Five

Jen Maclennan on Scale Her Up: leadership, cultural nuance and going far together.

Fifth Ring — Mon, 04 May 2026 08:45:00 GMT

Our Group Managing Director Jen Maclennan joined Dr Brenda Hector on the Scale Her Up podcast, a show for female business owners and leaders. The conversation covered Fifth Ring's international reach, what cultural nuance really looks like in B2B campaigns, and the leadership lessons that have shaped her last decade at the agency. It closed on a line worth keeping.

Ian Ord on energy, expertise and why the future is about the mix, not the fix.

Fifth Ring — Fri, 01 May 2026 13:23:32 GMT

Fifth Ring Founder Ian Ord features in The Drum's Agency Leaders series this week, in conversation with Rob Morrice. The interview ranges from the agency's roots in 1990s Aberdeen to the forces reshaping the global energy industry today, and lands on a phrase worth holding onto.

Are you AI clone-worthy?

steven.milne@fifthring.com (Steve Milne) — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 15:19:29 GMT

All the time you spend becoming ‘better at AI’ is time that the AI is being trained by you to be better at being you. The question is: are you so easily replaceable?

Agency sprawl is killing your growth.

Debbie Ho — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 23:45:00 GMT

Agency sprawl is not a symptom of Asia being difficult. It is a symptom of companies simplifying the wrong thing.

From complexity to clarity: the return of the monolithic brand.

chloe.hodge@fifthring.com (Dr Chloe Kinnaird) — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 13:18:14 GMT

Over the past two years, we have seen a clear and accelerating shift in energy and marine markets away from complex brand portfolios and towards monolithic brand structures. This is often described as a trend. In reality, it is a correction. It is a response to years of accumulated complexity, diluted positioning, and portfolios that have grown faster than the strategy behind them.

AI will not save your brand strategy.

chloe.hodge@fifthring.com (Dr Chloe Kinnaird) — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 13:02:19 GMT

AI has become the latest obsession in brand and marketing strategy. It is often positioned as a shortcut to clarity, creativity, and competitive advantage. Used well, it can be a powerful tool. Used poorly, it simply accelerates sameness.

If Your culture cannot deliver the promise, what is your brand really worth?

chloe.hodge@fifthring.com (Dr Chloe Kinnaird) — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 12:40:36 GMT

Most organisations spend a significant amount of time shaping what they want to say to the market. Far fewer spend the same amount of time examining whether the organisation behind the message can actually deliver it.

Your Logo Isn’t your brand. And treating it like one is holding your business back.

chloe.hodge@fifthring.com (Dr Chloe Kinnaird) — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 09:30:00 GMT

If a logo could fix a brand, most B2B organisations would already be market leaders.

Most B2B brands don’t have a positioning problem. They have a definition problem.

chloe.hodge@fifthring.com (Dr Chloe Kinnaird) — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 12:15:00 GMT

Most B2B brands don’t fail because their positioning is wrong. They fail because they never properly define the space they are trying to occupy in the first place.

Lead theater is a drama that's becoming a crisis in B2B marketing

ian@fifthring.com (Ian Ord) — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 12:15:02 GMT

Most B2B marketing stops too early. Optimizing for leads creates the illusion of progress while real growth is won or lost further downstream.