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Marketing The Unmentionables: Embrace The Awkward

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 …

The ABCs (and X’s) of Rebranding

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 — …

After Marketing, Will AI Take Over The World?

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, …

Are Media Moguls Giving Marketers Too Many Choices?

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 …

What Brands Do After The Big Boo Boo

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 …

Can You Keep Your Brand Name BUT Change What You Sell?

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 …

How Great Marketing Makes Retailers Rich

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 …

Brand Longevity: A Sweet Lesson From Cinnabon

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. …