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.
How to 3X the Memorability and Impact of Your Ads
Give people a list of random words to read, take the list away, then ask how many words each person can recall. On average they’ll recall three words. But this technique increases it to nine.
Most People Don’t Know Most Businesses
I haven’t met you and I already know you have an awareness problem. A sloppy ad-slinger will gloss over awareness. It’s treated as a “given.”
Cubicalls: Press Pause
"Is this that transactional-relational thing?" “I think so. Her business should be relational." “Why?" "We’ve been taking Buffy to our groomer for 10 years. You ever bathed and brushed a Bichon? Our groomer isn’t the cheapest. But I never miss an appointment."
Making and Breaking Patterns For Fun & Profit
Before the launch of the campaign, Absolut sold just 20,000 cases annually in the U.S. By 2008, they were selling 11.8 million cases per year.
7 Rules for Amazing, True-to-Life Ad Campaigns
These rules will help you create a custom-fit, true-to-life ad campaign to attract customers who naturally gravitate to your values and way of doing business.
The Real Way To Build Your Business
You need 4 things… (1) A good steady flow of new customers. (2) A good steady flow of repeat customers. (3) Referrals. (4) Positive Word of Mouth (and this includes social media)
The Exaggerations that Tell the Truth
The more we treasure something, the higher our emotions run in relation to it. Tell a mother how ugly her baby really is and you’ll see what I mean. And this is a very useful phenomenon for the ad writer.
Hands Up…Who’s Hiring?
"Mike, look, the post office is hiring,” Bob tipped his head at the encased poster, “but you're past the age limit." "Hey Bob. Yeah, you wouldn't get away with a recruitment ad like that these days." Mike smiled.
10 Basic Truths of Advertising, Part Deux
The things we are hardwired to find unignorable and “fascinating” involve the (mostly social) triggers first discussed and popularized by Sally Hogshead.
Grow Your Business With a Courageous Offer
Yes a few customers will take advantage. Get over it. A Courageous Offer opens up the customer floodgates. The money of the many will wash away the bad taste of a few.
10 Basic Truths of Advertising, Part 1
America has always sorted its mail over a trashcan, and now just as ruthlessly sorts, filters, and dismisses every other incoming stimuli. Modern life demands it.