Category marketing
Why Tech Companies Need To Build Brands Before They Launch: An Interview with Emily Heyward, Co-Founder of Red Antler
A video interview with Red Antler co-founder Emily Heyward, who talks about the importance of branding at startups – and why almost all conversations about the customer problems that new brands solve leads to discussions about death.
Five Voices Of Assurance And Optimism For Navigating COVID-19
I’ve been hosting livestream shows (“Simulmedia Live”) for Simulmedia since the summer of 2019 and have had the privilege of talking to some awfully smart people from top brands, agencies, cable networks, and the investing community. Ever since we’ve started working from home, though, we’ve featured guests who I like to refer to as a […]
How to Use Audience Data Like Today’s Masters of TV Advertising
It’s a lot more complicated to be a marketer today than it was 25 years ago. Not surprisingly, I occasionally encounter marketers who feel dizzy at times by the overwhelming amount of tactical choices they have available. My reminder to them goes something like this: sometimes, the best way to cope with complexity is simply […]
Marketing Leadership Death Traps And How To Avoid Them
NFL head coaches struggle with job security. Going into the 2016-17 season, team owners fired six head coaches. This followed seven more who got the axe going into last season. With just 32 professional football teams, the resulting 40.6% turnover over the last two seasons is awfully high. Memo to NFL head coaches: rent before […]
Free Food Is Nice But Not Enough: The Key To Retaining Millennial (And All Other) Employees
Dan Lyons’ recent book about his misadventures at HubSpot describes the culture clash that ensued when Lyons, a 50-something journalist, tried working at a tech company staffed largely by 20-something Millennials. Looked at another way, though, the story is also about the lengths to which companies will go to keep Millennials from leaving their jobs. Scene from […]
Avoiding The Career Obsolescence Trap
Four years ago, I had a conversation about career obsolescence I’ll never forget. I was catching up with a friend and former colleague who had left her job at an advertising agency around 2008 to be a stay-at-home mom. This woman is the best account director I’ve ever known. She is tough, comfortable defending her […]
Small Data Points Signal Huge Changes Ahead
For over seven years, I worked in marketing for a video game publisher. There was no part of the job I looked forward to doing more than producing TV commercials. There was one aspect of this work that tied my stomach up in knots, though: pitching the idea for the commercial to my company’s CEO. Not […]
Do’s And Don’ts For Applying For A Marketing Internship
In ninth grade, I fell face first into a high school crush. My first opportunity to show her my true feelings happened that fall, when this unfortunate soul found herself with me at the homecoming dance. I summoned the strength to ask her onto the floor, but the combination of my nerves, the venue (lots of my […]
When Startups Should Find An Agency Or Hire In-House
I recently met some people who work at a startup doing some exciting work in mobile and with a growing marketing department, and the topic of agencies came up. One of them asked me what I thought about agencies versus hiring in-house. Like “How big is a car?”, it’s a question that has no right answer. […]
A Simple Way To Get Better Creative
Think for a moment about the best TV ad you’ve ever seen. (In a nod to the season, here’s mine.) Now ask yourself: how did that happen? It probably didn’t come as a result of a creative genius at an agency or the inspired vision of a hard-driving CMO. Instead, it probably was a result of someone […]
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