It’s 1997, I’m in the third grade and Christmas is just around the corner. The anticipation of Christmas starts weeks before, carefully crafting my wish list to send to Santa (who I’m not sure I still believed in, but presents were at stake!). The top item on my list? An American Girl Doll. Girls at […]
Dilly dilly. I’m lovin’ it. Get a Mac. Why is it so easy to rattle off the brands that introduced us to these catchphrases? Because Bud Light, McDonald’s and Apple are among the best at telling stories, catching us off guard and even making us laugh. They understand the power of an ad campaign and […]
Customer Loyalty Series: Part 6 Along with “storytelling” and “authenticity” the word “community” gets tossed around a lot these days by brands and marketers alike. While all three of these terms, and the sentiments they carry, are often used as empty platitudes or attractive phrases to sprinkle in an ‘About Us’ page, in their best […]
Did We Just Become Best Friends? Lucy and Ethel.Fred and Barney.Rachel and Monica.Brennan and Dale. They don’t have to carpool to work, live in the same apartment or “go do karate in the garage” on weekends. But on the clock, there are two people who should team up to form the ultimate duo: a copywriter […]
Disrupt. Delight. Drive. Three words that, together, form a mandate for our catalogs. From crowded mailboxes our books need to stand out and garner attention; pay off that attention with content that creates desire, and – ultimately – compel our customers to click, call or visit. It’s a tall order. And that first piece, Disrupt, […]
Over the last several years, we’ve seen catalogs come and go. And we’ve seen many retailers jump into the game, spend a LOT of money (we’re talking tens of millions of dollars) and then abandon the model after a couple of seasons. This literally breaks my heart and makes me want to scream! Why does […]
The Future of Marketing & The Rise of AI Powered Creativity Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing everything from healthcare to transportation, but what does it mean for the future of creativity and advertising agencies? Like any other creative process, writing and design should be emotional, powerful, and a way to tell stories for products and […]
“The question is not do you want to buy Wheat Thins. The question is now, will you support Wheat Thins in the fight against Lyme disease.” —Bo Burnham Over the last few years, the concept of ‘brand voice’ has been construed to mean how your favorite potato chip company feels about the latest socio-political development. […]
Disruptive Catalogs: Part 6 If you’ve been following J.Schmid’s blog posts recently, you’ve already enjoyed reading about the many ways to make your catalog stand out, from show-stopping covers to using devices that invite interaction. But what about rethinking the very construct of your catalog? What about developing a mix-it-up strategy? We know the traditional […]
