Too many brands make us feel indifferent. Or feel nothing at all. But some brands have a certain something – an emotional appeal. They connect. They feel more HUMAN. Your products and all of your data don’t come first. People come first. And brands that recognize that – and act more human themselves – are […]
Take a quick look at a video clip from a session at the recent NEMOA conference in Boston. I was asked to weigh in on my thoughts on print. This was my response…
Once upon a time, in the land of Catalog Design, there lived a monster named “Templates.” This beast sucked the creativity out of the village of designers and wiped out an entire generation of innovative spreads. Its goal was to make all catalog pages look the same and remove any sign of brand uniqueness or […]
People don’t like to be sold to. Too many brands only sell; they only try to convince people to buy, buy, buy. But that’s not what customers want to hear. If you want to connect to people on a more emotional level, tell them your story. Tell them what you stand for, where you came […]
This might sound strange coming from a guy who has been preaching the importance of being BOLD and taking risks to creative teams, clients and brands for three decades. It’s always been important for brands to grab people’s attention—to stand out—by doing unorthodox things. Sometimes, the crazier the better. But today, we need a new […]
There’s a lot of talk these days about creating a great customer experience, standing out in a crowded market, telling your brand story in a compelling way, and a mobile-first strategy. Let me be clear—ALL of these things are important. Vital, in fact, if you want to be successful. However, I’d argue NONE of them […]
I think Millennials get a bad rap. Apparently, they’re to blame for everything. They’re lazy and privileged and don’t want to work hard. I’ve heard a number of people complain that they just don’t get this generation. I have to disagree. Are Millennials perfect? Nope. But neither were the generations that preceded them. I’m basing […]
Design is an investment, not an expense. Let’s get that on the table right now. I’ve witnessed far too many companies say, “I’d like to upgrade my design, but I just can’t afford it right now.” They view it as an add-on. Something that would be nice to have someday. And far too many companies […]
We’re excited to announce the creation of a sister agency that will focus exclusively on branding. We’re calling this new group Bonfire5. Essentially, we’re taking everything that clients loved about our proprietary BrandQuest process and serving it up to companies outside of our usual direct marketing and catalog sandbox. This specialty branding group will be […]
