Super Bowl Ad Wars

My favorite was Google.

There are three reasons why:

Strong narrative.  I talked earlier about brand and firm positioning as being part of a narrative.  Narrative works because it draws people in.  This is a strong, well told story.  (It’s tight–kinda reminds me of the sequence in the movie Up where they tell the story of a [...]

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Why Thinking Differently is Hard

I recently chronicled my struggles to build a communications and marketing campaign around a just in time training product.  The main issue was that the produce required the purchaser to evaluate training using a different set of criteria.  Rather than evaluate it based on topic and price, we were asking the purchaser to place the [...]

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Brand as Narrative

When we talk about brand we start of talking about brand attributes.  What I tell firms is to focus on their core values, their mission and vision for the future and tell me what that says about your brand.  For example, say a firm is dedicated to helping their small business clients grow their business. [...]

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Thoughts on J.D. Salinger

As we learn today that J.D. Salinger passed away, I offer my thoughts.
My ninth grade English teacher, Trudy Ellis, recommended I read Catcher in the Rye.  She said I’d really like it.  I read it, I liked it, but it wasn’t the definitive literary experience of my high school career.  That title goes to Kazantzakis [...]

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Cool? Yes. But I Will I Buy One?

No.  Or at least, not yet.
I’m talking about the iPad, of course.  Absolutely I want one–that’s the genius of marketing and the Apple brand.  But in the cold, harsh light of day and my checkbook balance, the answer is, no, I’m not going to buy one, not now at least.
The reason is that it doesn’t [...]

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The Power of Brand

Today, Apple launched the iPad.  It looks like an extra large iPhone and it lets you browse the internet, read and respond to emails, read books, watch movies and do whatever else you can do on your iPhone except make calls.
Is it cool?  Yes.  Do I want one?  Of course.  But you knew that already.
I [...]

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