A few months back I wrote a post about the power of Why. Today I was reminded of the power of another of the five Ws – When. I just launched a Facebook ad campaign connected to Tropical Storm Isaac. Isaac is a notable guy these days. He’s getting more press than the average tropical storm because of the potential threat he poses to next week’s GOP convention in Tampa. (And the fact that he shares a name with the bartender from The...

The Olympics are an inspiring display of what humans can achieve given the right combination of natural talent, determination and hard work. Bodies and spirits are pushed to the limit in pursuit of gold medals and world records. I am always intrigued by the relationship between these athletes’ natural talents and the years of training that have led them to this moment. What first sparked an interest in an athlete’s given sport? What...

Pop quiz: What are the three most powerful letters in the alphabet? Answer: W-H-Y Think about it. “Why?” has the potential to change everything. Why would someone watch (and share) the video we’re about to produce? Why would we want a Pinterest page? Why are we printing these brochures? Why are people buying my products/services? Why aren’t they? “Why?” keeps you from going through the motions. It makes you look at your work...

In today’s world, a picture can be worth a lot more than a thousand words. Marketing once harnessed the power of images by putting a corporate logo on everything from letterhead and websites to race cars and professional golfers’ shirts. Logos were sacrosanct, with 100-page manuals spelling out rules for their proper use. The idea was to control the brand image by controlling where and how the logo – the most identifiable visual...

Earlier today I was reading an interesting article about how social media is changing the agency/client relationship. It was actually an introduction to a podcast interview with a digital agency executive who had a lot to say about how social media is forcing agencies to – gasp! – become true business partners with their clients. This approach to an agency/client relationship seemed novel to both the author and his interview subject, so...