Good relationships are based on honesty, and building relationships is at the core of a strong business. Yet for some companies, true transparency, and by default, apparent honesty, can seem lacking when guised in corporate policy. We now seek out brands that are honest, flaws and all, because it feels like we can trust them more. For a brand, being transparent and … [Read more...]
Creepy or brilliant? Depends on the target, and that’s the problem…
“Weird” “This commercial is just creepy” “Bizarre, but funny” “Brilliant!” “Over the top. Was the creative team on acid?” “Horrifying, dumb, disturbing.” “The funniest commercial I have ever seen” “I would never buy Old Spice” “Bring back Mustafa” “Solid gold. Give Old Spice all the awards” Those are just some of the comments I encountered when I asked a … [Read more...]
Harnessing the Power of One
I found myself reflecting on pivotal events of 2013 recently and in honour of Nelson Mandela’s passing, I watched again a 1992 movie called “The Power of One” set in South Africa during WWII featuring a young English boy raised under apartheid. It was a powerful movie of racial injustice, and had one amazing soundtrack. I downloaded it to my iPod for inspiration moving forward … [Read more...]
Making the unremarkable REMARKABLE through the unexpected: one more secret to generating word of mouth
With the season of little black cocktail dresses on the horizon, what better way to switch it up than to look at a new application for black. While “Orange is the New Black” is a hit TV program with many, apparently when it comes to toilet paper, black might be the new white. Who knew? Apparently the most mundane and functional of items, toilet paper, was due for a … [Read more...]
Westjet Marketing Magic
By now many of you have likely viewed the “Westjet Christmas Miracle” video that has gone viral since being posted last Sunday evening. It paints a charming tale of how the airline cleverly created Christmas magic by greeting customers at the Calgary luggage carousel with individually wrapped gifts matching their Christmas wish expressed only hours before in the Toronto … [Read more...]
