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.
Google’s Adwords Redesign Beats Space Elevators and Robot Cars
April 3rd 2016
Sure, Google is full of exciting projects – but how about using design to fix ‘the money door’ which drives literally all of its current profits? Wouldn’t that be at least as exciting as designing concepts for markets that don’t yet exist? If your design work follows the money or user frustration – then, at Google, all roads leads to Adwords.
Hitch Your Wagon Elsewhere: Donald Trump Simply Isn’t the Epitome of Content Marketing
March 12th 2016
Hey Marketing pundits. Don’t take the easy bait and claim that Donald Trump is a content marketing genius. There’s little evidence of this. The things that have driven his GOP rise are more structural than marketing tactics.Claims that his rise is a master work in your discipline, is as opportunistic and vapid as The Donald himself.
Are The Boston Globe and WBUR just making-up primary poll results now?
February 27th 2016
This week two Boston news organizations drew starkly different headlines from the same research. Is this a case of team out reporting the other – or of creating a story rather than reporting it?
The Market Basket strike: valuing people builds a brand
January 28th 2016
In this video from the Delight Conference, I pull out some stops to tell the story of Market Basket which has become one of New England’s most storied brands and a frequently cited case study in public relations, negotiation and designing for delight.
Economic stress in the US may already have an epidemic health impact
January 20th 2016
New research from the National Academy of Science shows that over the last decade mortality rates have increased for middle-aged white American’s – accounting for as many as 500,000 new deaths caused by self-poisoning, liver disease and suicide. The researchers and I connect this to increased stress from economic decline and reduced life prospects among middle and lower earning families.
GE move chould shift Boston from innovation cradle to capital
January 15th 2016
Boston’s about to become a company town. Though GE’s relocation to Boston brings a modest 800 new jobs (vs. 5,000 that GE business units already employ in Massachusetts) it will fill a HUGE gap in Boston’s business community — and be a new conduit for how Boston people seek to connect to the world.
The Slants and That Washington Football Team: Why “offensive” trademarks matter
January 8th 2016
While this post touches on culture, freedom and offense – and of course dance music – its hero is buried in the story as I imagine he’d prefer. Ron Coleman’s writing and good spirit has been an occasional inspiration and benefit of working on this blog. Arguing on constitutional grounds is a long and heavy climb. Congratulations to Ron and The Slants. Any friends of Ron have special standing here. Cheers.
Welcome to my world: John Travolta, Breitling, and random acts of branding
December 18th 2015
My friend Alan asked, “have you seen that watch ad with Travolta? There are so many real and inferred meanings in its hard to even know what its about.” Yep, from NASA to Idina Menzel, here’s a not too serious look at an ad we both have seen too much.
WTF Politics: Trump, Sanders and Frustration in America’s Two Tier Economy
December 4th 2015
While this starts as thinking about unlikely outsider political candidates – I think its really about how work structures our world, and so that our values need to structure work. It touches on lifespan, your wealth, celebrity air travel even my mom. Your thoughts cordially invited! ;>
Artless, slutty, orphan-hating ads in transit
November 10th 2015
Things can get crazy when ads end up on the subway. Here Suffolk University, Blue Cross and Bernie and Phyl’s all have put ads out there in ways that I suspect their print teams would have done more deftly.
About Dave Wieneke, Digital Strategist
The future of digital marketing will be built by strategists who grasp the full array of emerging business, social, and technical models. Specialities in user experience, branding, application design, and data are laying the foundation for richer user experiences and business models breakthrough products and revenue based marketing.
UsefulArts is a soapbox to discuss the frontline of digital marketing, and the agencies and platforms that enable it. Marketing today needs a cadre of leaders who can connect c-level enterprise strategy with these new capabilities.