Big problems DO NOT require big solutions. Ad man Rory Sutherland says sometimes the simplest are the best. A lesson in behavioral economics included.

Back in my days, it was the good old times of the Rolodex, typewriters and Cyndi Lauper. Now we have Blackberries, Ipods, pads, etcetera and Lady Gaga. We have come a long way. The only constant since then is Madonna.
Back in 1984, her chart-topping single was titled, “Like a Virgin.” Her most recent chart-topping single was titled, “Give it To Me.” In business, we call it kaizen – continuous improvement.

Understanding this tectonic shift in power is crucial towards navigating brand sthrough a changing landscape. Learning how to use the …

Tim Ferris has 7 ways to deal with haters. Maybe we can all take a leaf from the guru of the “Four Hour Workweek” in our lives. Hey, after all - he’s only working four hours a week, yet makes millions, and pursues his passion endlessly. Originally posted by Amy-Mae Elliot on Mashable in her piece : Tim Ferriss : 7 Great Principles for Dealing with Haters.
1. It doesn’t matter how many people don’t get it. What matters is how many people do.

Ferris argues that if your objective …

To launch the KLM Economy Comfort seats, the airline levitated a man. Magician Ramana seemingly floats on an invisible seat - tying in wit KLM’s new advertising campaign, ” Choose Your Personal Kind of Comfort.” It’s a creativity that injects a little wonder and magic into our lives, and float in the air with pleasure.

Graphic design and typography superstar, Stefan Sagmeister, recently created Standard Chartered  a masterpiece. In the era where giant financial institutions have bit the dust, leaving insecurity littered in its wake - it is a timely indeed for this declaration : “Here for good.” Fantastic copy too.
“Can a bank really stand for something? Can it balance its ambition with its conscience? To do what it must. Not what it can. As not everything in life that counts can be counted. …

The mayor of Topeka, Kansas recently induced the sound of jaws dropping all over the world. His city was changing its name to Google. And Google, to return the honor, has changed it’s name to Topeka.
Eric Schmidt on Google’s blog has declared that : Googlers should be now referred to as “Topekers,” or “Topekans,” and everything Google should be renamed to Topeka, giving birth to Topeka News, Topeka Talk etc. The post included rules for “proper Topeka usage” such as “before our blind date, I had ‘Topeka’d him.”
It was all …

Why do marketing people need to know this? Because reputation building is long-term, not short term. Remind your selected spokesperson to speak from the heart. Train your spokesperson to do so during media workshops.

7 Tell-Tale Body Language Signs
1. Little or no eye contact
2. Physical expression will be limited - gestures will be mechanical
3. Person seems to shrink or take less space
4. Hands may go up to throat or face
5. Unlikely to touch his chest with open gestures
6. Timing between gestures and words are off
7. Emotions and …

No it wasn’t a demonstration against a politician.

Ass-vertisers and marketers, don’t get your knickers in a bunch in the softening economy. If you are a creative brand, get creative.

Here’s a sight which jarred even New York city’s most jaded commuters. Scantily clad men and women in front of Grand Central Terminal flashing underwear with “Booty Call” on their bums. Cameras flashed, employees gaped from high-rise windows, photos were posted on the internet.

It was a marketing campaign by New York Health and Racquet Club to …

There is often a great abyss ( or what marketing people call a perception gap) between what a company’s marketing people think about the brand (after orientation, mind-warping literature, and being surrounded by company slogans day and night) and what the people on the street REALLY think about a brand.

Here’s a quick acid test. Grab your video cam, grab your most thick-skinned executive, or a long-suffering friend – preferably a good-looking one and hit the street. Ask 20 people within your target market what they REALLY think …

Here’s the basic profile.

A cult brand isn’t accountable to any authority except his own. The cult brand is always in charge one hundred percent. The brand dictates how the subjects spend every minute of their time. Cult leaders are masters at getting their message across in very subtle ways, so that even if they’re caught on a wiretap their comments won’t incriminate them specifically. But the subjects understand the shorthand. He’ll polarize issues and create conflicts based on them versus us, black and white. The cult is right and …