Thinking About How People Feel Vs Making People Do

Every one of us is a marketer. We spend our days persuading people to do what we want them to do. “Buy now.” “Click here.” “Please retweet.” “Only 5 4 left.” “Don’t drink and drive.” “Eat your greens and you’ll grow big and strong.” My friend Mark and his wife Cindy own and run a…

Read More

Hiding Behind The Truth

I walked into the empty store clutching my receipt and the faulty garment. After one wear and one delicate wash several holes had appeared out of nowhere in the fabric. My ten-day-since-purchase window had expired so I couldn’t get a refund but I was happy to take store credit. The manager examined the holes. She…

Read More

The Best Brand Stories Are True

As I was overtaken by the van of a solar panel company on the freeway today, I noticed that they weren’t telling the whole truth. If this is the story you’re telling on your website then your company had better be living it too. “It only takes one person to make an eco-conscious difference in…

Read More

What Does It Take To Be In The 1%?

”99% of ”brands” are about as inspiring, interesting, and enlightening as a cup of lukewarm tea. Which is exactly why you shouldn’t be.” -Umair Haque So the good news then is that it’s not that hard to be the 1%! I asked Umair what he thought it took to be in the 1 %. He…

Read More

Why Startups Stall

It’s easy to start something today. Now that the gatekeepers are leaving their gates and the barrier to entry is lower than ever, anyone with an idea and an Internet connection can start a business. You don’t need a big staff on payroll or a factory to get the work done. So more people are…

Read More

10 Things To Do With Happy Customers

1. Treasure and thank them. Then work really hard to keep them. 2. Connect them to each other. 3. Reward their loyalty. 4. Give them platforms and places to engage with your brand. 5. Listen to their ideas. 6. Watch how they interact with your product. 7. Ask them what you could be doing better.…

Read More

Marketing Is All About Values

In 1997 Steve Jobs was unhappy about how much Apple was spending on marketing and about the message the company was communicating. He realised that in an increasingly noisy world the chances for any company to be remembered were diminishing and that Apple needed to get really clear about what it was they wanted people…

Read More

Don’t Worry So Much About Awareness

Just the thought of the kind of marketing dollars the big brands will have invested in advertising for the Olympics is enough to make my eyes water. The result, millions of dollars worth of beautifully shot, feel good commercials that probably won’t sell many more phone plans or gold cards. Awareness, not sales is their…

Read More

How Dollar Shave Club Succeeds With A Better Brand Story

How does a startup come on to the scene, take on giant global brands like Gillette, and win? That’s what Dollar Shave Club did, by harnessing the power of great brand storytelling. This is how they did it. By telling the truth, and keeping it simple. With an easy to remember brand name and tagline,…

Read More