There’s a moment – brief, almost imperceptible – when your audience decides what to do with you. Stay… or leave. Lean in… or scroll past. Engage… or ignore. That moment lasts about seven seconds. And in today’s environment, it’s often even shorter. We like to think people carefully consider messaging, weigh value propositions, and thoughtfully...
“Advertising doesn’t create a product advantage. It can only convey it.” Bill Bernbach. Now, many of you who are practicing modern day marketing might be saying to yourself, who the heck is Bill Bernbach. Well, it takes a real ad junkie to know that Bernbach was the godfather of modern advertising. One of the greatest...
Mentorship is having a moment again. Programs are being announced, structures are being formalized, and metrics are being discussed. All of that has value. But at its best, mentorship has never been about systems. It has always been about people. That’s why Moroch Partners’ recent announcement of the Jack Phifer Mentorship Program stopped me in...
You did everything “right.” You chose a major. You completed internships. You sought mentors. You landed a job. You worked hard, stayed late, learned the ropes, and built a résumé that actually looks respectable. And now, ten years in, you find yourself asking a quiet but persistent question: Did I pick the right career? This...
There’s a saying that’s been floating around boardrooms for years: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” I heard it again today, and it stopped me in my tracks. Not because it’s new, but because it’s still undeniably true, and nowhere is that truth more visible than in the advertising agency industry. Advertising loves strategy. · We...
After decades in the ad world, I’ve come to a depressing conclusion: most marketers don’t write anymore, they recycle. They don’t create language; they repeat it. Every time a buzzword pops up, the herd stampedes. Suddenly everyone’s “leveraging synergy” to “move the needle” with “innovative solutions.” The result? A chorus of copy that sounds like...
In today’s world, anyone and everyone can generate a website in seconds. It’s true. AI can spin one up before your coffee cools. There are templates galore — drag, drop, done. But let’s be honest… does fast mean effective? Sure, it’s easy to click your way to something that looks like a website. But what...
It’s no secret: people don’t trust advertising the way they used to. Scroll through your feed, and what happens? You swipe past the banner, skip the pre-roll, or click “skip ad” the moment it flashes on your screen. In fact, surveys show that younger generations, especially Gen Z, are more skeptical of advertising than any...
Each year, September 11 comes and goes. We see the posts, the hashtags, the photos of the Twin Towers, flags waving in the breeze. For many, it has become another “day” on the calendar. Something to acknowledge out of tradition, then move past as life continues. But if that is all it becomes, then we...
I love AI. I really do. In the advertising world, it’s like suddenly having a 24/7 creative department that never sleeps, never complains about deadlines, and doesn’t charge overtime. It can spit out headlines, draft scripts, create art, and even suggest campaign strategies in seconds. Incredible, right? But here’s the danger: AI’s brilliance can make...