Successful brands are built on beliefs. (Not products)
What do you really believe in? What motivates you — heart and soul — to…
How stock photos sabotage your brand image – Beware of visual clichés.
Every business needs photos… (Your brand image can’t be built on words alone.) Unfortunately, most…
How to compete in the booming Kombucha Market
Insight on the booming kombucha market — An interview with Steven Lee of Kombucha Wonder…
Marketing Management & Leadership – Who’s really running the show?
Marketing is full of colorful characters… Data nerds, creative prima donnas, wordsmith poets, actors, spreadsheet…
Writing better web copy — How long should that copy be? Really.
This is a common refrain these days… Doesn’t matter if the client is selling complex,…
Under Armour marketing — Sailing into a big, blue ocean of opportunity.
Kevin Plank, founder and former CEO of Under Armour, likes to tell the story of…
Automotive Advertising: Another ride down that twisting, mountain road of tired clichés.
I don’t know what it is about automotive advertising. No other category is so rich…
Effective TV advertising — How to avoid TV spots that miss the mark.
Effective TV advertising is hard to come by in my town. I just cringe when…
“Brand” Trumps Managerial Incompetence.
I need to stop being surprised by managerial incompetence. Honestly. I need to reframe my…
Deschutes Brewing Going National (How to grow without selling your soul.)
Bend, Oregon is a small town better known for big fun than big business. There…
Truth and clarity about Guerrilla Marketing
It’s 1810. Napolean’s armies have conquered all of Europe and are enjoying the spoils. But…
Marketing lessons from the Olympics – Glory, thrills and honor
I’m a big fan of the Winter Olympics. I got hooked as a boy when…
Cammo brand personality (Duck Dynasty goes high fashion.)
How do you know when the alignment of the planets has gone completely askew? When the…
Paralysis by Analysis (How fear and big data can kill great marketing)
Everyone’s talking about “big data” and how data-driven marketing is the holy grail of marketing….
Marketing lessons from the not-so-surprising failure of Sears
The recent demise of Sears, once the country’s largest retailer, is replete with valuable marketing…
Fake thrills and false advertising — Another automotive marketing misfire.
Automotive advertising, as a category, is notoriously bad. The big brands seldom produce memorable spots,…
Who reads long copy these days? The hungry ones.
I’m really tired of people telling me no one reads anything anymore. “Copywriting doesn’t matter.”…
Strategic Thinking vs. Tactical Acting – Your marketing needs both.
I’ve been writing the Brand Insight Blog regularly since 2007. The single most popular post…
Craftsmanship in Advertising (God is in the details.)
I seldom write about Super Bowl advertising. (Too many other commentators offering their expert insight…
How to do more effective advertising (Just the facts won’t do it)
Every client I work with wants to know how to do more effective advertising. They…
Naming — Age-old advice on how to name a new business.
So you want to hang up your own shingle. Or you have a great idea…
Marketing Resolutions (3 easy paths to better branding)
2021 promises to be a better year for business owners and marketers. Especially if you’re…
Why most marketing videos fail. (Unscripted advice on the missing ingredient)
Online video is the new TV. These days you can delve deep into any subject under…
The new normal for Ecommerce — How to sell more stuff online.
Ecommerce is exploding. The COVID 19 pandemic has created a tidal wave of activity in…
Effective Personal Branding — The corporate head shot is not the ticket.
Recently we had a client who didn’t like the photos we had taken for her…
As long as first impressions matter, website design will matter.
There was a group discussion on LinkedIn recently that started with this statement: “Website design…
Successful branding – 3 logical reasons why brands need more emotional thinking
Small brands, big attitudes. How to create an XXL brand personality
Airline Industry marketing (One Canadian brand stands out)
Here’s a news flash for all of you who are 35 or under: Flying wasn’t…
Death in a small business — Brands outlive their founders.
If you got hit by a bus, what would happen to your brand? Nothing derails…