Everybody likes validation from Experts from time to time, even me. Here’s a little secret, though: true capital-E Experts are really good at making it up as they go along. The bad news for us is there are also frauds – “experts” – who will take you for a ride. Here’s how to tell the difference. Exhibit #1: Captain […]
A friend recently discovered one of my comics (Are You Burnt Out?) posted over on Cheezburger with my logo removed from it. Essentially, somebody took my signature off my painting. Turns out, some folks in the UK decided to crop out my logo and post the comic as their own. Somebody else who thought it […]
Context and consistency shape our perceptions, make or break markets, and subsequently shape our purchasing decisions. Don’t believe me? Follow me down this rabbit hole, if you would: Seemingly random idea #1: Microsoft’s marketing is drunk at the wheel Did no one vet Microsoft’s newest marketing campaign? No viewer testing, first? Sara Bareilles’ “Brave” happily […]
Somewhat selfishly, I co-opted this month’s Word Carnival topic to talk about mental health. It’s not something we tend to talk about very often and we – collectively, as a race – are drowning to death in denial. Depression and anxiety are thieves. They steal time and experiences away from us. WTF Marketing was founded […]
Seriously, what good is a marketing company – or any business for that matter – if it doesn’t support its community? After my last two textbookian blogs, I decided this week it’s better to show than to tell. In that light, I have a story to tell you – and a favor to ask. Meet Mike Conley: Mike’s […]
Looking for the first part of this series? Click here. Let’s recap the problem: nobody knows what the hell marketing is, which causes no end of confusion for small business owners who are just trying to land their next customer to pay bills and keep the lights on. I issued a scathing indictment of the […]
I’d like to talk about something that has always bothered me: that nobody knows what the hell marketing really is. Now, I’ll warn you right now that this post is a little… theory heavy. But stick with me – you’re gonna learn something in two blog posts that cost me $70,000 and 9 years. To do […]
I can prove it, too. I’ve actually written about this before, but I didn’t really tell you what to do about it. I will, today. But first, a brief aside – one of my heroes is Leo Laporte: Before he started his own freakin’ network, Leo ran a show on TechTV (which later became ZDNet) […]
An estimated 110 million fans watch the Super Bowl (my guess is many of them for the ads, too). Every 30-second ad spot costs about $4 million, which is about 4 cents per impression. Simultaneously some of the most expensive and least expensive advertising you can get. A lot of fuss is made over the ads, […]
This month’s Word Carnival topic is Parentpreneurs: What Being a Parent Can Teach You About Business. You might not know this, but I recently became a father. Actually, very few people knew about it… I didn’t even tell my own family until my wife was about 6 months along, so don’t feel bad if you […]
