The Best Blog Post Ever Written
I drove past a place called “Best China Restaurant” hundreds of times and instinctively knew that this was not, in fact, the best out there.
The Only “Brand Attribute” You MUST Own
This is why IBM could famously charge more for less capable systems than upstart, hi-tech competitors.
The secret sauce of persuasion: storyselling
Stories live between what is real and what the consumer wishes were real.
Creating authentic conversational radio ads step-by-step
Conversation is, unfortunately, incredibly difficult to write — especially when you write by the rules of good grammar.
A Powerful Secret to Great Ads
Powerful ads are the few that stand out in your mind because they made an impression. Here's how that happens.
Brand Codes in a World of Continuous Partial Attention
We are all, as T.S. Eliot wrote, “distracted from distraction by distraction.” So how can you craft ads capable of working?
Fables are Better than Facts
If all you do is list facts, you've created a documentary... not an advertisement. Advertisements are made to persuade.
Do Your Ads Romanticize What Your Customers Actually Want to Buy?
“The customer rarely buys what the company thinks it's selling him.” — Business Management Legend, Peter Drucker
Be Who You Are — A KFC Case Study
The Colonel was seen as old, outdated, and associated with the old south. Tragically unhip for a newer, younger audience.
Metaphor Proves Crucial for Harnessing Emotions for Increasing Ad Effectiveness
When participants returned for recall testing a week later, there was a significant difference.
Branding “Cheat Codes” for Explosive Growth
It’s much faster for me to convince you that other people already believe X about brand Y than to change your personal perceptions.
Every Day Is Election Day For Your Brand
Are you guilty of voter suppression? I’m not referring to second Tuesday in November voters.
Brand it Like Bogie
Four simple-as-dirt branding lessons from Casablanca on how to become irresistible to customers & impervious to competitors.
The sun sets at quarter past seven on the sixth day of September
My ex-business partner didn’t understand the food was secondary to the view.
What Spartan Women Can Teach Us About Advertising
Chroniclers say their goodbye was a short, “with it or on it.” The “it” was the Spartan shield.