Ad Strategy
Oct 15, 2005
Advertising legend Howard Luck Gossage taught us many lessons, including ways to make ads sticky.
Sep 15, 2005
From Malcolm Gladwell's bestseller, The Tipping Point, we learn that stickiness is what makes messages interesting and memorable.
May 15, 2005
Oil industry software supplier Peloton has taken a very unusual creative approach in its latest campaign.
Feb 15, 2005
Too many young people are paid far too much money at huge ad agencies these days cranking out clever ads that entertain but give you little or no reason to actually try the featured product or service.
Feb 15, 2004
When unconventional approaches are given a chance to prove themselves we discover what a powerful tool advertising is.
May 12, 2003
How to avoid the generic slogan plague and support your marketing efforts
Dec 09, 2002
Ads should tell customers what they need to know, not want you want them to know.
Jan 07, 2002
Instead of belt-tightening, look for new ways to promote old products and services
Jun 04, 2001
Copy writing is the most important B2B marcom skill. Here are 10 tips to improve it.
Apr 10, 2000
The coming age of e-commerce is going to force b-to-b companies to market their products more like our consumer brethren.
Jul 20, 1998
I've mentioned in several recent columns the importance of emphasizing "The Offer" in trade publication advertising, but the subject deserves more than a mention. So here comes the Full Monty on making an offer in your next ad that will move your readers to take action. Hopefully, not of the...
Apr 28, 1997
It occurred to me as I was flipping through the pages of a leading trade publication recently that yet another advertiser was attempting to use the slogan, "Whatever It Takes." Upon further investigation, I confirmed at least four companies (Digital, Aristech, Torrington and Bank One) that have adopted this line...
Mar 17, 1997
Bill Bernbach once said, "it's not just what you say that stirs people, it's the way that you say it." Certainly, we advertising practitioners understand the tremendous boost that creativity can give to a communications program's effectiveness. But, for some reason, the people we labor so hard to please don't...
Mar 11, 1996
I was recently asked to conduct a competitive advertising survey for a client in the industrial valves industry. It made me sad and angry at the same time, because I remember a time fifteen or twenty years ago when valves was a hotly contested category and valve advertising was among...
May 08, 1995
In his recent book, The Pursuit of WOW! (Vintage Books 1994), Tom Peters encourages managers to ask themselves the question, "What are you doing that's neat?" It's a great question, because if you're like me, you probably spend the vast majority of your time doing decidedly ordinary things. Most of...