The Thing is Never the Thing
I would never criticize something I have no experience with… so I went ahead and bought an automated iHeart radio ad to advertise this article.
The PROPER Way to Advertise a Sale
Brand building requires deliberate, diligent, dedication. And when it’s time for a sale… go big, or skip it entirely. No middle ground.
Perkolatr. The Most Important Business App You’re Not Using
Perkolatr will change everything. Should you be on it?
The Most Controversial Part of Marketing
It’s not really controversial… but marketers don’t seem to like to do it.
Talkin’ ‘Bout Those G-g-g-generations
BBH Labs, the R&D arm of BBH Advertising in London, developed a “Group Cohesion Score;” a way to determine what groups of people have in common with each other. Their findings are surprising.
What Matters is What’s Remembered
When you advertise, you typically make bullet points of what you “want customers to know.” Giving a customer an education so he’ll have no choice but to pick you is as fanciful as it is arrogant.
The Marketing Funnel Cloud
I hate funnels. The thing we call a Marketing Funnel is really just a shorthand to remind us that no customer goes from “I don’t know who you are” to “here, take my money!”
That’ll Do
Who is the “McDonald’s” in your category? The business you believe is getting an unfair amount of customers… in spite of their quality and competence. A few things are happening that you should find illuminating.
Everyone You Know (is a liar)
"NOBODY reads the newspaper." Beware of anybody who speaks in absolutes. Statisticians look for something called a “representative sample.” And you don’t have one (no offence, I’m sure you’re a lovely person).
The Anatomy of an Offer
Vagaries and loopholes are the enemy. Specifics and clarity are your best friends. If you’re putting a special offer out there, do the things that make offers work.
Philanthropy: You’re Doing it Weird
“How about we make an ad that says, ‘we’ll give 10% of our profits this weekend to Save the Bunnies?’” Wait a second. Let’s pick that apart...
Most People Don’t Know Most Businesses
I haven’t met you and I already know you have an awareness problem. A sloppy ad-slinger will gloss over awareness. It’s treated as a “given.”
Are Your Ads Missing Hope? | Wizard’s Roundtable
You need all four... (1) A Big Idea (2) Nuts and Bolts (3) Entertainment (4) Hope. The last is the easiest to overlook… but it’s the most important.
Alsofocuson
A key element of any strategy is choosing what gets focus. When I present a focused strategy, sometimes I get presented with a made-up word: Alsofocuson. As in, “I like the focus, but can we also-focus-on this other focus?”
How to Spot and Eliminate Digital Ad Fraud
This conversation started on Facebook in our private group discussing an article in Forbes. The headline said, "When big brands stopped spending on digital ads, nothing happened. Why?"