Once upon a time…
Great stories have three principal roles: hero, victim, and villain. These roles need to be filled: Prince Charming, Stepmother, and Cinderella.
Learn These New Words and Be Ahead of the Pack
By introducing new ideas, you attract people’s attention, cementing your brand into a household name. You rise above the Sea of Sameness.
James Watt – The marketing story of horsepower
Cars are marketed today using the term horsepower. Find out why James Watt invented the term and how it helped.
Transactional vs. Relational Shoppers
Transactional shoppers illustrate lower average sales and closing ratios, and smaller profit margins.
Skunky Beer is the Worst (Part the Third)
For his chocolate-coffee stout, he used pounds of Wilbur Buds dark chocolate (a local delicacy). Then the brewer made a tragic mistake.
Origin Story: How Your Story Should’ve Successfully Been Told
Most ads don’t work. Why? They’re missing the key ingredient.
The world’s most honest used car salesman
I like making people the hero in the ads. People are more interesting when they stop pretending.
Influence This! (Part the Second)
When it comes to influencers, or when it comes to chicanery in marketing, color me skeptical.
5 Hard Truths About Advertising Every Business Owner Ought to Know
Your ads are an annoyance to your future customers. Unless you make yourself otherwise.
Personality Prescription, Part 6 – Uniqueness
The pursuit of uniqueness is a huge source of frustration. Of wasted money. Of non-persuasive advertising.
Who you gonna call?
Halloween 1985 would have been forgotten if Chris hadn’t brought the Roman candles. But in business, Remarkability and Memorability are often rejected for the safe.
Doubling Down on Schtick That Sticks
It’s been over 40 years — and I can still sing the lyrics. Here are my quick and dirty takeaways.
Personality Prescription, Part 5 – Let’s Sell Something
There’s a saying that “Business goes where it’s invited.” What should we put in our ads to get that invitation from Ms. Homeowner?
Wanna Be Seen as “The Best”? Don’t Brag, Do This Instead
Lead researcher, Neil G. MacLaren, set out to test the “Babble Hypothesis.” Turns out, there’s a deceptively simple answer.
A childhood bribe taught me about bad marketing
Bribing a customer does not have the same effect as bribing a child. The campaign works, but the strategy fails.