Jingle bells and shock jocks
In case you haven’t heard, the holiday season is upon us. Trees, lights, gifts – and the airwaves are all jingle bells. A few times a month I’m a volunteer on-air host at our local community radio station. Now…I’m no Howard Stern or Rush Limbaugh. The stuff I talk about is the local bake sale, not politics.…
The incredible melting client list
I woke up to six inches of snow the other morning. Winter has truly arrived in these frigid parts. It’s interesting to watch the “snow cycle” around here. After each snowfall, the pile on the deck outside my home gets higher, and the snow towards the bottom of the pile compresses and becomes a solid,…
How Tommy Hilfiger was almost too embarrassed to succeed
I was watching this documentary about advertising agencies on Netflix the other day. Called Art & Copy, it was like Mad Men. But real. These ad guys sure are creative. One example is the original ad that launched the career of fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger. The ad was very simple. It said… The 4 Great American…
Your business and eating a KitKat
Guilt is a terrible thing. Especially when it’s not warranted. The guilt I feel when I wolf down a KitKat is one thing. I probably deserve that guilt. But sometimes I run into people who feel guilty about marketing their businesses. Some, for example, say they want to contact people only quarterly, because more than…
He said he would never read it
It’s not often I get out and about and meet prospects and clients. Most of our business is online and over the phone with clients across North America. But it just happened that these insurance guys in the village needed a newsletter. So we meet – in the local diner. There’s the marketing guy and…
Your clients are like cats
Here’s news of research that confirms what every cat owner already knows. …and what every dog lover gleefully expects. While cats can recognize their owners’ voices, they CHOOSE whether to respond to them. Cats are so cool – so confident that they will get fed and loved no matter what – that they’re just “whatever”…
The secret of Crater Lake
If you’re out and about in Oregon, you might eventually come across Crater Lake. It’s the bluest, blue-blue lake you’ll ever see. And it’s very deep. Thousands of years ago, a volcano there exploded, throwing tons of rocky debris into the sky and leaving a massive hole where the cone once was. Then over time,…
Grabbing every cookie
When I was a kid, it was critical that I got my “fair” share of cookies. Imagine, if you will, me and my little brother at the kitchen table. And six cookies on a plate. Now, the most important thing was that I got three cookies… because that was my fair share. Whether I was…
The incredible archive of Marion Stokes
The life’s work of Marion Stokes is packed into 140,000 VHS tapes that fill four shipping containers. On those tapes is an archive of news broadcasts dating back to 1977. What started as a hobby for Stokes – recording the most important events from the news – turned into a tremendously valuable archive. She recorded…
Bloodthirsty dictator too tired to kill
So I read this news story the other day about an African dictator who took control of his country in a military coup. But now he’s regretting it…because he’s not getting enough sleep and he’s tired all the time. Yeah, a bloody uprising can really put a harsh on your sweet dreams. Guess he wishes he’d stayed…
The library with no books
So I got an email from my old school yesterday. They’re building a new library (aren’t they always?) and they wanted money to help furnish it. In the email was a cool video – one of those architect’s renderings that flies you through the space, like a ghost. So I watched it. And you know…
Why it pays to be a little bit famous
It’s a bizarre world we live in. …where Justin Bieber gets more airtime than cancer researchers. …where Lady Gaga (a friend here at RTG, admittedly) has more fans than someone who works in African orphanages. …and where Rob Ford… OK, we won’t go there. But you must pay attention to why this is. To be…
The dumbest thing he ever did
I was talking to someone the other day who said this: Pulling the plug on my personal marketing was the dumbest thing I ever did in my career. Whoah! Actually, recognizing where things went wrong and trying to fix them is actually quite smart. But he’s right to say that stopping his personal marketing was…
Whole Foods, the McRib and something real
I was in a Whole Foods the other day. It’s not often I get to visit one of these emporium. Good thing probably (says my credit card). Now…I believe I’ve got the Whole Foods thing figured out. People don’t go to Whole Foods because they want great food (which it is, by the way) or because…
The guy who split the atom in his kitchen
Did you hear about the man in Sweden who tried to split the atom on his kitchen stove? Apparently he was successful in creating a small meltdown – but then had second thoughts because it might not be legal to set off a nuclear reaction in one’s apartment. Turns out he was probably right. The police raided…
How to indentify your best prospects and clients
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could tell who was most likely to hire you or buy something from you? T’would save you a lot of time and uncertainly, right? The good news is, you can. Kind of. You see, when you send an email newsletter, you can get a report on who has opened it…
Living with “the world’s greatest invention”
Back in my old newspaper days, when I was working on a daily morning publication, l lived by deadlines. There was the deadline for getting news stories to the news editor. The deadline for laying out the first page. The deadline for editing the articles. And the deadline for getting the paper to press. And…
What Downton Abbey can teach you about newsletters
Cora: “I hate to go behind Robert’s back.” Lady Grantham: “That is a scruple no successful wife can afford.” Attention Downton Abbey fans – it’s back in the New Year. If you watch it, I’m betting you have a favorite character. And I’d wager big that it’s the Dowager Duchess, Lady Grantham. Maggie Smith is a fine…
When salt is the new vitamin
So now they say that butter is good for you. And salt ain’t that bad either. …Think I’ll go scarf down a big salty buttery bagel. (Oh, I’m not a doctor, so do your own research before you follow my lead and open that giant bag of pretzels.) I relish these about-turns. Just when you get to…
How to channel your inner Lady Gaga
The other day I saw Lady Gaga on a chat show. The singer had hair that was four feet high, like a shocked porcupine. Then half way through the segment, the host called up one of Gaga’s fans using Skype – his face was transmitted directly into the studio. This guy was probably the biggest fan…