On the face of it, consumers spending less to cope with inflation doesn’t scream marketing opportunity. And it probably isn’t in terms of driving immediate results for many businesses. Yet if you examine the changes people are making, spending less is only part of the story. It’s also about changing established routines: shopping in new...
When things are looking grim, there’s often a knee-jerk urge to move efforts to the lowest-hanging fruit. I’ve watched the same phenomena take place time after time for 40 years. When times are tough, there is always a race to performance advertising. It’s more measurable than brand marketing, drives immediate response and is easier to...
The changing consumer and media landscape now provides small and independent agencies like 78Madison a competitive edge. The world has changed. Not more or less than in previous years or decades or generations. But in a post-cookie, post-pandemic, post-ad-free-Netflix world, things are different. It’s different for consumers, for brands and for the things that matter...
Many people are surprised that I have been in the same industry – advertising – for 40 years. In fact, most are fascinated by the fact that I continue to be so passionate about what I do. I will certainly confess that this has been a great ride so far, and I don’t see it...
We understand that sometimes you bite off more than you can chew… We understand that some days you just can’t win… We understand that working hard seems to be getting harder… We understand meetings and deadlines and overtime… We understand that flights get delayed, and luggage gets lost… We understand that it’s hard to find...
I was having lunch recently with a gentleman who was asking me if I might consider being on the board of his organization. During the “getting to know each other” sequence he asked me about my career, and if things had changed dramatically since I entered the advertising agency industry in 1978. Then he asked...
Was chatting with a friend of mine recently who was telling me how hard he was working to improve on his weaknesses. He said the task was difficult, but hopefully rewarding. I asked him why he was wasting time on weaknesses versus accentuating his strengths. He looked at me dumbfounded. Listen, like many, I worked...
An old advertising cohort and I used to go to lunch at Steak and Shake every Friday—back in the late 1980’s (ok, so I’m old) when in my humble opinion the franchise was under-managed, and the buildings were stuck in the 1950s. I remember thinking dozens of times; this is such a great product. What...
Recently we’ve been asked what Brand immersion is. In a sentence, Brand Immersion is the act of integrating your brand into your customer’s lifestyle – sort of what we are doing here with blogs. Over the past few years, it has become evident that consumers show preference for brands that engage them on an emotional...
I recently had lunch with my roommate from Florida State University – we attended in the mid-70’s – and it was good to reminisce about all that has happened in our careers and life. The business world has certainly changed since I embarked on an Advertising Agency career on Madison Avenue in New York City,...