INSIGHTS
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (To Sell Products)
The excitement over Chevrolet’s holiday spot, “A Holiday to Remember,” is palpable. Not only has it been viewed 1.3M times on YT (as of this writing), but it managed to get this hard-bitten marketer to tear up on not one but two occasions.
the Art of Misleading Marketing
Did Neon do Enys Men any favors? Yes and no. The point of marketing is to make something seem appealing, even when the subject matter may be hard to parse or unpleasant. I know this. I’ve done plenty of it in my life. But what happens when marketing builds an expectation that can’t be met? Does this help the product, or does it put the product in the uncomfortable position of having to go on podcasts and defend itself as “not really horror, but…” in an effort to please its corporate overlords?
A Marketing Presentation to the Remaining Residents of Bodega Bay, Ca
As you know, my firm has been retained by the Rotary Club of Bodega Bay to oversee the revitalization of the town following recent incidents that caused a good deal of property damage and the demise of several members of your community. Allow me to say how terribly sorry we are for all that you have endured, and how shocked we are that the destruction occurred as a result of bird attacks.
Target Marketing — or, A Brief Guide to College Rock
There was a moment, around 2014, when I realized that most of the music I enjoyed was, at most, three or four degrees removed from R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe. I drew up a flow chart of all of the artists I knew who were associated with Stipe, then connected them to other artists. Unsurprisingly, there was an insane amount of overlap.
Let’s Talk About Rebranding — and The Beatles’ “Get Back”
Peter Jackson may want to rethink his profession. After providing a couple of indie gems in the '90s (Heavenly Creatures, The Frighteners), he transitioned to blockbuster territory in the oughts and 2010s with the Lord of the Rings films, King Kong, and the Hobbit trilogy. But for my money, Get Back, a reconstruction of Michael Lindsay-Hogg's footage of the making of The Beatles' "Let It Be" album, may be Jackson's finest hour. Or rather, 7+ hours. The sprawling documentary provides a glimpse into the inner life of a band many of us thought we knew, and explodes it. It may, in fact, be the greatest rebrand in the history of rebrands.
Storytelling: IT Takes a Village
One of the greatest challenges for nonprofits, aside from acquiring customers and retaining current ones, is convincing customers to invest in the organization — so when it comes time to renew a membership, or make an annual donation, they think of the organization not only as a place to enjoy an activity or that provides a service, but also as a nonprofit that’s doing good in the world.