I’ve been working in marketing and advertising since the mid-80s. When I started my career, I thought I had a lot to learn. It was nothing compared to what we all need to learn today. Technology is driving the rate of change, and even though it’s hard to believe, it’s going to get nothing but […]
Drew McLellan
Is Your Content Following the Trend?
Most businesses have accepted or even embraced the idea that without creating content, your website can’t hope to compete for search engine rankings, high visitor counts, or much engagement. There are just too many sites out there fighting for the same eyeballs that you want. If you don’t put something appealing and fresh in front […]
Surprise! How to Pick Up on a Trend
One of the truths about marketing is that our work often hints at or takes advantages of cultural trends that are on the rise. I love that we get to leverage emerging shifts and mine them for the truths they contain. They’re like a little surprise waiting for us around the corner. But to do […]
How Do You Recognize Transparency?
Transparency seems to be everywhere in the media lately so it has been only fitting that we have been discussing it. We’ve been studying “mea culpa” ad campaigns and how the marketplace’s expectations around transparency play a role in that. We scratched the surface of how that same expectation influences buying decisions—both from a consumer […]
The Hidden Benefit of Transparency
Lately, we have been focusing on the “mea culpa” ads that we’re seeing all over the media. Wells Fargo, Facebook, and Uber are some of the big brands that have actively run apology campaigns. The absolute expectation of total transparency is one of the factors driving the need for these campaigns, but that expectation falls […]
How to Say “I’m Sorry”
Previously, we examined the reasons why more brands are feeling the need to say they are sorry in a very public and expensive fashion these days. I want to take a minute and dissect one brand’s attempt to offer a “mea culpa” that will resonate with their audience and smooth over the wave of negative […]
The Era of “We’re Sorry” Advertising
There’s an interesting trend that speaks to a significant change in how brands are evaluated and how quickly they can go from hero to goat. I want to explore the origins of the trend and next time we’ll look at some examples and best practices in response to this new normal and the best way […]
Use Your Marketing Voice
Voice is one of the most significant trends we marketers have had to face in a while. Remember when the proliferation of mobile devices changed the way we designed and built websites? Voice is going cause the same upheaval and it’s going to come even faster and be more wide-sweeping than mobile ever was. If […]
Today’s Version of Word of Mouth Marketing
Previously, we talked about influencer marketing, which is a combination of old-school PR and word of mouth, with a technology twist. Today, anyone can create a position of authority, build a community around them and, as a result, be an influencer. There are the influencers we’ve always known, like athletes and actors, but more interesting […]
Who is an Influencer?
Here are some truths we need to grapple with in today’s economy: Consumers trust word of mouth recommendations from family and friends more than advertising Consumers trust recommendations from perfect strangers more than advertising Anyone can create a position of authority and attract a community if they demonstrate expertise, credibility and consistently produce content to […]
