Beyond ROAS: How to Know if Your Advertising is Working
Branded search and gross revenue are the best metrics. But they take patience.
Stop Popup Abuse: Your Customers Deserve Better
Next time someone says, “Just throw it in a popup,” ask, "Would I find this annoying?"
Winning in Hard Times: Why Most Businesses Shrink and a Few Roar Back
When consumer sentiment tanks, buying becomes emotionally loaded.
What Digital Superstars Know About Offline Advertising
Why is Amazon, the biggest online retailer, still mailing print catalogs?
They Thought Turning Vegas Into Disneyland Would Work…
You cannot be all things to everybody. You lose both sides.
The Risk of Insult is the Price of Clarity
If you say what people expect you to say, you're boring and your ads will never work.
The Power of Context: Why Some Ads Hit Harder
How owners evaluate ads differs from how buyers actually encounter them.
Combining Sales Activation and Long-term Branding
Get the split right, and you’ll escape the treadmill and grow year after year.
Diamonds, Drains, and the Danger of Over-Education
Business owners know too much. And "educating the customer" is one of their worst mistakes.
AI is OK
AI is right for your business, if you don't think your business is terribly special.
How Adidas Fumbled the Message With “You Got This”
It starts brilliantly. But by the end it's a participation ribbon.
Google Is a Tactic, Not a Strategy
Google can deliver results but it requires a broader vision and destination in mind.
Lord Byron Killed by SEO Writing
Confused companies spend thousands on SEO writers of ill repute who produce little benefit.
The REAL Reason Jaguar’s Rebrand Doesn’t Work
In 2022 they sold 61,661 cars. 2 years later it's 33,320. Just shy of a 50% decline. How? Why?
Aspiring to Go Viral Is Lazy
I wish every business owner could go viral once, so they could realize how little it actually moves the needle.