David Allison | |
Published: August 20, 2010
There is an art to everything, even referrals.
We love to talk about the things we hate. It’s cathartic. Countless times, I have sat down to dinner with friends to have the conversation turn from polite “How are yous?” to exchanging horror stories about the terrible service we receive and inefficiencies in seemingly simple business transactions.
But then we also talk about the businesses we know, like and trust; and in the world of marketing, that’s important to remember. When it comes to word of mouth, people are eager to refer companies that they believe in, and they will chat up those organizations that give them a wow experience in the same way they will denigrate those that fail to live up to their expectations or treat them badly.
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David Allison | |
Published: August 05, 2010
Forget objectives, strategies, and tactics. Every now and then, take some time to just sit down and chat.
Think tank. Mention the two words at the office and you're sure to hear rumbles and grumbles reverberating around the room. In a business world where marketing goals dictate strategy and represent measurable results, think tank sessions are invariably deemed idle.
I disagree.
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tags
- objectives,
- mobilization,
- Suzanne Anton,
- think tanks,
- to-do lists,
- Marketing,
- Linda Bilben,
- brainstorms,
- City of Vancouver,
- David Allison,
- goals,
- one-brand-clapping,
David Allison | Image:
SMPTE |
Published: July 28, 2010
The SMPTE pattern is a crucial motif in Doug-
las Coupland's new take on Canadian identity.
Every now and then you need a brand champion – enter Douglas Coupland at Roots – to breath fresh life into your marketing outreach.
Like a piece of silver, brands can tarnish. They need a good polish every now and then to make sure they’re at their shiny best. Someone in your organization needs to recognize this, take the brand ball, and run with it.
Canadiana clothing retailer Roots is a prime example of a brand that let itself get dull. But, recently, it's shined up nicely.
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tags
- refresh,
- redesign,
- roots,
- RootsxDouglas Coupland,
- RootsxDouglasCoupland,
- rebrand,
- one-brand-clapping,
- Canadian retailer,
- David Allison,
- Douglas Coupland,
- Marketing,
- one-brand-clapping,
David Allison | Image:
Hugh McLeod |
Published: July 22, 2010
Your advertising is the cooking, your product the ingredients. The latter has to be good.
I came across this great archive of vintage advertising the other day. You can spend hours combing through these very earnest attempts to sell product to the masses, most of which, today, cause raised eyebrows, giggles and disbelief that advertisers ever thought these kind of appeals would work to persuade anyone to buy anything.
Looking at these old-fashioned ads makes you wonder about the new-fashioned advertising we are exposed to today, and how much of it is going to be the source of giggles and disbelief in the future.
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David Allison | Image:
tracageliving.com |
Published: July 15, 2010
Embarrassing Building Syndrome is a disease
caused by real estate developers, and only
they have the power to stop it.
When naming a real estate development, for goodness' sake, create a something straightforward and honest. Enough with the clever.
Embarrassing Building Syndrome (EBS) is an affliction on the rise. After meeting someone excited about his new home purchase, you quite innocently trigger the onset of symptoms by asking him which building his condominium is located in.
The face of the sufferer flushes, his eyes blink quickly, and his speech become unintelligible. Rapid breathing and a tendency to depart the conversation without explanation are more severe symptoms. It’s an affliction that mostly strikes the young and upwardly mobile who purchase new urban homes.
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David Allison | Image:
Hiyao Miyazaki |
Published: July 07, 2010
It's an ROI two-step: Twitter brings in the cus-
tomers that bring in the dollars.
Horror of horrors – yesterday my laptop went kaput. Today, thanks to Twitter, I have a shiny new one. That's one iteration of Twitter's return on investment.
You know that nightmare we all have? The one where your laptop is stolen by international spies riding flying feral pigs and you wake up screaming in the middle of the night, heart racing, a cold sweat bespangling your brow? No? Me, neither.
But when my MacBook Air decided to depart this world, I have to admit, I had a minor heart attack. Cut off from my calendar, my Word files, even my e-mails, I felt paralyzed. It’s one of the biggest commonly shared terrors of the modern age, with or without spies and pigs.
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