Catalog Critiques: Making Bad Good, and Good Better

MoMA: From Studio to Catalog Somewhere just south of Central Park comes a catalog you might not know existed, but that you’ve certainly heard the name of. A catalog built on design, on art, and most importantly on bringing their principles to the world.   The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), striking yet inconspicuous, sits between… Continue reading Catalog Critiques: Making Bad Good, and Good Better

Catalog Critiques: Making Bad Good, and Good Better

A Conversation Over Tea Over the past several weeks, we’ve looked at a variety of brands and how they approach their catalog. As you may have noticed, there are many different ways to achieve the same goals of DISRUPT. DELIGHT. DRIVE. How brands stand out in the mail, engage their target customer (or even better,… Continue reading Catalog Critiques: Making Bad Good, and Good Better

Catalog Critiques: Making Bad Good, and Good Better

Doing Cartwheels for Summersalt “It can always be better.” This is a declaration that drives my creative principles. I think if you ask most creators, we all want to improve upon our previous work. We want our next work to be our best work. And the work after that to be even better. It can… Continue reading Catalog Critiques: Making Bad Good, and Good Better

A Few Words About Millennials…

Chris Hayes EVP, Brand Strategy Google the word “Millennial” and you’ll likely see a collection of contradictory articles. For instance in the same month late last year CNBC wrote “Millennials to Blame for a Sluggish Economy” while MarketWatch wrote “We Need to Thank Millennials for a Booming Economy.” OK… we get it. Millennials, the folks… Continue reading A Few Words About Millennials…

REI & Me: A Customer Reactivation Story

About 10 years ago, REI made me so stinking mad that I swore I’d never grace their check-out again. A brand-advocate no more, I huffed my outraged “customer-no-service” story to everyone that cared to listen. Their offense? They made me pay for return shipping on a few items that didn’t fit. And worse, because I… Continue reading REI & Me: A Customer Reactivation Story

Catalog Critique For Dummies (actually, just anyone that isn’t a Creative Director)

Critiquing a catalog can be overwhelming. Maybe you’re so close to your brand that it’s hard to maintain objectivity. Maybe your focus is merchandise, so product presentation is most important to you. Maybe you’re not a Creative Director, so reviewing work is intimidating. (We can’t all be Creative Directors.) (I’m not a Creative Director.) There… Continue reading Catalog Critique For Dummies (actually, just anyone that isn’t a Creative Director)

PLEASE BRANDS, CAN I HAVE SOME MORE?

We’ve all seen the sign on the marquee of some local watering hold. “Coldest beer in town,” it proclaims. Marketing at its most basic. But how do we know it’s really the coldest? There are other bars in town. Surely they have cold beer as well. Maybe even colder. NO! The sign says otherwise. For… Continue reading PLEASE BRANDS, CAN I HAVE SOME MORE?

HOW TO MAKE OLD NEW AGAIN

It seems like every other day we read about another storied brand going out of business, while at the same time, new upstart brands continue to gain traction. Much of this is fueled by evolving tastes and habits as each generation brings their particular and unique preferences to the marketplace. Millennials and Gen ‘Z’ buyers… Continue reading HOW TO MAKE OLD NEW AGAIN

The Three Questions Every Company Should be Asking Their Customer Right Now!

Three Questions to Ask your Customers

I recently read an article about America’s most hated companies. Every year, 24/7 Wall Street publishes a list that invariably includes companies from the pharma, communications, travel, banking and retail sectors. Companies know a good reputation is vital to a company’s health and success. And yet they often overlook one of the simplest tools to… Continue reading The Three Questions Every Company Should be Asking Their Customer Right Now!