Just a quick news byte as a follow up to my blog post from late 2004 (wow, I’ve been doing this that long?) on the Innocent smoothie drink brand. I loved it then for its humanizing approach. Can/will its new owner, Coke, maintain that “social focus?” Read Aaron O. … Read on >
Marketing can be rough in a time when gender assumptions are going out the window. We used to be able (we thought) to comfortably deduce what were “women’s” products and what were “men’s.” The gender question had been easy to … Read on >
With this “mad rush” to the women’s market to save brands from their recessionary woes (again – what took them so long?), it is all the more interesting to observe businesses that seem to have an inherent competitive edge on that front. Even if they never officially thought about … Read on >
Need an example of values-based buying appeal? Then, think about that which goes above, beyond and around price, and truly resonates with the lifestyle and core beliefs of your customers. The comparison is akin to how simple facts and figures (such as price) are made more resonant through storytelling (an … Read on >
Brands that embrace women as their key consumers and then invest in serving them better get a lot of points in my book. That’s why the latest campaign launch from Office Max is a bit … Read on >
In an economic downturn, there may be a tendency to give up on new ideas and thinking, and just hunker down, until the worst is over. But, what if this is really our chance to examine new possibilities? If freaking out doesn’t make your numbers improve (and … Read on >
I am an orange fanatic. That’s why Joan Voight’s recent piece in Media magazine initially caught my eye. My front door is orange, my trusty 1971 Peugeot bike is a fiery orange …and the list goes on. … Read on >
After interviewing Donald A. Norman, author of Emotional Design (and other great books on the topic) for my 9 Minds On Marketing eBook a few years back, I was sold on pursuing a more design-oriented way of thinking and writing. A recent BusinessWeek article by … Read on >
After my Huffpo piece, “This Blank Ad Space, Brought To You By…,” published a few weeks ago, I heard from Jason Pelletier. He had remembered, and had a copy of a “clean … Read on >
You can see it… the hesitation in their eyes. Many a marketer from a traditionally male-oriented brand responds to the idea of "marketing to women" like this: "But, if we "’feminize’ the product, won’t the men hate it?"
Argh, to that misconception. The truth is that men will hate it only … Read on >
