Who I am

I’m Malcolm Hunter, The Human Strategist.

If you like my blog you can contact me at malcolm.hunter@thehumanstrategist.com

I’ve built and run strategy and planning functions in the world’s leading creative, brand and media agencies.

As brand building went global in the nineties, I was a pioneer of international positioning and advertising development.

I am proud of enduring brand campaigns such as ‘The World’s Local Bank’ for HSBC and ‘Dirt is Good’ for Persil.

As the digital revolution transformed media in the noughties, I was at the forefront of integrated communications planning.

I was a founding partner at VIzeum, a brand new global media agency, and the first to apply ‘Motivation to Media’.

At Carat, a ‘Consumer Led, Digitally Ahead’ planning approach helped it become Campaign’s ‘International Agency of the Year’ three times in five years, attracting clients such as Kellogg’s, Mattel, J & J, Philips, Adidas, Fox and Nokia.

Latterly I built the network communications planning process for Aegis Media.

Then I had an epiphany.

What I believe

The more technology changes marketing, the more we need to put humanity at the heart of everything we do.

Digital technology has transformed life, business, marketing, communications.

The pace of change will get faster, everything will be available everywhere.

It creates great opportunity, but presents challenges

Chasing the technology risks invisibility

Trying to do everything risks fragmentation

Treating consumers as numbers risks rejection.

Using old process in the new world risks confusion

More than ever we need to put humanity at the heart of marketing.

Consumers need to be people

Brands need to be stories

Plans need to be journeys

Ideas need to be experiences

Process needs to be collaborative

Technology empowers people. The power to embrace brands that fit into their lives, the power to reject those that don’t.

In today’s new era the most successful brands will be the most human brands.

What I do

I help brand owners and their agencies create big, human strategies to build stronger brands in the new era of media.

My specific areas of expertise are the development of

Brand positioning

Communications strategy and planning

New kinds of ideas

Process, structure and culture

My blog

My aim is to demonstrate why a human approach is the way to build brands in the digital age.

I hope you find it interesting and useful.