From Dell to EdX, Columbia Sportswear to Red Bull -- advertising is increasingly less about claiming value, and more about delivering it through memorable experiences. That's the secret behind Zeno's Paradox of Marketing.
Zeno’s Marketing Paradox: Native Advertising as a Ramp To Customer Experience
Is a World Without Ads Possible? We’re already halfway there.
“What if there were no ads?” That was the question content marketers Robert Rose and Joe Pulizzi asked in an episode of their podcast, This Old Marketing. It sounds like the start of John Lennon’s Imagine, but for marketers. What if there were just no ads?
Why No One is an Agency Anymore, and Why No One Cares
I've been seeing quite a few agencies claiming to be "anti-agencies". There are lots of reasons why the agency business model should evolve, but new ways of creating value rarely start with positioning.
Customer Experience Makes Five Guys the Top Ranked Burger in the US
The burger business is a big deal in the United States. A small chain, Five Guys Burgers and Fries has jumped to the head of burger pack - and the did it without advertising, one meal at a time.
Best job ever? Usability Testing Bartender
I've seen the future of usability; it has a buzz on. Watch this funny video and grasp the genius of testing users under the influence. See why I want to be your bartender of usability testing.
Companies with Top Customer Experiences Out-Score Super Bowl Advertisers
A quick look at revenue growth over three years shows that companies loved by their clients grew more than twice as fast as Super Bowl advertisers.
What I Found at Caine’s Arcade, a Few Minutes of Fun
This Spring, Caine Monroy became famous in some parts because of his cardboard arcade. Patricia Yuse visited the arcade, and shares some thoughts about what causes viral movements to grow.
Amanda Palmer Won’t Settle for Less. Monitizing engagement is just the start.
Amanda Palmer's Kickstarter triumph is awesome-ball cool, but it's just the start. The real magic is what you can do with a business model based on fan love.
Introducing Wieneke’s Customer Value Buckets
March 15th 2017
Everyone’s Uber moment lies somewhere ahead. Ultimately, our customers determine when and how that shift will happen. Meanwhile, leaders seek to make disruptive moves their audiences will value over their alternatives. This week my agency’s newsletter highlighted Wieneke’s Value Buckets, which is a technique I’ve developed to help align cross disciplinary teams around how customer create value for companies. Take a look.
Delighting Kids in Childrens Hospitals: A Valentine for Creative Caregivers
February 14th 2017
Kids have to be kids, even in the hospital. Doctors, parents, friends and even other patients who act on this impulse, create amazing moments – and telling their story to bring out our better angels for Valentines Day seems like a good way to keep the holiday. Check it out, this could start a new Valentine’s day tradition.
Making the NY Times and Nordstrom Great Again: When Trump Attacks Do His Targets Profit?
February 10th 2017
On Wednesday, President Trump berated Nordstrom for dropping Presidential daughter, Ivanka Trump’s clothing line from their shelves. As the Seattle Times reported, there was a brief dip followed by a 4% rally. And while you can chalk this up to Nordstrom stores being located in Democratic strong holds, or liberal investors allocating with their politics, […]
Guest teaching digital media management at Northeastern University
February 2nd 2017
Tonight, I kick off two weeks guest lecturing at Northeastern University’s graduate course in media industry management. James Gardner has pulled an amazing line-up of guest teachers together – which you can lean more about here.
Strategic Change is a Value Judgement: Insights for Digital Transformation Leaders
January 21st 2017
Not all change is wise, but nearly all change is resisted. To overcome organizational inertia and lead the way to transformation, you may need the strategic clarity that only the delete key can deliver. Here are some tips from from the front lines of digital consulting on creating alignment for change.
Respect the unexpected: President Trump and asterisk-shaped disruptors
January 20th 2017
The asterisk hangs unspoken above the rest of language. Hiding truth in contracts, tainting sports statistics by its appearance and warning that your mileage my vary. This is a not that serious case for innovation leaders to be more like the asterisk than the capital T.
Facebook Live Makes Personal Video Must See TV for Healthcare Marketers
January 4th 2017
As published by the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development. Take a look: The Mayo Clinic, UNC Healthcare, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Ohio St University Wexner Medical Center – along with a few healthcare luminaries are all saying that personal video is now very much on the table for healthcare marketing.
Pharma Marketing May Be Ready for Small Steps with Facebook Live
December 14th 2016
Beth Snyder Bulik at Fierce Pharma and I recently discussed ways pharmaceutical marketers can take initial steps with personal video.
Free Webinar Tuesday: Scoring Patient Experience On The Top US Hospitals’ Websites
November 13th 2016
The Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development is hosting a free educational webcast featuring my friend Jared Johnson of Phoenix Children’s Hospital and me discussing the Hospital Digital eXperience (HDX) Index — and how to use baselining to prioritize your digital road map.
Five Years In: Looking at the Rate of Change in Digital Business Transformation
October 31st 2016
Five years ago today, on Halloween, I was headed to London to keynote my second conference there in five months. I’m on a runway again, so its a natural time to how much our thinking about digital business has changed – and where that puts us for the next big areas of digital innovation.
About Dave Wieneke, Digital Strategist
The future of digital experiences will be built by strategists who grasp the full array of emerging business, social, and technical models. Specialties in user experience, branding, application design, and data science are laying the foundation for richer user experiences and business models breakthrough products and revenue based marketing.
UsefulArts is a soapbox to discuss the front line of digital experience, and the agencies and platforms that enable it. Digital business needs a cadre of leaders who can connect c-level enterprise thinking with the ways these new interaction models can help organizations to matter more to their most important stakeholders.