How to sell your great new solution — pile on the problem!
Let me tell you a story about the problem with most sales pitches. There’s not…
The semantics of branding & rebranding: Get the words right, or else.
Here’s a worst-case branding & rebranding scenario that every business owner fears: You’re forced to…
Old-school Mad Men advice : Use a USP in your advertising
Life in a 1960’s advertising agency makes for a great costume drama. Sometimes the powerful…
Brand Simplicity – Whittling success down to its core.
In business I think it’s human nature to add unnecessary complexity to all sorts of…
How to manage your marketing efforts like a Hollywood Producer
Are you burdened by all the tactical marketing options? Ever wonder how to manage your…
Does advertising really work? If so, how?
Every business owner on earth has asked this question at some point or another… They…
Truth, Lies, and Advertising Honesty
I don’t comment on politics. However, the constant flood of blatant falsehoods from political races…
Need to improve your marketing? Start with your P.O.V.
How you see things — your unique point-of-view — skews everything you do. You can’t…
Building a brand personality that’s genuine, authentic, AND effective.
Building a brand personality for your company that actually resonates with people is not easy….
How to differentiate your company — Disruption as a branding discipline
The word for the day is Disruption, with a capital D. That’s the easiest way…
The 4 Ps of Marketing – Plus one for Ecommerce
Every year, thousands of E-commerce startups are launched with nothing more than a whim and…
Logo contests: A bad idea for any good brand
Sometimes the most powerful branding case studies fall into the “what NOT to do” category….
How to make your copywriting more compelling – Introduce incongruity
Putting your best foot forward – How to make your products look great online.
Ever since the COVID pandemic every category in the e-commerce industry has been growing like…
What to watch for when you’re rebranding
Let’s face it… Rebranding can be a costly pain in the ass. It’s probably the…
Marketing Magic From The Ice Cream Man
One of the earliest examples of marketing magic that I can remember was from the…
Predicting consumer behavior in 2023: Or the whacky, random ways people buy.
Corporations spend billions every year trying to predict consumer behavior. Market research firms have sophisticated…
5 Things all iconic brands have in common.
Simon Edwards, former Brand Manager at 3M, started a lively online discussion around this question:…
Naming your company – Why is it so dang hard to do well?
If you conducted a poll of 100 people like myself who develop brands for a…
Catching frogs and campfire songs — Branding lessons from summer camp
I find branding lessons in some pretty funny places. Like on a wart, on a…
How to simplify your marketing efforts for more efficiency
I think it’s human nature to add unnecessary complexity to things. But the most effective…
Mapping out the customer journey – in story form
Everyone’s fixated on short copy these days… Gotta write as if everyone’s hyper-distracted and generally…
1 Tough Mother, 2 marketing objectives: Image advertising that works
It’s an age old debate… can image advertising actually move the needle on bottom-line business…
How to come up with a good business name – avoid these common mistakes
Business naming is one of those funny creative tasks that everyone thinks they can do….
Two alarming questions that are sure signs of trouble for startups
Entrepreneurs have to answer a lot of questions. It comes with the territory. Some, like…
Dual Purpose Websites – How to create branding sites that sell.
For some reason, many business owners think that “branding websites” won’t sell product. And on…
New word, old idea — The definition of content marketing
“Content” is a sizzling buzzword in the marketing world these days. There are all sorts…
Flip the marketing funnel — make it a mountain.
Let’s talk about one of the most popular marketing metaphors of all time: The…
Wait, what??? The 5 worst words in marketing
I am not stupid. I can connect the dots pretty well when it comes to…
Ski Industry Marketing — New product launch vs. the birth of a brand
It was the kind of day ski bums live for… 10 inches of new…