Was chatting with a friend of mine recently who was telling me how hard he was working to improve on his weaknesses. He said the task was difficult, but hopefully rewarding. I asked him why he was wasting time on weaknesses versus accentuating his strengths. He looked at me dumbfounded. Listen, like many, I worked...
An old advertising cohort and I used to go to lunch at Steak and Shake every Friday—back in the late 1980’s (ok, so I’m old) when in my humble opinion the franchise was under-managed, and the buildings were stuck in the 1950s. I remember thinking dozens of times; this is such a great product. What...
Recently we’ve been asked what Brand immersion is. In a sentence, Brand Immersion is the act of integrating your brand into your customer’s lifestyle – sort of what we are doing here with blogs. Over the past few years, it has become evident that consumers show preference for brands that engage them on an emotional...
I recently had lunch with my roommate from Florida State University – we attended in the mid-70’s – and it was good to reminisce about all that has happened in our careers and life. The business world has certainly changed since I embarked on an Advertising Agency career on Madison Avenue in New York City,...
The pandemic has been a wake-up call, wouldn’t you agree? While businesses have always been aware of the “unexpected” and the “unlikely”, today those terms should be part of your plan and forecast. For many businesses, it has been a season of pain, increased costs, and too many issues unresolved. For a few lucky others,...
As we continue to push past COVID19 and look toward a better 2022, we’ve been tickling our clients about budgets and planning. In the midst of one of our discussions, one of our clients asked, “what makes a good marketing plan anyway?” To be honest, I was stunned by the question. Not because we didn’t...
When clients ask us to describe the most effective content that can be shared, I always give the answer “if you have the choice, tell emotional stories.” That answer is then followed up with the statement “Trust me, an emotional story will always leave a lasting impression.” From Dove’s “Real Beauty” and Procter & Gamble’s...
Have you ever considered there are tens of thousands of businesses making many millions a year in profits that don’t give any real attention to things like twitter, blogs or Facebook? Are they all wrong? Have they missed out? Or is the joke really on us? Every day these successful companies do business through personal...
Think about any and every business that exists around the world. It’s daunting. There are so many brands, so many choices, so many claims, and so much clutter for consumers to navigate that the central challenge for any organization is to break through the clutter…to rise above the fray…to separate from the rest. Wouldn’t you...
I’ve been at this for 40 years and have met many people who I thought, wow, they are really, really smart, articulate and ask great questions. To that end I recently interviewed a candidate for an internship at our shop and was floored by the questions. Here they are, and my answers. WHAT INSPIRES YOU...