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What Craft Beer Can Teach Your Brand About Storytelling
Why are craft beer companies so great at telling their stories? Simple: because these scrappy upstarts actually have stories to tell—often they were built from the ground up on the basis of those...
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Getting Marketing Miles Out of Your Superfans
In my tween years I was a huge fan of the WWE (then the World Wrestling Federation). I would watch every episode of Superstars of Wrestling and Saturday Night’s Main Event, among other various WWE...
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6 TV Ads That Will Grip You With Their Story
Television advertising has traditionally been seen as an interruptive yet creative means of exposing audiences to a brand. There’s no denying the massive audience that television commands, not only in...
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The Difference Between Fun and Useful Content in Social Sharing
To say I’m not much of a handyman would be an understatement. I’m my father’s son—a Boston sports fan through and through, hardworking and always trying to please. But he and I know absolutely nothing...
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4 Lessons in Creating Dynamic Social Content
Why would I care? Why would I share? These are two key questions that Droga5’s chief creative officer, Ted Royer, says his agency considers when creating social content for brands on Facebook. Royer...
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Why It’s a Mistake For Brands to Ignore Tumblr
Pretend I’m someone who understands the basics of the Internet but has never used a social platform. Now let me ask you: What’s Facebook? What’s Twitter? What’s Instagram? Most answers, at least from...
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An Open Letter to Nutella: Why Did You Eliminate Your Greatest Marketing Asset?
My dearest Nutella, For decades your hazelnut spread has turned everyday consumers into product purists. From brownies and cookies to hot chocolate and crepes, Nutella has been the cornerstone of a...
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Not Everyone is a Storyteller
Lately, everyone in advertising has become a “storyteller” specializing in “engaging content.” This isn’t true, of course. But I understand why everyone’s making the claim: Digital is the only part of...
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What Billions of Cicadas Taught Me About Storytelling
The cicadas are coming. Billions of buzzing (relatively harmless) insects will descend upon the eastern United States from Georgia to New England in the coming weeks. If you’re not familiar with them,...
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Getting the News into “Brand Newsrooms”
Celebrating Oreo’s now-famous twi-jacking (Or is it “twit-jacking?”) of the Super Bowl for the brand’s own milk-and-cookies purposes, the ad business erupted early this year with ecstatic chatter about...
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5 Types of Social Media Content Your Audience Really Wants
Why do we follow brands? What’s the point? They’re not our friends. We’re not going to make plans with them on a Friday night or invite them to our birthday parties (though some we would if we could)....
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5 Social Media Tips to Ignore
Do a quick Google search or scour the front pages of your favorite social media blogs and you’ll find a seemingly endless array of articles providing you with tips and advice on social media (this blog...
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Why Instagram Isn’t a Vine Killer
Make no mistake about it. The launch of Instagram Video (wholly owned by Facebook) is a shot across, if not directly into, the bow of Vine’s ship (wholly owned by Twitter). Instagram’s already...
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For Second Screen Engagement, Twitter Leads the Pack
Last fall my favorite TV show was American Horror Story. I enjoyed all the twists and turns, but more than that, I loved getting together online with friends and perfect strangers every Wednesday night...
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There’s No Content Like No Content
I’m annoyed to see Google’s use of a Rembrandt self-portrait across their logo today, on the 470th anniversary of his death. I live a short way from Kenwood House in London, home to one of...
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Can Digital Save Retail?
My wife and I have a baby on the way. Literally any day now he or she (we don’t know which) could arrive. We’re as excited and terrified as all first-time parents are, fully aware that our lives will...
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Adopt or Die: The Anxiety of Checking In on Foursquare
I’m a social media early adopter. I should be, considering I write for a digital content marketing agency’s blog. I post photos on Instagram, share thought nuggets and articles on Twitter, argue on...
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How Story Platforms Help Global Brands Go Local
While the current turmoil in Cairo may obscure the post-revolutionary optimism that pervaded the city last winter, that mood was powerful at the time. Despite the chaos in the virtual absence of...
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Why Telemarketers are the Worst Brand Storytellers
There’s a certain feeling I get, and I’m sure we all get, when I answer the telephone and am greeted by a telemarketer. There are a few feelings, actually. Sort of like the five stages of grief. First,...
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“Boris” Bikes and Barclays’ Problem with Authority
London’s rammed with bicycles. Everyone’s on two wheels. It’s fun, cheap, and good for you. Barclays-branded hire bikes are everywhere. But no one thinks of the sponsor when they pick up their wheels:...
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