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July 24, 2020

Don’t Get Robbed of a Good Reputation.

Brand reputation impacts everything from pricing to attraction and retention of talent, to competitive advantage and intent to purchase. It’s time to protect it.

Before quarantine, I went to the bank to sign some paperwork. The bank was closed due to an “incident.” While waiting outside for the bank to reopen, a man approached the door and demanded that the employee on the other side let him in, saying he was a private banker and didn’t care about the incident. He escalated into a swearing tirade against the employee who was merely following protocol.

Brand reputation is at the constant mercy of events often outside of a company’s control. As customers, we expect companies to act with empathy, but we rarely have it in return. A bank robbery should not rob a bank of its reputation, but in today’s social media reality, it doesn’t take much to wreak havoc.

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Published in Business, Strategy
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June 18, 2020

It’s Time to Outperform Performance Marketing.

In our industry, we tend to measure what's easy. But just because something can be measured more easily, doesn't mean it performs.

The past two decades have been a golden age for advertising technology. This time has given rise to mainstream digital advertising, programmatic, trading desks, data, performance marketing, metrics, analytics and a myriad of other tools designed to drive effectiveness. But during this period of technological innovation, these sugar-coated, short-term activations have narrowed our focus, causing advertising effectiveness, creativity, and long-term brand building to fall desperately short.  

For too long, there's been too much focus on building better hunting traps when nobody wants to feel hunted. Pop-unders, spam, interruption, click-bait, fake news, data abuse, media fraud, and so many more tactics have led to the glut of advertising that goes mostly unnoticed, which is leading to ineffectiveness, waste, and brand erosion. 

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Published in Business
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April 19, 2020

Same Same, But Same.

Has the Pandemic washed our hands of creativity? 

During a time when brands have an opportunity to stand apart, it appears our lack of creativity as an industry has brought them closer together. 

Across the globe, we have seen the big brands and big agencies produce a swath of COVID-19 response advertising. While I commend those involved in reacting so quickly, our short-termism and narrowness of focus have washed so many brands of creativity and distinctiveness during COVID-19. 

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Published in Business
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February 12, 2020

Is it Time to Rebrand?

There's no such thing as a static market. Consumers are constantly evolving, technology is forever changing, culture is continuously growing, and product enhancements are never-ending. To keep up with these shifting sands, brands need to rebrand to maintain their relevance and performance occasionally.    

A good brand communicates what your company does. A great brand communicates how and more importantly, why your company does what it does. A great brand builds credibility and motivates your customers. And like you, a great brand evolves, consistently and methodically over time, to persevere and retain relevance. The goal, of course, is to strive to be a great brand, one that can stand the test of time, but also be strong enough to lead the evolution of those around them. 

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Published in Business