Fifth Ring

Energy isn’t just about supply and demand anymore. It’s about security and affordability. From infrastructure vulnerability to LNG exposure and shifting hydrogen strategies, this month's Energy Insights breaks it down. Energy Insights Monthly Newsletter https://hubs.li/Q048d2Vs0

If your culture cannot deliver the promise, what is your brand really worth? Chloe Kinnaird (Hodge), PhD, explains how brand is built on three elements working together: Vision defines where the organisation wants to go. Image reflects how the market perceives it. Culture determines whether the promise actually holds. When the VCI is aligned, organisations move with confidence. When they are not, even the strongest brand narratives eventually begin to unravel.

If a logo could fix a brand, most B2B organisations would already be market leaders. Buyers do not reassess a brand simply because it looks different. They reassess it when they understand it differently. Without a shift in meaning, a new visual identity becomes a cosmetic update layered over the same unresolved questions. When branding is addressed in isolation, it is forced to carry weight it was never designed to bear. It cannot compensate for unclear positioning, misaligned culture, or a lack of strategic focus. At best, it amplifies what already exists. At worst, it highlights the absence of substance behind it. So if your brand feels stagnant, the question may not be “Do we need a new logo?” It may be: Have we done the strategic work beneath it? #ownthespace

And they’re off. Today, Ian Ord and Team VVVRC begin Doddie’s Triple Crown, an 800-mile charity cycle from Scotland to Dublin in support of My Name'5 Doddie Foundation and the fight against motor neurone disease. Yesterday, ahead of the official start in Melrose, the team warmed up with a special opening ride from Murrayfield, following the match ball as it began its journey to Dublin for the final Six Nations fixture. They were given a great send-off ahead of the ride, meeting Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, Paralympian Fin Graham and members of the Scotland squad, who wished the team well. Now the real challenge begins. Over the next four days, the team will cycle the 800 miles to Dublin, carrying the match ball with them and raising vital funds for MND research.

Mega-mergers. LNG growth. New gas frontiers. The signals shaping energy’s next phase are here. Get Energy Insights in your inbox each month. Subscribe to the Energy Insights Monthly Newsletter https://hubs.li/Q045y7cb0

Most B2B brands don’t actually have a positioning problem. They have a definition problem. Instead of deciding where they want to play and where they want to win, many organisations try to keep their options open. They chase audiences, channels and opportunities as they appear. The result is a brand that is active and visible, but ultimately unanchored. Definition is the step many brands skip. But it’s the step that determines whether everything that follows has momentum or simply creates more noise. If your brand strategy feels fragmented or reactive, it’s worth asking a simple question: have you really defined the space you want to own? #ownthespace #fifthring

Last week in Houston, we put marketers and commercial leaders in the same room. And something clicked. At Returns Marketing: The Death of the MQL, the conversation moved quickly past “more leads” and into something far more commercially interesting: • Why deals actually stall • Where friction shows up in buying groups • And how marketing can support live opportunities, not just generate entry A few realities stood out. First: the buyer group is shaped long before a deal formally opens. If preference is forming months in advance, waiting for an MQL to influence the commercial buyer or senior sponsor is already too late. Second: every stakeholder needs a different reason to say yes. Technical buyers want proof. Commercial buyers want clarity and low risk. Senior sponsors want confidence and defensibility. Enable only one of them and friction is inevitable. And third: It’s about risk. If we don’t help buyers mitigate internal risk, deals slow. And stalled deals kill growth. The shift we kept coming back to was simple: Stop optimizing for entry. Start optimising for momentum. Sally Lechin, Ian Ord, Isabella Brunetti, Justin Tetley

It was fabulous to meet Ian Ord and to find a dry day in the North East in 2026! I always appreciate time with Ian in his very busy diary, his energy is uplifting and insights are always on the money Fifth Ring say “In a crowded world, it’s hard to stand out” Ian noted businesses say the same things to the same people in the same way and as a result they end up competing with everyone and being seen by no one. As we discussed at Henderson Loggie’s latest Business Leader Group workshop, we are in a world where there is so much AI generated sameness. I wanted to shine a light on Ian and his team helping businesses rise above the rest. Through their award-winning and unique B2B marketing campaigns they blend creative passion with results-driven processes to make sure their clients are recognised and help them own their space. I’m looking forward to my next catch up with Ian ….. #businessleader #curiosity #creativity #team #shinealight