Everyone’s all hot about innovation—the new thinking, the next product, a better process. But what about evolution. Isn’t that innovation? Adapting to one’s environment for survival? I think so. Here’s why. A lot of my clients are pharmaceutical brands and they are constantly looking for innovation in marketing communications. And of course, a lot of [...]
Evolution as Innovation
Ad Game—Specs Versus Experience
Is your agency the next iPad or the latest Playbook? Well, I think it all comes down to what the experience is like. We can probably all agree that there has always been a feature-set war between manufacturers of electronic doodads. And I can only imagine a lot of product managers assume that consumers are [...]
Transmission and Reflection
Are you a bright object giving off your own light? Or are you simply reflecting the light of others? Hmmmm. Are you a Sun? Or a Moon? Well, whichever one you are, there’s need for both. It seems most people would rather be the thing generating light, but there’s a real place for those that [...]
Everyone loves the creamy middle except me
It’s the middle of a twinky or a ding-dong. The pie filling, not the crust. It’s the easiest thing to like, the obvious, most unanimous decision. It’s what sells. Or is it? Well, you’d think so right? Not so fast. I’ll break it down scientifically for you so that you see that the creamy middle [...]
A Little R and R
But not the R&R you’re thinking. I’m talking roles and responsibilities. It’s pretty amazing that I keep coming across people who really don’t understand the role and responsibilities of positions at an advertising agency. The different disciplines own certain aspects of producing a piece of marketing communication, and some of those responsibilities obviously overlap in [...]
Black Holes and Lucky Charms
It’s a tale of gravity vs. magnetism. On the surface, both seem to do the same thing. One is something that pulls you in, the other draws you in. And I think it’s kind of cool to use these terms when talking about brands and how they affect the purchase behavior of consumers. Gravity seems [...]
Arrr, it’s Meta Intelligence!
Yup, it’s a new term that I’m coining. What does it mean? Well, it has to do the value of user comments made possible by this whole ‘web 2.0′ world we live in. You know, the digital world where everyone has an opinion and we’re not only giving you ways of expressing them, but we’re [...]
The rise (and fall?) of ‘tradigital.’
How long do we really need for effective brand engagement? 1 second? 10 seconds? 30? 1 minute? In an ever growing forest of messages and mediums, it’s more critical than ever to know where to put your marketing $$. But the sad thing is, many agencies are still selling the strategy of ‘TV first and [...]
User Experience or Useful Experience?
That title was something I tweeted a while back that I, personally, thought was clever. It’s based on what I believe is a lack of understanding when it comes to the role of a User Experience specialist. I sometimes get asked by young designers what the role and responsibility of UX is exactly, how it [...]
Is social media redefining the word ‘friend?’
A few years ago, a colleague was telling me about how Germans define several levels of relationship and rarely refer to anyone as being a friend. The word ‘friend’ was reserved for special people in their lives who held emotional influence over them. At that point, he told me he had divided people he knew [...]
Separation Anxiety (AKA, I’ve lost my office)
Ok, so let’s start here: Open Plan. Now that we understand the wiki entry, let’s take a look at the real world of no walls. My agency recently moved to a spectacular new location in Manhattan’s Flat Iron district. If you’re not familiar with it, let’s just say it’s got it all: park, restaurants, night-life, [...]
Out of the Corner of My Eye
During a meeting last week, a conversation arose out of a realized need that we have a better understanding of consumer behavior rather than attitude. It was pretty interesting. Here’s why. Have you ever participated in a poll, or survey and answered a question one way, but really you embellished or just flat out lied? [...]