Canadians sound very similar to people in the US. That allows many singers, actors, announcers and more to cross the border physically or virtually and not be seen as different. Since the US has ten times greater population, their market has more absolute dollars to spend. For most things relating to communications like for elite… Read More: International Brands Can Get Free Bonuses »
One thing I find amazing is the natural predisposition we all have for redistribution of wealth. Everyone of us! Economics happens within a social dynamic. That is, if we don’t have it, we believe we are entitled to get some stuff from someone who has lots of stuff. “Hey rich guy, you can afford it, so… Read More: Everyone Wants To Be a Socialist »
Back in the mid ’80’s, we presented a pool of commercials we felt were outstanding creative to our Texaco clients. They loved the work. On final approval, their President sat across the table and told me it was the best oil company TV creative in a long time. He looked me in the eye and asked… Read More: The 10 O’Clock News Update – Worth a Billion »
When I am travelling to the US, folks there like to make fun of Canadians for saying two things: “A – boot” for “about,” and often saying “I’m sorry.” I have lived and worked in both countries. I don’t really hear the exaggerated “boot” US people think they hear; but there is a difference in… Read More: We Admit It – Canadians Do Say “I’m Sorry” »
In math, asymptotes are curves that flatten out and never reach an upper limit. Most of us know the puzzle of the frog that can jump halfway to its goal. If it keeps jumping halfway, it will never get there. That is an asymptote. A point of diminishing return. Brands are constantly looking to improve… Read More: Product Improvements Have an Asymptote »
One of my earliest assignments in the 1970s was working in advertising in New York on a company called Grocery Store Products Company. It was a company with a totally generic name that had just been purchased by Clorox. The company was like many that started in the first half of the 20th century. It… Read More: How I Met Your Spanish »
If you ask anyone what their IQ is, they will give you a number higher than 100. Guaranteed. How can that be? If the IQ is an index against the average with 100 being the average? That definition means that about half of the population has an IQ greater than 100 and half the population has one… Read More: We’re All Above Average; We All Buy Below Retail »
Any good piece of communications works on at least three levels of meaning. This is true for books, movies, poems, songs, stories, even advertising. Without depth of meaning, communication becomes boring, discarded and forgotten. This was first taught to me by Robert Lewis Shayon who was the Media Critic for the Saturday Review, a high… Read More: Multiple Levels of Meaning »
It was in the 1970s I was hired to work with a client, Heublein, that had been in the liquor business for some time. They had recently purchased a couple of food companies and had hired a President and marketing managers, mostly from General Foods, to work on the products. I had worked a lot with… Read More: Why Tacos Are Not Mexican Food »
As a teenage student, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I was channeled into Math because I was good at it. After one year of Honours Math, I realized it was not what I wanted to do with my life. I wasn’t inspired by it, like I had been in high school. One… Read More: Prospecting for Opportunities »