Remember Book It!? Behind Pizza Hut’s Campaign Focused on Kids and Reading
The story behind Pizza Hut’s Book It! campaign and how the brand used one executive’s passion to create a lasting marketing tool rooted in nostalgia.
Everybody Knows ‘Got Milk?’ — Does that Make it Successful?
The Got Milk? campaign was a runaway success by every measure – except the one that actually matters. It didn’t drive people to drink more milk.
How Campbell’s Conquered Holiday Marketing with Green Bean Casserole
Campbell’s can attribute the staying power of green bean casserole at Thanksgiving to a few key holiday marketing ingredients: consistency, simplicity and just a dash of nostalgia.
MoviePass Marketing Tries to Win Back Customers with Cute Puppies
The MoviePass marketing team violated fundamental rules around delivering bad news to customers when it hid behind a cute puppy picture in a recent email.
Why Denver Airport’s Marketing Embraces Conspiracy Theories
How do you make an airport renovation announcement exciting and newsworthy? If you’re Denver International Airport, you start talking about lizard people and Illuminati overlords.
3 Ways Marketing Departments can Supercharge the Impact of their Interns
I’ve seen first-hand how a good internship can inspire students and kick-start a lifelong passion for marketing.
The Myth and the Marketing Lesson Behind The Infamous War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast
Reports of mass panic in the streets following the 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast had more to do with warring media outlets than Martian invaders.
How Guinness Book of World Records Makes Other Brands More Newsworthy
When Guinness Book of World Records wanted to reach new customers, it stuck to its brand promise and helped other companies make their stories more newsworthy.
How PETA Used Newsjacking to Connect its Message to A Star is Born
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) awarded Bradley Cooper its prestigious Compassion in Film Award. If you haven’t heard of the award, there’s a good reason why – PETA just created it.
Dickies Went from Worksite to Runway by Staying True to its Brand
When industry trends offer opportunities to reach new customers, companies have to strike the right balance between updating their brand and retaining the fundamental values that helped them stand out in the first place.
How Crock-Pot Reclaimed its Brand after This is Us Created a Crisis
This is Us returns for season 3 on Tuesday, Sept. 25, at 9 p.m. After fans blamed a character death in last season’s finale on Crock-Pot, the brand created a clever campaign to reclaim its story.
How Waffle House Embraces its Connection to Dangerous Weather Events
Weather officials work to predict and quantify the dangers of a hurricane based on wind speeds using the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale. But media and citizens often turn to The Waffle House Index.
Why Nike’s Controversial New Ad Fits with its Brand
Nike is a company that’s never been afraid to ruffle a few feathers. Its most recent move seems to be paying off.
From Dilly Dilly to Philly Philly — How Bud Light Capitalized on an Epic Marketing Gift
What happens when your nonsensical ad slogan happens to rhyme with the city that just won the Super Bowl?
Knowing Your Audience Means Knowing Their Mindset
No target audience or client demographic is static. Understanding customers requires a steady stream of research and feedback into their mindset while keeping your own biases and assumptions in check.
Creating an App that’s Worth It
Simply chasing the latest trendy platform is an expensive and resource-intensive approach to finding new ways to reach customers.
Arm & Hammer Offers a Lesson in Making Boring Marketable
How do you keep a 170-year-old brand fresh?
How Docker’s Saved Casual Fridays
If you’re grateful for “Dress Down Fridays,” you have the overheated workers of an archipelago in the Pacific and a smart marketing team to thank.
Denny’s Nailed Media Relations with this Press Release
A Denny’s PR rep recently committed a major media relations faux pas – or so everyone thought.
Rebranding Alligator Pears
It’s hard to imagine today, but there was a time when people weren’t interested in buying avocados – let alone paying extra for them.
Marketing with the Mandela Effect
Brands don’t have total control over how their messages are perceived and remembered.
Marketing with a Flamethrower
When introducing a product or announcing a big new idea, most companies opt for a press release. Why not use a flamethrower instead?
Selling Pizza with Potholes
In setting yourself apart from the competition, it pays to look at the entire customer experience.
IHOP did what?
Why would a brand with 60 years of recognition suddenly change its name?
The Reason Crystal Pepsi Fell Flat with Consumers
Most brands need to innovate to stay competitive in their industry and relevant to their customers. But straying too far from what customers expect can clearly lead to trouble.
What Laurel vs. Yanny Means for Marketing Perception
Are you strongly #TeamLaurel? Or squarely #TeamYanny? No matter which you are, you’re wrong. Because both are right.
How Ikea Embraced Hackers
Marketing plays a big role in how customers perceive your brand, but it’s ultimately a two-way street. Find ways to embrace and leverage how customers use your products and services rather than fight against it.
When Murder Inspires Marketing
The best marketing campaigns don’t create something brand new. They capture a familiar feeling in a new or compelling way that your customers can relate to.
Culture Eats Strategy During Lunch
Even the best business strategy won’t work if it’s not supported by and compatible with a strong company culture.
The World’s Most Relaxing Song
Think beyond the products or services you offer. Look at the experience customers get from your brand and come up with big ideas to enhance that effect.
Bouba/Kiki Branding
When naming your business, consider the fundamentals of your brand experience and how you want to be perceived.
Tru Who?
If bad publicity is what you’re receiving, find a way to use it to your advantage.
Magically Delicious Marketing
Sticking with a consistent brand can deliver fortunes long term, but you can’t let the message get stale.
Change Your Clock, Change Your Brand
Just because a campaign only gets attention two days a year doesn’t mean it can’t generate real marketing power.
“Get Out” Of Marketing
With art, a person’s emotional response to a piece does not determine its quality.
Creating the $100 cheesesteak
In most businesses, marketing’s a one-way street. But great things can happen when marketing also has a say in developing products.
How one executive’s crappy day doomed the branding of the Ford Edsel
The unfortunately named Ford Edsel is a lesson in how easy it is for leaders to lose sight of the work that goes into effective branding.
Advertising isn’t dead, but it was never perfectly healthy
The history of the remote control shows that people have never liked being interrupted by poorly crafted sales messages.
The real lesson behind Oreo’s famous Super Bowl tweet
Why companies should consider streamlining internal processes a competitive advantage.
The story behind naming the Super Bowl, and why leaders don’t need to like their own branding
Acknowledging that your perspective might not be universal is a step toward more effective marketing.
How Super Bowl ads scientifically prove marketing’s effectiveness
Marketing is often hard to measure scientifically, but don’t just assume that means it’s ineffective.
This manufacturer shows your brand’s only as boring as you make it
Big Ass Fans shows that it doesn’t matter how conservative, technical or obscure your business seems.
What a $15 basketball shoe can teach businesses about effective marketing
Stephon Marbury’s “Starbury” shoe shows the importance of differentiated marketing.
Pantone shows you can’t build a brand by being bland
You can’t be an authority and a trendsetter without ever saying anything groundbreaking.
Our most popular newsletter editions of 2017
Missed some of our most popular newsletter editions from 2017? It only takes a few minutes to catch up.
Content marketing that went down in history: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Montgomery Ward leadership twice missed the potential of this holiday classic.
How one Philly company used architecture as a communications tool
In need of projecting a dignified image, Philadelphia Electric Company conveyed a message through its power plants.
The creation of “Cyber Monday” was a brilliant PR success
How one press release started a media frenzy and a new holiday tradition.
REI’s Black Friday opt-out epitomizes effective marketing
If you want to stand out from your competition, you need to be brave enough to do something that’s never been done.
Nordstrom’s customer service shows every employee’s a marketer
The renowned clothing retailer shows marketing isn’t confined to a particular department.