Thoughts on Marketing, Strategy and Hummus
Life for Marketers Is About To Get Harder. Here’s Why.
This isn’t unique to marketing. In the field of biomedicine alone, two papers are published every minute on PubMed. And they’re also turning to aggregators. But here’s the thing - aggregators that control information overload doesn’t actually improve how well people remember things.
Playbooking Creativity: 6 Recipes From Real Creators
The recipe for the internet is 99.9% crap, 0.1% creative inspiration. Unfortunately, like most digital marketers, I've played my fair role in creating crap. But hiding under the mountains of terrible articles are incredible, mind-blowing pieces. Articles that trigger a sense of longing before you even reach the end. Videos you can't stop watching. [...]
A Call for Imaginary Marketing Conversations
Think of a catchy song. Now grab a friend, sit them down and tap the song's rhythm on the table. Think they can tell you're tapping Pharrel's Happy? They can't. In Elizabeth Newton's PhD dissertation, groups were split into pairs of Tappers and Listeners. Before tapping the song, Tappers guessed whether their Listener would [...]
Questions, Not Answers: Keeping Marketing On Track
TL;DR: Real progress comes from clearly defined obstacles or problems. Challenging working assumptions with fundamental questions on a regular basis is an incredible way to stay focused. There's nothing uniquely 21st century about innovation, or technologically-driven efficiency. Even hockey-stick growth has been around for over two centuries. And while there was [...]
20+ Drivers of the Best Startup Referral Plans
Referral Programs and Viral User Growth When it comes to scaling up and acquiring customers, letting your customers do it for you is by far the most popular way to do it. Josh Elman, a Greylock Ventures partner with real scaling experience (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook Connect) breaks down five types [...]
Uber, Air BnB and Moneyball: The Truth About Disruption
I came across this scene in Moneyball (great movie, you should watch it) and immediately knew he was describing the fight that Uber, AirBnB and every other really innovative startup is fighting. Check it out: My attempted transcription: I know you've taken it in the teeth out there, but the first guy through [...]
Social Media Day Jerusalem
Thanks for popping by! You can check out my main points from tonight's Mashable Jerusalem event here. Got comments? Well, if you were listening, you know what to do. The biggest trend in online marketing is... Context. The inbound/outbound marketing dichotomy is going...going...going...gone. Until now, prospects were either looking or [...]
What Would You Do…If You Saw An Awesome Ad Campaign
Just came across this gem of an ad campaign for the NY Lottery. Fantastic visual style and incredible copy that has you thinking like you might like to think a billionaire thinks. I (think) I love it. Awesome NY Lottery Campaign. Find more here. I'm glad I didn't [...]
QOTD: New Yorker on Disruption
Came across this quote in a fantastic piece by Jill Lepore in The New Yorker about the disruption industry. Startups are ruthless and leaderless and unrestrained, and they seem so tiny and powerless, until you realize, but only after it’s too late, that they’re devastatingly dangerous: Bang! Ka-boom! Think of [...]