How We Decide to Purchase
Amateur ad writers assume everyone makes decisions based upon the same criteria they use. This causes them to unconsciously frame their messages to reach people exactly like themselves.
The Tale of Ted the Radio Tortoise and Harry the Anxious Hare
I spent a day with two HVAC company owners. Harry the Anxious Hare is closing barely 10% of his online leads. Ted the Radio Tortoise’s telephone team is closing more than 60%.
That’ll Do
Who is the “McDonald’s” in your category? The business you believe is getting an unfair amount of customers… in spite of their quality and competence. A few things are happening that you should find illuminating.
Your First Year In Mass Media Branding: 12 Milestones and a Timeline
A roadmap for TV and Radio that works. If your ad campaign is conceived to get real traction, you’ll see these first four milestones within the first three to five months...
Putting Funny Ads To Work For Your Boring-Ass Business – Parody
If the humor isn’t tied to the message; if you can’t talk about one without talking about the other, then any attempts at persuasion will be short-lived and not very memorable.
Are Your Ads Gossip Worthy?
You probably read this and thought: that’s an unrealistic expectation. Kind of like expecting an ad to “go viral.” Who gossips about ads, of all things? And why would anyone want people gossiping about their brand?
Avoid Scrapbooking Your Brand Visuals.
A “scrapbook company” doesn’t have the emotional connection to your brand that you do; so they give you a templated product that looks like everything else. Unremarkable.
How to Advertise “Caring” and “Craftsmanship”
The Coors campaign took market share from Bud and Miller while spending one-third as much money. They used a half-dozen smaller differentiators to build up “quality” and “caring” as what set their beer apart.
Serving, Kingdoms, and Something to Believe in
Marketing in 2021 cannot be like 2019. Too much has happened. Society suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. To think everything will return to normal is to believe the last 16 months never happened.
The 7 Trials of an Emerging Empire Builder
There are two types of business owners: (1) Those who just want to run a profitable, stable business that funds a quality lifestyle, and (2) Aspiring empire builders with visions or building something much, much bigger.
Traction, Rocket-Ship, or Earth Shaker? Does Your Branding Have One, Two, or Three Keys to Success?
Heck, even one out of three is enough to get traction. But a trifecta is the stuff of legends.
A lesson in advertising from Professional Wrestling
We remember the bold. We don’t remember them for what they said. We don’t remember them for what they did. We remember how they made us feel. Advertising is no different.
A Creative Technique to Make a Decent Offer Unforgettable
How do you get the attention of the public when your product or service is a grudge purchase at best? Every home services provider suffers from this.
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?