I initially stumbled onto the Walmart toy display by accident. It was Nov 5th, and I was barely recovering from receiving my coffee from Starbucks in a Christmas cup. I still had a burnt out pumpkin on my deck from Halloween. And I wasn’t even IN Walmart at the time, so let’s call it an “unprovoked attack” of holiday marketing. I’ve only brought myself to write about … [Read more...]
In search of the secret sauce for an Epic Viral (split?) video
Seems many marketers are in search of the epic viral hit these days. “Make a video and make it go viral,” they say. Seems simple on the surface. Heck, if a cat spinning from a ceiling fan or a chemist blending things that aught not to be blended can garner millions of hits, how hard can it be? Yet the secret sauce eludes for most. The whole question of what makes … [Read more...]
Could the secret to increasing sales actually be about selectively sharing secrets & limiting access?
Psst! I’ve got some secrets to share. We're going to explore the idea of secrecy and limiting access as a marketing ploy to increase demand and sales. “Please don’t tell,” or PDT to regulars, is a secret cocktail bar in New York City. While it’s a lot less hidden these days due to the “secret” word getting out, the concept is unique and certainly word of mouth worthy. … [Read more...]
Dollar Shave Club’s Irreverent F***ING Great ad
It’s officially “Movember” and the start of that month when strange outcroppings pop up on the upper lip of males, all for a good cause – raising awareness for cancer research. It can be a tough road for some follicle challenged guys, and even tougher for the partners of those blessed with abundant facial growth abilities. The only thing for certain is the likelihood … [Read more...]
Word of mouth and the top 3 reasons why we share
Last week I wrote about the fact that only 7% of word of mouth happens online. The rest actually takes place offline in actual person-to-person conversations. It was a pretty remarkable statistic, but one worth keeping in focus as we continue to focus so much effort on social media. We do however need to recognize that both online and traditional media are often the vehicles … [Read more...]








