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.
“Unique” Is Overrated — And Far Less Powerful Than…
Do you care whether you get a “unique” plumber to fix your flooded house?
The Heart of a Wiener Dog: Character Diamonds
Most business owners are hesitant to share anything remotely vulnerable through their advertising. But wiener dogs have no fear of looking ridiculous.
Personality Prescription, Part 3 – You’re Choosing Cheap Ones
You’re probably attracting Price Sensitive Homeowners without even knowing it.
Forget TL;DR — it’s TB;DC you gotta worry about!
The art of ad writing requires the creation of ads that work even for an audience that’s half-paying attention.
Once a Wiener… Repurposing the Proven
Peter: How is it that I’m going to tell people the story of the wiener dog? Roy: Ok. It’s actually, it’s called cheating.
Left turn to Albuquerque
Last year, a lawyer put up a billboard. He used the same graphics as the tv show with the headline, “Better Call Bob.”
Piña Coladas & Persuasion
This is what separates the heroes from schmoes in branding: The ability to use entertainment & humor to drive home the message, rather than obscure it.
Time To Get Crazy
I stand against best practices because it locks you into a way of thinking. You do not defeat the leader by following their playbook.
The Personality Prescription, Part 1 – Stalled Growth
Stalled growth is an outcome of a growing dependence of home service contractors on digital media. They’ve bought into the “wasted circulation” concept.
Rebranding Made Simple (+Examples)
It’s an act of confidence and commitment — a chance for companies to give their brands new life by tweaking what they stand for and how people see them.
The Five Elements of Fame
Experts on marketing effectiveness determined that Fame is the most important element for producing extraordinary ROI.
Hathaway Shirts and the most interesting man in the world, coincidence?
The picture makes you read the headline, encouraging you to read the first line of body copy.
What riding a motorcyle taught me about marketing
Many companies use loyalty programs, Facebook groups, and email spam to gather the troops. That’s not a tribe. It’s list building.
What Constitutes Memorable Ads? [+Examples]
It’s time to stop wasting your time and effort on lackluster ads that no one remembers.