This website requires your browser to be JavaScript enabled. Please refer here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript.

Thinking hats on, please

This is where we get all cerebral. We’ve jotted down loads of thoughts over the years on a range of our specialist subjects. This page brings some of that thinking together into one ‘searchable’ section and also guides you to other areas where you can access our latest updates.

 

Featured articles

Sustainability230x110

Sustainability: Show me the money

Sustainability has moved into the mainstream. Most large businesses now gather metrics and publish detailed sustainability reports in some shape or form and many companies are also adopting a more strategic stance. But how do we know that such an approach to sustainability actually delivers value to the business?

— Read more

communicating live briefing

A MerchantCantos briefing: Live communications

How can you quickly and effectively communicate to audiences when you can’t physically gather them together in person? This is where live communication via the web comes in and can make all
the difference. We highlight 10 things that could make the difference between an event that flies – or an event that dies.

— Download the brochure

Animation and your business230x110

Animation and your business

The flexibility of animation means you can open up ways of depicting things that would be hard to capture on film. Motion graphics, infographics and transitions don’t just explain individual stages, they can show how the pieces of the puzzle fit together. But how can you harness animation’s creative power to get your message across? We explain how this art form can be used.

— Read more



  • Reporting: Connected thinking

    Today’s stakeholders are better informed and more demanding. They expect transparency, consistency and accountability from the companies that report to them. How is that being delivered?

  • Beyond responsive web design

    Mobile data is becoming ubiquitous. Sixty-five percent of people in shops now use their mobiles to check prices before they buy. People are going online with smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, PC and TV.

  • Whatever you do - don't make me think...

    A few years back the ‘usability guru’ Steve Krug (the man who gave the world the famous ‘tabbed’ navigation on Amazon) set down his golden rules for making user-friendly websites. Top of his list was a warning — ‘Don’t make me think...’ If you’ve ever failed to buy products or find information on a user unfriendly website, you’ll grasp the point immediately. So, what makes a well structured corporate website?

  • Getting ready for GRI G4

    Since publishing its first set of guidelines for sustainability reporting in 2000, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has become enormously influential and is now arguably the sustainability specialist’s benchmark of choice. However, GRI is not without its critics and likely publication of the next generation of GRI guidelines have generated excitement and dread in equal measure. So what can we really expect from GRI G4?

  • To blog or not to blog?

    That’s the question facing forward thinking corporate communicators as they watch consumer retailers harness User-Generated Content — most notably customer reviews, forums and other feedback channels — to build brand loyalty, save costs by reducing returns and ultimately market their products for free.

Latest work