Word Crimes, or What Grammar Says About Your Brand
Grammar isn’t one of those things you usually notice until it starts going wrong. With people texting exponentially more than they did a decade ago and e-mail becoming a nearly ubiquitous primary source of communication in place of phone calls
Marketing, advertising, and the search for meaning.
A funny thing happened on the way to the digital age. As advances in technology wired us all together; information became cheap and easy to access; consumer choices exploded; and our options for getting, knowing, and sharing practically anything expanded
The business of simple marketing
A large part of what marketing should do is distill a client’s desired messaging into an easy to understand and actionable message. This isn’t always as easy as it might seem. Clients, of course, are in the business of making money and
Position statements, slogans and taglines, oh my!
Position statements, slogans and taglines, oh my! Well, there she goes: The Wicked Witch of the West, brooming about the sky, spewing smoke and cackling away as she spells out her evil message to the Emerald City, a trembling Dorothy and
When taglines become outdated, what’s a brand to do?
Every brand strives to achieve such recognition of their name and tagline that consumers immediately know the product. This is a good thing. It strengthens the brand in the marketplace, creates top of mind awareness, and can drive brand preference. But
How to…
In the almost three years of blogging, we've developed a pretty robust archive of educational posts
Email marketing: how often is too often?
I once ordered a pair of pants from Brand X. They are a fine pair of pants and I look fabulous wearing them. I once ordered a shirt from Brand Y. It is a fine shirt and, of course, I
To Blog or Not to Blog.
If you’re reading this, you’re obviously browsing a blog. You’re spending time here because you have some interest in what I have to say. And perhaps you’re considering blogging yourself, but you’re not sure why you should or how to
On mascots, characters and spokespeople.
In the heyday of the “Burger King” the fast food franchise managed to take creepiness to a whole new level as its vaguely disturbing mascot jumped out at you from behind doors, disrupted football games and showed up in your
Is it Raining?
So, here she is: the perfect paragon of the target audience, perkily bouncing around her living room, engaged in what appears to be a highly satisfying conversation with . . . . . . her iPhone. “Siri?” she chirps. “Is that rain?” At