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๐Ÿ† ๐Ÿ† ๐Ÿ† 3x WINNER: British Bank Awards
๐Ÿ† ๐Ÿ† ๐Ÿ† 3x WINNER: British Bank Awards | Read our story >
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Views, news and musings

Hereโ€™s where youโ€™ll find the latest from mark-making*, B2B and brand banter, and a wealth of curiosity around creativity. Canโ€™t get enough of it? For your monthly shot of inspiration and insight delivered direct to your device, join our growing band of newsletter subscribers.

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Categories
  • A human hand holds a red puzzle piece labelled Differentiation, about to connect with a black puzzle piece labelled Speed held by a robotic hand.

    How can building societies and specialist lenders stay human in an AI-shaped market?

    Alastair Williams ◦ June 19, 2026

    AI will make financial services marketing faster. But more content doesn’t equal a stronger brand. If every lender and building society uses the same tools trained on the same category language, the sector’s sameness problem only gets worse. Here’s how to use AI without losing the human voice that makes you worth choosing.

    Tags
    • AI in financial services
    • brand differentiation
    • brand strategy
    • Building societies
    • Human-centred branding
    • Specialist lenders
  • A businessman carrying a briefcase scratches his head as he faces three identical red doors, each labelled with a generic phrase: Good people, Good service, and Easy to deal with.

    Why canโ€™t brokers explain why they choose certain insurers?

    Alastair Williams ◦ June 19, 2026

    Your brokers like you. But can they explain why? In a crowded panel, vague goodwill isn’t enough to win the business. We look at why broker-facing insurance brands struggle to stand out, and how to give intermediaries a story they can understand, remember and repeat to their clients.

    Tags
    • brand differentiation
    • brand strategy
    • Broker marketing
    • financial services
    • insurance branding
    • MGAs
  • A businessman in a suit holds up a large funnel. Financial jargon including Governance, LTV, T&Cs, APR, Risk and Terms tumbles into the top, and a single bold red word, Value, emerges from the bottom.

    How can financial services brands communicate value more clearly?

    Alastair Williams ◦ June 19, 2026

    You’ve defined your fair value. You’ve workshopped the frameworks. So why is it still trapped inside a governance document? Here’s how to release it, in language customers, brokers and advisers actually use.

    Tags
    • Brand
    • brand strategy
    • brand value
    • consumer duty
    • financial services
  • Consumer Duty: Don’t stop at compliance. It’s the best brand brief the insurance sector has ever seen

    Alastair Williams ◦ April 10, 2026

    Most insurance firms have done the Consumer Duty work. The frameworks are in place. The regulator is satisfied. But something more interesting happened along the way โ€” and most firms haven’t noticed yet. Buried inside that compliance documentation is the best brand brief the sector has ever seen.

    Tags
    • consumer duty
    • financial services
    • insurance
  • A black and white photograph of the mark-making* team seated together at a restaurant table during their Christmas party, smiling and in good spirits. The Certified B Corporation logo appears in the bottom right of the image.

    Three years on: why our B Corp recertification matters more than our score

    Steve Turner ◦ March 4, 2026

    mark-making* has completed its first B Corp recertification with a score of 113.2. Our MD Steve Turner reflects on a challenging three years, what the process actually involves, and why the score is only part of the story.

    Tags
    • b-corp
    • goodmarks
  • Cover of mark-making* Impact Report 2023-2024 featuring team members walking through bluebell forest, B Corp certified logo visible

    Impact Report 2023โ€“24: reflecting honestly on a testing period

    Steve Turner ◦ January 28, 2026

    Our 2023โ€“24 Impact Report is an honest reflection on resilience, learning, and what we’re building for the future. Impact isn’t always linear.

    Tags
    • b corp
    • goodmarks
  • Steve Turner stands smiling in the middle of a residential street lined with British terraced houses, styled as a 1980s Green Cross Code Man-inspired cyber superhero. He wears a white costume with green sleeves featuring a large green 'X' symbol across the chest, and holds a vintage brick mobile phone. The image has a warm, nostalgic 1980s colour grade with parked cars visible along both sides of the street, evoking the era when the Green Cross Code Man appeared on British television teaching road safety.

    What the Green Cross Code Man taught us about making cyber security human

    Steve Turner ◦ October 13, 2025

    Stop, look, listen before you click. Steve argues cyber security needs a human-centred national campaign, making online safety as memorable as the Green Cross Code Man’s road safety lessons.

    Tags
    • B2B More Human
    • cyber security
  • A B2B lesson in rocket science

    markmaking* ◦ October 6, 2025

    โ€œI worry that B2B marketing is a glorified extension of the sales team. Thatโ€™s not where the value is.โ€ Rory …
    Read More

    Tags
    • A-Z of B2B
    • B2B
    • brand building
    • brand strategy
  • Graphic image depicting the three awards wins from the British Bank Awards for Marketing Partner of the Year, 2020, 2021 and 2025

    Winning the British Bank Awards, again โ€“ and why it matters

    Alastair Williams ◦ September 9, 2025

    Celebrating our 30th anniversary with a third British Bank Awards win feels like more than recognition. Itโ€™s proof that consistency, creativity and genuine partnership arenโ€™t just buzzwords โ€“ theyโ€™re what keep us thriving in financial services.

    Tags
    • B2B
    • B2B marketing
    • brand building
    • brand strategy
    • financial services
    • team
  • Decomplexify B2B with simplicity

    markmaking* ◦ August 11, 2025

    Less really is more โ€œThe ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.โ€ Hans …
    Read More

    Tags
    • A-Z of B2B
    • B2B
    • brand building
    • brand strategy
  • Seeing is perceiving in B2B

    markmaking* ◦ June 16, 2025

    How is perception perceived? Perception is a powerful force. Itโ€™s not just about what your brand does but how itโ€™s …
    Read More

    Tags
    • A-Z of B2B
    • B2B
    • brand building
    • brand strategy
  • Unlock your B2B brand with key messaging

    markmaking* ◦ April 21, 2025

    โ€œDo not try to do everything. Do one thing well.โ€ Steve Jobs One plus one equals millions The founder (ahem, …
    Read More

    Tags
    • A-Z of B2B
    • B2B
    • brand building
    • brand strategy
1 2 3 … 10 Next »

How can we help?

If you have something in mind, weโ€™d love to hear from you.
Email Alastair Williams at letstalk@mark-making.com
Call on 01608 649600
Or drop us a message using the form.

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