficult to achieve, the rewards for achieving the simplicity holy grail is significant as the organisation treads the path to their true north, and success.
And the greatest initial test for brand positioning is whether your marketing team, your CEO, your customer service team can remember it unaided. When they all come up with the same basic concept you are in with chance of building your brand.
If you need help with developing your brand positioning Roadmap Strategy would welcome the opportunity to work with you to help create clarity for your brand, and the path to your organisations true north.