Man, this is hard. COVID-19 has turned our world upside down. As if running a business wasn’t hard enough, now the rules have completely changed. What are brands supposed to do now? What should we say? How should we act? I’ve been watching closely how brands—and people in general—have responded to this crisis. Are there […]
As the world changed almost overnight, so did advertising. First, it was “Our Response to COVID-19” emails from every brand we’ve ever purchased from. Now, it’s one commercial after another reminding us that “we’re all in this together.” While these messages are relevant and encouraging, many brands are starting to say and do a lot […]
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 […]
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 […]
Look, it’s really simple. If your brand doesn’t have a chicken sandwich as part of its merchandise offering, you might as well just close your doors. Soon, every brand will be judged on the quality, availability and deliciousness of their own chicken sandwich. Think of it as a new arms race. Or in this case, […]
Brands who act more human—who are relatable and have a personality that people genuinely like—are the ones who are winning today. How human is your brand? Does it act and behave like a person would, or does it come across as a cold and boring company? There’s a trick that we use when defining a […]
This week at J.Schmid, we’re working on an important fax blast for one of our clients. You read that right. A fax blast. Single page. 8.5 x 11. All black type to avoid pricey color printouts on the customers’ end. Promoting a big discount on one of their best-selling items to a group of non-responders. […]
New Year’s resolutions? Okay, let’s look at mine for a second: only drink wine on the weekend, cut-back on refined sugar, hit the gym. It’s likely they’ll turn out to be: hit the wine and cut back on the gym…but it’s good to have a plan. Whatever our resolutions might be it’s a positive step […]
Imagine if John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote great songs, with story, melody and the right words. Then imagine that they went into the studio, recorded an “okay” take, called it a day and went to the pub. The point is, if your marketing efforts aren’t delivering the results you’re looking for, maybe you should […]
