Here’s who really won the Super Bowl

The best Super Bowl commercials this year were a master class in advertising and a much-needed reminder to stick to basics.  Keep the product or brand front and center.  Have a smart concept.  Write it brilliantly.  Cast charisma.  Execute flawlessly.  Repeat.

6 questions that make your social media better.

If you’re putting time and money into social media, share content that prospects will actually want to read. Here are six questions that can give you endless ideas for engaging content. 

Ads That Sell Do These 4 Things

In his powerful book, How Brands Grow, author Byron Sharp digs deep into the data to find out what actually works and what doesn’t. Two of his biggest conclusions? Almost no one is truly brand loyal. And simple brand awareness drives sales more than anything else.

Don’t Take it Personally.

Most business decisions are based on hard facts. Owners and managers look at sales, trends, overhead, efficiency — anything that can be measured — and base decisions on what they know for a fact is true. Except when it comes to marketing. Even though plenty of research exists, most marketing decisions are still based on what…

Four Myths About Marketing to Millennials

Last year, Millennials overtook Baby Boomers as the largest generation. But if you’d like to persuade them to do business with you, these four myths could be undermining your efforts. Myth #1: They Don’t Watch TV While they’re not sitting in the recliner with the remote, millennials are watching plenty of television. In fact, they’re consuming more…

Three Keys to Digital Ads That Sell

Digital marketing gets a lot of attention — and it should. It lets you target your audience online when their searches line up with what you’re selling. That’s pretty great. But there’s something missing — the same thing that’s often lacking in traditional media. Almost no one is thinking about creativity in digital advertising. And that’s dampening ROI. Digital…

Take Off That Mask!

Within most professions and industries, everyone markets themselves exactly the same way. They literally all look just like their competitors. It’s like wearing a mask — a real one — and hoping people remember you.Think about law firms. If you see an ad from a law firm, what do you see? A lawyer — or a bunch of lawyers. As…

Can You Love Google Too Much?

We recently spoke with a company that had a dilemma. They were paying for SEO services, and it was working…kind of.   They were showing up organically on the first page of Google for most of the search terms that mattered to them. But while those great search results were driving traffic to their website, they weren’t…

Make Your Message Stick.

If you can make a message stick with your prospects, you don’t have to spend so much money repeating it. But how do you make it stick? Here are three simple ways. Humanize It. Think about Apple’s “I’m a Mac. I’m a PC.” — or Allstate’s “Mayhem.” They took the product or its intangible nemesis and let them talk. Not…

Stop Scolding Customers.

Because of COVID, a mother wasn’t allowed to sit in the waiting room during her daughter’s last orthodontic appointment. As a result, she received this email:  “According to our records, ***** has not been to our office since (date) and does not have a future appointment scheduled.   Routine monthly adjustments are necessary for the proper completion…