A few decades ago, I was the co-founder of what was called an “advertising agency.” TV was the largest part of media budgets of clients who sold consumer goods and services. The budget was typically divided among three TV networks. (There were only three broadcast networks at the time.) We …
A few months after I got married, I was in the grocery store, shopping from a list my wife gave me. I saw that sanitary napkins was one of the items on the list. Suddenly I felt anxious. I knew it was silly — I’ve skydived, drag-raced, and done all …
We’re looking to hire a Marketing Intern or Assistant. This is an entry-level at part-time, 15-20 hours per week. The position could expand to full time eventually. The candidate must be a high school graduate, now working and/or going to college. We want someone who will fit in with our …
Deciding on whether you should change your brand name should not be as difficult as some businesses make it. If your company or product name (A) no longer appeals to the market you seek or (B) your product line is changing substantially, (C) you should probably change, pivot, realign — …
Not long after I mentioned artificial intelligence in a previous column, I received an email from a reader, “Before I started using AI, I thought it might be dangerous. Now, I just don’t think about it.” I have the same attitude. As Mad Magazine mascot Alfred E Newman says, “What, …
Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are modern media moguls— make that social media moguls. Zuckerberg is more of a true social media mogul, whereas Musk is probably more of a tech, space, solar energy, tunnel-drilling, electric car and social media mogul. Musk owns one social media platform — Twitter. Zuckerberg’s Meta …
How do brands recover after serious service or social mistakes create PR disasters? All brands, whether they represent companies, products, or services, have one thing in common — people. People create the brands, run the companies, make the products, and supply the services. And people make mistakes. Eventually brands, like …
Have you ever been on vacation or a business trip and spotted someone you recognized? Sometimes it’s hard to believe it’s really the person you know because they seem so out of place. I had that same experience while watching the Denver Nuggets crush the Lakers in a NBA playoff …
If you were starting a business right now, what type would it be? Would you choose a business that’s web-based — maybe a cool app or something that sells unique products online? And hey, if you’re going to invest in your own business, you want it to be a business …
Did you ever invite friends to your house but forget to check with your spouse? Maybe you were going to watch the big game or play some corn-hole in the back yard or ping-pong on the table in the basement. “What are you doing for food?” your smarter half asks. …
“How did those idiots land a such a huge contract from XYZ?” you ask yourself. “Those idiots” are your competitors, of course. Since you asked yourself the question, you might as well answer it. “I’ll bet they have an uncle who is a big shot at XYZ.” But according to …
What do you say when your child complains about their math homework and asks, “When will I ever need to know what 2,247.67 divided by 96.7 equals — when will I ever use that?” You probably say something like, “You won’t need to know that exact answer, but it’s helpful …
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other word would smell as sweet.” So declares Juliet in Shakespeare’s classic story of Romeo and Juliet. Juliet seems to argue that it does not matter that Romeo’s family name is Montague — the hated rivals of her …
“Be careful what you wish for. “ Have you heard that one before? Sure you have. If you owned or handled the marketing a small business in the 80’s or 90’s, I’ll bet you wished for a new type of media. You wished you could reach your market someway that …