1. Credit Card Idea

    I love credit card marketing.

    The little tugs at human psychology, and the behavioral economic tricks that these companies use, are fascinating. The “History of the Credit Card” is one of my favorite pieces of media.

    One of credit card marketing moves that I love most, is card personalization with photos. 

    The idea here is simple really. If you have three credit cards in your wallet, one American Airlines Mastercard, one Chase Rewards Visa, and another Capital One Visa with a photo of your kids on it, guess which one will be used most? That little bit of personalization, means top-of-wallet.

    And top of wallet is what credit card companies are after most.

    Now this would never happen, but my semi-evil idea for enhancement of this card personalization, would be to slowly fade out your kids photo (Back to the Future style), if you didn’t use your card enough. Keep using the card, and the photo stays sharp. Switch over to a different card, or slow your spending…and your photo fades away.


  2. "Five or six years ago, a standalone YouTube video or Facebook app could have been relatively successful. Today, marketers must plan social media activations in conjunction with above and below-the-line campaign media spending. Most brands have invested in creating platform presences (e.g. Twitter handles and Facebook pages) and can now leverage those ecosystems efficiently. Marketers that don’t integrate channels or leverage platform expertise will end up paying a lot more for results than the competition."
    Peter Kim, chief strategy officer, Dachis Group.

  3. Behind the scenes at a McDonald’s photo shoot


  4. Awesome new Lego work from German agency Jung von Mat.

    Awesome new Lego work from German agency Jung von Mat.


  5. "Long past its cool prime and far too large to be hip, Starbucks, by going all-in on digital, gets insight into the wants and needs of today’s connected consumers in a way that keeps the brand top of mind. What we have, then, is a technology-steeped version of Starbucks that’s equal parts power retailer and innovator."
    Starbucks, the tech company

  6. "Premium pricing is rationalized in part by ensuring consumers’ awareness that real people are touching (or “curating”) the things they buy. Next to those beautiful $10 containers of fruit in the produce department, Whole Foods posts signs announcing that these goods are not only natural or organic, but were cut up by hand by real people named Miranda, Steve, or Bethina. To drive this personal touch home, Whole Foods features store employees’ names and sketches throughout the store on well-placed chalkboards."
    How Whole Foods Became The Luxury Brand Of Millennials

  7. Nike Digital Sport

    Traditional ad spend down, in favor of more digital innovation and tracking/use of consumer data. Love everything about this.

    But Digital Sport is not just about creating must-have sports gadgets. Getting so close to its consumers’ data holds exceptional promise for one of the world’s greatest marketers: It means it can follow them, build an online community for them, and forge a tighter relationship with them than ever before. It’s part of a bigger, broader effort to shift the bulk of Nike’s marketing efforts into the digital realm — and it marks the biggest change in Beaverton since the creation of just do it, or even since a graphic design student at Portland State University put pen to paper and created the Swoosh.

    Nike’s new marketing mojo.


  8. The Brilliant Marketing Of Diamonds

    I was just talking about this with Brad last night. Now there is a great piece in The Atlantic, about DeBeers, and the history of the diamond’s place in love. Spoiler alert…it’s all in the marketing.

    My favorite passage from the article:

    De Beers needed a slogan for diamonds that expressed both the theme of romance and legitimacy. An N. W. Ayer copywriter came up with the caption “A Diamond Is Forever,” which was scrawled on the bottom of a picture of two young lovers on a honeymoon. Even though diamonds can in fact be shattered, chipped, discolored, or incinerated to ash, the concept of eternity perfectly captured the magical qualities that the advertising agency wanted to attribute to diamonds. Within a year, “A Diamond Is Forever” became the official motto of De Beers.

    In 1951, N. W. Ayer found some resistance to its million-dollar publicity blitz. It noted in its annual strategy review:

    The millions of brides and brides-to-be are subjected to at least two important pressures that work against the diamond engagement ring. Among the more prosperous, there is the sophisticated urge to be different as a means of being smart…. the lower-income groups would like to show more for the money than they can find in the diamond they can afford…
    To remedy these problems, the advertising agency argued, “It is essential that these pressures be met by the constant publicity to show that only the diamond is everywhere accepted and recognized as the symbol of betrothal.”

    Full article here.


  9. Pictures of the ladies, apparently still work. Two out of the three ads I’m seeing on Facebook right now, use photos of cute girls. One is for a beekeeping kit (awful targeting btw) and the other is for content sourcing.

    Pictures of the ladies, apparently still work. Two out of the three ads I’m seeing on Facebook right now, use photos of cute girls. One is for a beekeeping kit (awful targeting btw) and the other is for content sourcing.


  10. Scumbag marketer.

    Scumbag marketer.


About me

Boston guy, creative thinker, digital doer, restless mind. I'm an advisor at Custom Made and Vice President, Digital/Social Strategy at Hill Holliday. Thoughts are my own.

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