Distinctiveness vs. Differentiation vs. Bonding
Branding aims at de-commodification: getting the customer to see you as the better, worthier option. And there are three ways of pursuing this goal.
The Biggest Waste in Advertising (a Case Study)
Advertising in the bigger community to draw customers to your smaller community is as futile as trying to make the water in a river defy gravity.
An interview with a small business that applied the Wrigley formula
He does not sell gum. He sells used RVs and he applied the lessons from Wrigley’s and is growing like crazy.
“Emotional” Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means
“Emotional campaigns are 30% more likely than rational campaigns to show large profit effects" — Binet & Field, The Long and Short of It
The birth of Play-doh. A cleaning agent becomes a toy.
Observing how your customer is using your products can lead to new product ideas and maybe even save your company.
Should an Upwardly Mobile Zebra Shed Its Stripes?
Successful marketing, getting your company noticed, requires behavior that's not only risky, it runs counter to instinct.
Magical Thinking, Branding, and Chevy’s Christmas Ad
Your love for this small piece of commercial art, which you’ll likely share with others, can’t help but partially rub off onto Chevy.
Advertising is like cooking an egg
In an environment where results are needed immediately, microwaving your marketing might be the option. But it’s not the most ideal.
Persuading Individuals vs. Persuading the Crowd — Why Not Both?
We are social creatures, and what others think and believe profoundly affects what we think and believe.
How to marry brick and mortar with online retailing. The Canada Goose way.
Canada Goose is the second fastest-growing luxury brand in the world.
The Poet and the Engineer
I was an engineer for most of my life. Engineers think logically and rationally but they can't stir desire like a poet. Are your ads written by the poet, or the engineer?
Winning the War for Talent – An Advertising Strategy for Service Companies
This is why character and story-driven advertising not only accelerates branding success, but recruiting success as well.
Putting Funny Ads To Work For Your Boring-Ass Business – Ordinary to Extraordinary
None of these products were inherently interesting, yet their ads have been enjoyed hundreds of millions of times.
Regrettably, I didn’t wear the kilt.
Celebrate your difference in the world. Stand out. Get talked about. You will be rewarded for your courage when you are true to yourself.
Retailers Beware!
This is a departure. In this episode, Stephen Semple shares trends that he is seeing that are being embraced by retailers. Trends that are dangerously wrong.