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Will Social Media Stars Outshine TV Stars?

Michael Scott, sales manager of the Scranton, PA office of paper seller Dunder Mifflin, wanted people to know he was not perfect. “Guess what, I have flaws,” said Scott. “What are they? Oh, I don’t know. I sing in the shower. Sometimes I spend too much time volunteering. Occasionally I’ll …

Unscrew Your Marketing Strategy with Focus

Is your marketing achieving decent results but getting messy and unfocused? One month you’re trying to get more sales for a specific product or service line. Next month you’re trying create awareness of the CEO’s new initiative. It seems that every department or division head is clamoring for more attention …

Do Celebrity Endorsements Really Work?

If you watch a prime-time broadcast network show or NFL game, it’s almost impossible to avoid seeing multiple Capital One credit card commercials with Samuel Jackson doing his tough-guy act and asking sarcastically, “Now what’s in your wallet?” It seems like it’s on 30 times an hour. Jackson has now …

Risk of Loss = Greater Response

The most important marketing lessons are often taught in everyday life. I learned about the power of risk avoidance from my high school football coach. Halfway through my senior season, our team was undefeated. We were on course for a league championship and state honors. Yet even though we were …

Has the Retail Industry finally died?

It’s not fake news if you see it with your own eyes. And for the last couple years, you’ve seen many store closings in your hometown, local mall and shopping centers. And you’ve seen multiple news reports of major retailers closing doors in record numbers. High profile giants like Macy’s, …

JOE FRESH: the Brand, the Business and the Barber

The local barbershop used to be an oasis for men and boys. There was always a football or baseball game on TV, the bottles of pop in the coke machine were ice cold and you could look through two or three years-worth of Sports Illustrated magazines — including the famous …

Using AI in Your Marketing is Effective — But is it Ethical?

“Should advertising be abolished?” That’s the title of the final chapter of Confessions of an Advertising Man — a book by advertising genius David Ogilvy and published in 1963. At one time, Ogilvy wondered if consumers seeing advertising had almost no other choice but to “obey” and buy the product …

The Forgotten Key to Building Your Brand and Business

Have you ever played “branding baseball?” I sometimes initiate a game with attendees at my branding workshops to warm them up and get them involved. Volunteers get three swings at the correct answer to “What is your brand?” The first inning typically goes something like this… “Our company name is …