Infographics Rule

August 2, 2011

The ability to take important, often quantitative information, and put it into one simple graphic is one of the most important communication skills to focus on in today’s world.  I have found my new favorite infographic, from The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=42815&tid=441&cid=5632&ct=61&article=2493 This graphic is a perfect training moment for us all.  It shares unexpected but [...]

Read the full article →

Captain Asoh & Accountability

July 31, 2011

I am reviewing files as I prepare for another school year, and have once again run across Chapter 5 in Dr. Jerry Harvey’s The Abilene Defense.  In this chapter, Dr. Harvey recounts the tale of Japan Airlines Flight 2, a flight Captain Asoh was piloting. The airplane touched down on a flight from Japan to [...]

Read the full article →

What is wrong with Customer Service

July 27, 2011

I have a new theory on customer service, and its tied to brand delivery. The headline for the speed readers is this:  silos in terms of branded product offerings are wrong.  This includes “well its IT, which doesn’t have anything to do with the brand”. If IT touches billing, HR practices, web site maintenance or [...]

Read the full article →

Culture is about storytelling

July 9, 2011

Whenever I teach a class in marketing I talk about storytelling.  Brands must tell stories to make themselves real and relevant in the eyes of the guest/customer/end user.  Its why we like local businesses, they are stories we know because they’re usually run by someone we know – or someone is a friend of someone [...]

Read the full article →

Raising strong young women

June 29, 2011

Everything Communicates Those are my favorite two words in my teaching life, my favorite two words in my marketing life.  Thank you Sergio Zyman for making those two words a cultural touchstone during your time at The Coca-Cola Company. When I teach the idea of everything communicates, it is intuitively obvious and sometimes not the [...]

Read the full article →

Tired of stupid toys

June 10, 2011

North Americans take note – this is an embarrasment. Advocating a fix for boredom by spending the weekend spewing diesel fumes wasting irreplaceable fossil fuels so you can deface the natural beauty of our world is irresponsible and offensive. If you’re bored, sit with the elderly. Serve the homeless. Teach our children. Plant the land [...]

Read the full article →

Reycling comes to Starbucks Canada

June 3, 2011

Sometimes as a marketer you test an idea to see how it works out.  Vancouver BC seems to be the testing ground of the new Starbucks recycling bin.  This isn’t the best photo I’ve ever taken, but it gives you a strong sense of how the chain is testing its new support of greener consumer [...]

Read the full article →

Coke and happiness

May 17, 2011

Coke, happiness, and special moments. Brilliant marketing. snaps to Cody Zeigler for finding this and sending it my way!

Read the full article →

The Green Men

May 15, 2011

Often today the best marketing happens… Yes, it just happens One of the most interesting things in the NHL right now is the Green Men.  In a league and a sport virtually void of fan traditions, two dudes in spandex suits sitting next to the away penalty box making faces, bringing cutouts of strange people, [...]

Read the full article →

Glorious attention to detail

April 10, 2011

You’ve seen this 1,000 times, I know, but it is worth 1,001 comments: Attention to detail in the service business is brilliant marketing. I went to a new “coffee place” recently, and elected to try their matcha latte.  Here’s what I got: It’s glorious, a memorable, and lovely. And I trusted the flavor of the [...]

Read the full article →

Southwest markets brilliantly through challenge

April 8, 2011

Often the best marketing is done in the toughest circumstances by marketers facing challenges which will make or break a company’s reputation.  Such is my interpretation of the Southwest Airlines situation after one of their planes suffered a tear in the outside skin last weekend. Southwest is giving us all  a Master’s class on marketing [...]

Read the full article →

Golf Digest does marketing right

March 27, 2011

I love this promotion. It’s deceptively simple, clear as to why you might want to buy Golf Digest, and completely interruptive. Promotions like this, and then filming them to get further coverage, is the best way to spend scarce advertising dollars.

Read the full article →

Twitter as a model for airport gate info – and more!

March 23, 2011

Airport gate communication is a great example of how in-person communication can learn from Twitter. Airlines (and all of us in customer service) should take a “Twiiter frantic” approach to communications -  once every 5 minutes, whether or not there is much to report.  It’s a fantastic mental model for any situation in which people are [...]

Read the full article →

marketoonist rocks, social media IS marketing

March 14, 2011

Tom Fishburne has been one of my favorite reads for a long time, but today’s cartoon is so perfect it has to be shared here as well. Tom’s Cartoon is about social media and outsourcing.  Click through to see it live, if you’re reading in a hurry its a conference room with a person presenting [...]

Read the full article →

Nike’s The Black Mamba works for me

February 27, 2011

I spent some time with Nike’s Black Mamba, the new 5:38 Kobe-fest.  I’m not a Kobe fan, so I was prepared to dislike the piece and all it represented. Instead, I’m admiring the vibe this video brings into play for two very different brands: Brand Kobe:  continues the ego tour Kobe has been on for [...]

Read the full article →

Ottman’s new Green Marketing book: Must read

February 23, 2011

I received a copy of Jacquelyn Ottman’s The New Rules of Green Marketing for review a few weeks ago, and have been intrigued and engaged about the ideas presented inside since I picked it up to read last week. The subtitle of the book is “Strategies, Tools, and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding.”  It is intended [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →