Humans need stories. Good brand marketing gives them meaning.

We all remember stories. We invent stories. We have to explain why. Some scientists say that humans are different from all other primates because we need explanations, reasons — the why?— to understand the meaning of what happens in our world. We primates live in a way of seeing our past and future; the stories…

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Not Enough Microchips or Ketchup, Now That’s a Problem

How human behavior shifts everything in markets. When the pandemic came, how people lived, what they did and how life occurred for millions of people changed overnight. Restaurants were shuttered, toilet paper and cleaning supplies disappeared off the shelves and people stopped driving and worked from home, hunkered down with their laptops. Human behavior is…

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An inventor walked into a bar one day….

How innovation and ideas thrive where people mix and connect informally. Bars, taverns, pubs, and saloons have long acted as social hubs that stimulate ideas, conversations, and innovation. English taverns were the primary social gathering place for both the high and low classes into the late 17th century. The innovative ideas of the American Revolution…

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What’s With All the Rebrands?

At the end of last year and moving into 2021 there’s been a flurry of corporate rebranding moves by some very big companies. Everyone from Target to GM to Pfizer has shifted their look, rebranded, and created or updated a new brand story around this. Many of them are recognizing they need to live in…

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You’re everywhere and nowhere and nobody’s listening

Lost in the Digital World. Brands for the most part now exist only online. As we deal with the continued pandemic we’re all disconnected and have little physical interaction with places, people, companies, and experiences. With the exception of that occasional grocery store visit, it’s impossible to have in-person contact for just about any connected…

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How 2020 Disrupted Our World, Redefined Brands and How We Connect.

From presidential elections to a global pandemic the world we were so familiar with has dramatically changed to a virtual and isolated world. But there is a silver lining. Although we’re not exactly connecting the way we did in the past our completely disrupted world is creating whole new possibilities. When normal ways of doing…

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How the Lonely QR Code Found a Purpose in a Pandemic.

When it was launched back in 1994 who knew that it would create a whole new form of customer/brand engagement? Invented by DENSO, a Japanese company, QR code was touted as a means of getting you to view large amounts of content quickly. Mind you there were no smartphones to scan with then. Originally, awkward…

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COVID-19 and Keeping the Brand Connection

When the pandemic began everyone initially thought this can’t last that long. This crisis has now become way more dramatic. In just a few short weeks, people have shifted into protection mode, focusing on themselves, their families, their employees, their customers, and their communities. Social media reflects this, with pleas for fellow citizens to follow…

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