Our backgrounds are in the most sophisticated, successful clients and agencies, and we have worked on some of the most commercially successful and creatively admired brands of recent times.
Whether our clients are like that themselves, or whether their circumstances prevent them achieving those levels, we try and bring that background to bear on all our clients’ businesses.
We see no substitute for knowledge of the best methods, rigour, and intrinsic ability
Therefore as a general rule we don’t like many of the proprietary models that are so popular in our world. Particularly ones that prescribe methodology. But you will find us using one or two of a different sort on occasion. An example is HERE Similarly we see many consultancies whose backgrounds are in one sector and they now operate in that one sector. Particularly if that sector is one that doesn’t have access to, or can’t afford the best methods, that can’t enable them to offer the best available advice as their knowledge must be limited. We have a competitor who is specialist in one sector who describes one of the owners as ‘one of the UK’s leading authorities’ on a variety of strategic issues. They don’t have any profile outside their sector. But they probably do believe their claim. To quote one industry expert:
“Marketing is one of those sectors where specialism is a weakness: it’s a euphemism for limited knowledge”
We are informal and collaborative. We do want to add real value and so we will make clear what we believe is right but we accept that decisions are ultimately our clients decisions and so we won’t fall out if we disagree.
Our output is actionable, not strategic theory
We don’t believe that the strategy document is an end in itself. The target audience never sees our documents or research debriefs. They only see the executional consequences, which may be good, bad, or something in between. Our experience in former lives of managing brands in all their aspects and of developing communications in agencies means we are able to offer informed opinion and advice on the executional consequences of our strategy and research. We want our clients businesses and brands to improve as a result of what we do for them. When distinction is widely recognised as a virtue in a brand, increasingly too many brands are being watered down by the very people who own them. Frank Zappa once said:
“If you end up with a boring miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on television telling you how to do your shit, then you deserve it.”
We think the same is true of brands. We’ll provide the inspiration for your brands to make them distinct and relevant. Inspiration that will be actionable and business building. You can find out a bit more about what we think on the homepage: ‘Why are you called Muse?’
About the title image:
The French Protestant Church of London (Église Protestante Française de Londres) is a Huguenot Protestant church in Soho Square.
It was founded by King Edward VI in 1550 and is the only remaining Huguenot church in London. There were once 23.
Soho is a place of religious diversity. On the opposite side of Soho Square from the French Protestant Church is St Patrick Roman Catholic Church, once the home of Casanova’s lover, Mrs Cornelys, and their daughter was conceived there. The Hare Krishna temple is nearby and there is a small Mosque on Berwick St.