Do you have the courage to say what you’re not?

Most people don’t want to draw that sharp line of distinction, and it’s why their marketing efforts blend into the clutter.

Discernible edges and silhouettes allow us to visually “grip” an object and separate figure from ground.  Eliminate those edges and you’ll effectively camouflage yourself.

In the picture above, notice how the legs present a solid silhouette and are easily identified, while the man’s upper body camouflage breaks up his silhouette and…

...continue to read "Branding Through Reverse Camouflage"

When Michael Lewis wrote his article on Coach Leach and the Texas Tech Football program, that program was known as an offensive powerhouse that relied on sheer scoring power to outgun opponents.  Its defense wasn’t mentioned in that article, and one can only guess the omission was intentional.  Just look at their game results against Texas and OSU for 2005-2008:

What you can see is that up to 2007, Texas Tech continually increased it’s offensive scoring, but to mixed results…

...continue to read "Texas Tech Tuesday – Challenge Organizational Traditions / Assumptions"

“Leach is unusual in giving his quarterback the authority to change every play, wherever the line of scrimmage. “He can see more than I’ll ever see,” Leach says. ‘If I call a stupid play, his job is to get me out of it. If he doesn’t get me out of it, I might holler at him. But if you let him react to what he sees, there’s a ton of touchdowns to be had.’ All Leach is really saying to…

...continue to read "Texas Tech Tuesday – Part II: Maximizing the Possibility of Something Good Happening"

First, if you haven’t already seen Apple’s new Mac commercial, watch this:

Now, before discussing the ad, please name a brand developed in the last 10 years that was built largely on the strength of its advertising.  Go ahead and think a bit if you have to; I’ll wait.

You might be able to name one, dear reader, but I’m betting you’ll have strained a bit to come up with it, and that you’ll only think of just one (assuming you…

...continue to read "The Larger Truth Behind Apple’s New Commercial"

With the shaky economy weighing on all our minds, this Holiday Season could be make-or-break for a lot of eTailers.  So, like Bryan Eisenberg mentioned in a recent blog, the time to innovate is now, and relying on the status-quo isn’t wise.

So as you ramp your sites and marketing up for the Holidays, do you have a few innovations up your sleeve?

Let’s face it. Despite the economic troubles, people are still going to want to give gifts, and find the…

...continue to read "Redeeming Holiday Gift Card Redemptions"

Last week at the Shop.org conference, I offered attendees a report on how they ranked on our 2007 Customer Experience Study and the ability to be among the first sites reviewed for our 2008 benchmarks. I wanted to offer our GrokDotCom readers the same courtesy.

We’ll be reviewing over 500 retail websites this year and won’t be reporting the overall results until the beginning of 2009. If you put in your request this week, we’ll provide you with a report that shows you…

...continue to read "Benchmarking Your Customer Experience"

Social media is exploding. Everyone’s talking about the huge advertising potential. I see companies and marketers getting positively giddy:

“Think of it! Millions and millions of people we can hyper target with relevant messages and offers, contextual targeting, behavioral targeting – THINK OF THE VIRAL OPPORTUNITIES!”

Um, you’ve got a little bit of spittle there at the corner of your mouth…there, yeah, you wiped it off.

Yes, the potential is huge. But some companies have been disappointed with the results in their early…

...continue to read "Tapping the Power of Social Media to Advertise to Women"

Sitting down to the watch the Sox game last night, I surfed over to my hometown paper and found an absolute gem of customer-centricity in the most unlikely of places – a cable television company. As someone who’s lived in a few different markets over the years, I’ve experienced Time-Warner, Comcast, Primestar, Cablevision, and Verizon, and I can tell you there is one common bond that stands out amongst all of Big Cable – the privilege each of the CSRs allowed me…

...continue to read "Case Study: Comcast uses Twitter to delight"

You’ve probably seen the commercials: Nuclear meltdowns, pro sports athletic training, rodeo clowns, daredevil motorcycle riders — all sorts of people are smarter and more prepared for life because of their choice of hotel.

“Are you new to the team?” asks the nuclear engineer of the stranger who saves a frazzled control room from reactor meltdown.

“Actually, I’m with the tour group, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.”

Holiday Inn Express has a brand promise: “Stay Smart.” Well, I…

...continue to read "I’m Not Illiterate, But I Did Stay at a Holiday Inn Express"

It’s not often I read an article and stand up and cheer. Well, a recent Advertising Age interview had me doing just that. And, yes, I did get some funny looks from those around me.

Who had me doing the Tiger Woods I-just-made-another-eagle-putt fist pump? Avinash Kaushik. (The title of the Mya Frasier’s AdAge article is: “Google’s ‘Anayltics Evangelist’ Explains Why Websites ‘Suck’ — Kaushik: Despite Mounds of Data, Marketers Don’t Understand Consumers.”)

Why did this interview get me so fired-up? Because Avinash…

...continue to read "Why Consumer Data Isn’t Telling You What You Need"