Puppymonkeybaby finished near the bottom of the USA Today Ad Meter.  There’s a reason.  Attention for attention’s sake isn’t the same thing as marketing.

If you want a textbook example of how to create an engaging TV campaign that also beautifully demonstrates a single benefit, look no farther than Prius’ spots for the big game.  The goal?  To drive home the idea that a hybrid can still be fast.  The strategy?  Have bank robbers outrun the police…in a Prius. …

So Peyton Manning goes out on top, chip consumption returns to normal, and everybody has a different favorite commercial.  The spot you didn’t care for was your best friend’s top pick, and the one you loved was derided by your kids.  All of which reinforces a hugely important marketing principle: you’re not normal.  No one…

So your CEO comes to you and says she wants you to produce a commercial to run during the Super Bowl.  Yay!  Now imagine the thought and creativity you would bring to bear on that project.  Imagine the attention to detail, the focus on the message, the crafting of the call to action.  Okay…forget the…

It’s easy to assume that customers always prefer more choices.  It’s also wrong.  Research proves repeatedly that offering too many options actually reduces sales.  Same with your website.  Everybody is talking content, but too many decisions or links can paralyze a visitor and send them scurrying for the back button.  Take a fresh look at…

Want to turn a customer or client into a rabid fan who showers you with social media love and never thinks about leaving?  Then celebrate their successes.  When they pay off a loan, pass a class, get a degree, reach a weight goal, win a certification, land a big account or complete a project, make…

The first job of marketing copy is…wait for it…to be read.  Seems obvious, right?  But stay with us here.  If the prospect stops reading (or listening, if it’s audio or video), it doesn’t matter what your copy says or how many benefits you squeezed in.  It’s a tree falling in an empty forest.  So think…

A lot of marketing messages do one of two things: appeal to your emotions, or try to sell you on the facts.  But the most effective marketing messages — the ones that bring your brand to the fore and leave it there — do both.  Create a scorecard for your marketing across all media, and…

Minimizing team member turnover (and recruiting new ones) depends, in large part, on making sure your employees take pride in being employees — that they self-identify as employees of yours.  One wildly under-utilized tool in this regard is the humble t-shirt.  Come up with something light-hearted that speaks to your team members’ pride, invest in…

Minimizing customer turnover depends, in large part, on making sure your customers know they’re customers — that they self-identify as customers of yours.  One wildly under-utilized tool in this regard is the humble t-shirt.  Come up with something light-hearted that speaks to your customer, invest in great design, then figure out a fun way to…