In the quiet, quaint, dry-until-a-year-ago town of Ephraim, Wisconsin, there is a soup bar called Czarnuszka Soup. A recent ad mentions that the restaurant seats 11, but having been there, I think 11 is a stretch. Weekly, the owner (Paul Wanish) publishes ads that would never be approved by anyone in advertising, ever. But as […]
“Let’s go shopping after Thanksgiving dinner!” said the text from Aunt Karen. Black Friday shopping with my family in Philadelphia a few weeks ago resulted in an experience where a sticky brand message was powered by technology to define marketing success. The brand messaging was amplified by television and mobile to generate new customer acquisition. […]
My husband and I are on a quest to downsize and get rid of “stuff” that serves no purpose in our lives. This includes our two sets of beautiful Wedgwood china that we lovingly chose many years ago. But, to our dismay, no one wants it. Not even our sons. And it’s not just me. My […]
To truly stand out in today’s marketplace, you must do more than offer a product or service. You must create an experience, one that will resonate with customers. Don’t just serve, impress. Don’t just deliver, elevate. Make their time interacting with you something they cannot forget. What can your brand do to craft an experience […]
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 […]
I often get asked if there is ONE thing that a company can do to improve their brand, what would it be? That’s easy. Improve your culture. I’ve had the opportunity to walk into hundreds of companies over the years, peek behind the curtain and see what makes them tick. What I notice right away […]
Well, the secret is out. For decades, creative types working at agencies across the country knew instinctively a few secrets they could rely on to create brand stories, campaigns and messaging that would resonate with consumers. The Don Drapers of the world knew these little secrets could help sell more products. We knew if we […]
Whew. Glad I got that off my chest. You see, it’s 2016. By now, almost every brand is aware of viral videos, and like so many other things, marketers are trying to ruin them. In short, there is no formula for creating “viral” content. Are there certain elements that a lot of viral content contains? […]
-Sir Winston Churchill Marketers are always looking for an edge – something that will grab and hold their customers’ attention, help their brand stand out from the competition and most importantly, drive the customer to purchase. So how does a marketer break through the clutter of the estimated 3,000+ ad exposures consumers receive every day? […]
