June 10th 2012
The Brand Whose Customers Tell the Best Stories Wins – increasingly what brands say about themselves carries less influence than their customers. Come join me for a webinar that helps marketers think beyond awareness to earning preference and referrals by putting everything you do inside the frame of customer experience.
May 9th 2012
Come play ad critic for 30 seconds – this sexy, humorous ad from Mercedes is cinemagraphic and attention catching — but give me your view. Does it sell cars or trash their brand?
March 20th 2012
Some market facts are simply worth knowing with certainty. Besides giving a proprietary knowledge advantage, external research can do wonders to get organizations on the same page. Allow me to introduce, the talented and beautiful Cory Mann, who is a blue chip market researcher with a small agency cost structure.
October 26th 2011
Herman Cain’s smoking gums political ad is all the things political ads hope to avoid. Come take a look, see how this is a perfect application of Poe’s law, and join our somewhat informed discussion. ;>
October 4th 2011
Would you start a military recruiting discussion with a picture of a chaplain giving last rites to a child? The Navy’s reported $800 million multi-year contract does just that. It introduces a new brand tag line which I’d love your comment on. Not only does this represent those of us in the US, we’re paying for it. So, let me know what you think.
September 30th 2011
Carlsberg Beer packed a theater with tough-looking biker types, with just two seats remaining, in the middle of the crowd. Would you go for the seats? If so – “then that deserves a Carlsberg”. Its a case where stunt marketing and viral video create a real brand experience.
June 9th 2011
My article in this week’s Advertising Age takes on the over-use of QR-codes in advertising — and suggests that sometimes giant stuffed rats just work better than QR codes.
May 31st 2011
Sometimes “not getting it” is the exactly right viewer experience for those who are “out of segment”. Witness Axe body spray, Friskies iPad app for cats, and the wisdom of Phil Johnson.
May 10th 2011
Airports are like islands of bad advertising. Lebron James, who happens to be playing against my hometown Celtics this week is the subject of some unusual airport advertising in Cleveland.
May 8th 2011
As some on the net bemoan that “the best minds of our generation are thinking about how to make people click on Facebook ads”, I’d invite you to question the premise. Perhaps the best minds are using ideas to change the World, and those who specialize at monetizing the the medium are just their elite infrastructure.
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.