Baseball and Advertising
As General Manager of the Oakland A’s, Bill's payroll costs were one-third of the New York Yankees. He couldn’t compete with them. He hired Paul DePodesta, a Harvard grad in Economics. Together, they changed the game.
Learning from the Legends — Tootsie Pop’s Fairy Tale Magic
I’m not talking about a campaign that has run for 50 years, I’m talking about a single ad that still runs to this day and still drives results. So what’s behind the magic?
Social Media, A Marketing Channel
The truth is that social media allows you to see how each piece of content performs before you ever invest money in it! You don't get the opportunity to do that with billboards, radio, TV, or print media.
Exposure, Woo-ing Bucks and impenetrable castles.
“Bill, why did you buy a highway billboard”? “It gives my company great exposure for getting more clients” Here’s the reality. Exposure doesn’t pay the bills.
The Extreme Branding Of Recruiting Ads
We can use the recruiting spot to sneak messages into the minds of eavesdroppers that might have “bounced off” of skepticism had they appeared in a “regular” ad.
Putting Funny Ads To Work For Your Boring-Ass Business – Juxtaposition
Is your business in a boring industry? Then I’m PB&Jelly of you. Jealous because you have a YUGE opportunity to stand out.
Three Wise Men Appeared on My Path
Karen Post gave me the first definition of a brand that did not include colours, style guides, and logos. Brain Tattoos said, “A brand is the STORY embedded in the mind of the market”.
7 Reasons NOT to Hire a Local Advertising Agency
The only people who care about adequate frequency are people who are actually measuring, tracking, and being paid for the effectiveness of their work.
Tying Creativity to Strategy
If you’re new to mass media advertising, THE question you’re likely asking yourself is: “Does this stuff really work? Does it really drive huge success, in a reliable repeatable way?"
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...
A Secret Path to Branding Ads that Actually Work
"Like McDonald’s, Carl’s Jr. ads showed a big, nicely stacked burger on TV. Unlike McDonald’s, however, Carl’s Jr. would then deliver a charbroiled product that looked like a sloppy, drippy mess."
Say Cheese Now Smile
When you set a course to entertain, persuasion can still be a destination. The limerick can be your vehicle. It’s persuasion with the top down. The clown car body encases a Honda engine (colorful, but reliable).
Emotional, Rational, or Aspirational? Yes, Please!
How exactly did appealing to the whole person fall out of fashion in advertising? Somewhere along the lines, people began to separate out Reason-Why or logic-driven ads from emotionally galvanizing ads.
Happiness is a fish YOU can catch.
Stop worrying about the colour of your logo, the size of your ad, or the shares on Facebook. When it comes to business, your job is to sell happiness. And the best happiness that is long lasting and unbreakable is through the use of Oxytocin.
Six Ways to Differentiate Your Company and Win Over Your Competition.
These are product, service, channels of distribution, relationships, reputation/image, and price. However, not all differentiation strategies are equally effective.