As Fantine sings her haunting song “I Dreamed a Dream” we begin to be gripped by the power of her ache in our own souls. We are drawn into the hearts of the characters by the film’s focus on the faces and the emotions of the characters. We’re moved to tears. We celebrate their successes and share their devastation with their losses. The gripping power of the three time Academy Award winning movie Les Miserables moved us young and old.  Video reaches past the barriers of intellect and touches our hearts. MORE

Twenty years ago I was a young member of the Society of Newspaper Designers. “If it bleeds, it reads,” the jaded editors would say.

But have you noticed lately there seem to be more headlines— especially in advertising— that simply don’t make sense? MORE

Habits control 40% of what we do and we often don’t even realize it, according to The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. They are a powerful influence on what consumers buy, how organizations run, and how societies function. Harnessing habits is a key to changing behavior. MORE

Who owns your online marketing communications? Many are waking up to the reality that they aren’t in control because they’ve built their communications edifice on someone else’s foundation. Previously, I wrote about the dangers of relying too much on platforms that are outside of your control. Now, some of the scenarios I alluded to have become a reality.

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Nobody pays attention anymore. We’re so fragmented by the torrents of information and the many ways in which it comes at us, that people just tend to skitter about from one thing to another as they attempt to get a read on large swaths of data. It’s just a hazard of the accelerating information age: We all have ADD now. Because of this, we need to understand how this affects the experience people have when they visit your website. And, knowing its effect, we need to mitigate it with an approach that behaves like a dose of “web Ritalin”.
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“Water, water everywhere… and not a drop to drink” spoke Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s ancient mariner when he was adrift at sea – and for someone digging around on the ’net, it can feel the same way. They are looking for substance; they want to find something that will inspire, educate, entertain, and engage. Don’t leave them thirsty.

When someone is looking for the product or service you offer, they want to find and connect with people who are both knowledgeable and enthusiastic. They want to better understand the thing they’re looking for. They want to find the go-to people who “get it” and make it easy. They’re looking for someone who is like the friend that overflows with expertise and excitement and is the person you always tap when you need help.
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I just finished listening to the book Rework by Jason Fried and David Hansson. (I found it’s dangerous to read while driving so I listen to audio books.) Rework is like a book of proverbs on how to rethink the way we work. If I had to summarize the theme of the book it would be this: Be purposefully simple. In a world with huge intimidating business complexities like Facebook and Google, who can compete? But that is just the point. Our world has grown so complex that simple, to-the-point, and close-at-hand have become more valuable than ever. A simple truth well told is better than 200 channels on cable. A friend who tells me a story is more real than some distant “reality show.”
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MIT Geeks, HubSpot, Discover the New Wave in Marketing

Inbound marketing is the latest buzz word in marketing circles. The idea is that consumers are using powerful search and filter tools such as Google and Bing to peruse only that which they, the consumer, want to see. They might be looking for entertainment, for the next innovative business idea, or researching a product. They invite this material in and consume it. Hence the name inbound marketing.
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Marketers live in a world built out of technology. It’s the medium in which much of our communication exists. Because of this, it’s important that we revisit first principles from time to time and make sure we are building on a sure footing. Now, more than ever, you need to make sure that you are building your brand (and your business) in such a way that you are able to create and maintain as much value as you can. That means making sure it’s yours, and that it’s built on your foundations – not something that might shift and send things toppling.

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Recently I read “Blue Ocean Strategy” by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne. It resonated with a core philosophy of my work: Creativity can set you free. By out-thinking the competition, you can find yourself running free from the pack, in fact, not even running in the same direction as the pack anymore. Finding a breakthrough way to sell, or a product that no one else has can set you sailing on the blue oceans of opportunity. The companies that make the most money are the ones who have innovated and found that blue ocean first, and continue to find new blue oceans of uninhibited market space. MORE