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Super Bowl TV Spots — Some Score, Some Fail

26-year old Vanessa watched the TV commercials during the 2020 Super Bowl game so she didn’t have to listen to her boyfriend complain about the lousy officiating. Many viewers watched the spots hoping to be entertained. However, most of the approximately 100 million viewers watched the spots because they didn’t …

Using Fun and Technology For Success In An Age-Old Industry

There are few types of businesses that can trace their beginnings back as far as breweries, pubs, and taverns. Brewing beer or ale is a process that is 4-5,000 years old, according to most references. Wikipedia says: “Ale was an important source of nutrition in the medieval world. Table beer …

Gender Roles Have Changed. Has Your Marketing?

As a reader of this blog, you’re interested in marketing and pay attention to what’s going on in our industry. You have a good idea of what works and what doesn’t. One thing you would never, ever do is overtly stereotype gender roles in marketing you create. Your ads wouldn’t …

Has Creativity in Marketing Been Replaced by Effectivity?

There are always situations when creativity isn’t needed to sell something. Maybe you own the only gas station on a 100-mile stretch of desert between Las Vegas and L.A. Perhaps you’re selling beachfront property in Florida after Brad Pitt moves in next door. Or maybe you decide to dump your …

Marketing to Kids: Not Exactly Child’s Play

“Kid Influencer” is a new term. But asking children to urge other children to convince their parents to buy something is nothing new. It’s been used to hawk toys, toy stores and cereals for just about as long as advertising existed in the U.S. I remember hearing about “secret decoder” …

Weddings Still Provide Big Paydays for Small Businesses

“Poor Dan,” I said to my wife as I cut into my filet. “This wedding must have cost him a bundle.” Dan is my neighbor. We were attending his daughter’s wedding reception at the historic Renaissance Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. Dan and his wife have been our neighbors for a long …

The Secrets of the Marketing Wizards

Young man gazing at the glowing crystal ball.

My Uncle Fred was the first true marketing wizard I ever met. As the proprietor of Farris Food Market on the east side of Youngstown, he knew how to cast a spell. I was seven years old, but I noticed his craft and I had lots of questions. “Why does …

Ownership Makes Celebrity Endorsements Stronger

Celebrity endorsements have been on the rise since Hall of Fame baseball player Babe Ruth began promoting “Babe Ruth Underwear” and “Ruth’s Home Run” chocolate in 1927. In the last 10 years or so, TV and movie stars have jumped on the bandwagon that used to be reserved only for …