A funny thing happens on the way to success. Why is it that when a band becomes “mainstream”, their original fans start to hate them? Let’s listen to their conversations. “They used to be great until I heard them on the radio.” “They were awesome, but they’re getting too big now.” “I used to like [...]

Spend more of your disposable income, you selfish first-world asshole.
We see personal benefit appeals, sentimental appeals and fear-based appeals all the time. But what about guilt-based appeals?
This is what guilt-based appeals look like from the consumer’s end.

Should a company want everyone to buy their product? From a sales standpoint, it’s an obvious YES. But from a branding perspective, could it hurt you in the long run?

Seinfeld is still as strong as ever, 10 years after kicking the bucket. It’s spawned countless immortal pop culture lines, but as a marketing aficionado, one that’s always stuck with me is “Why does Radio Shack ask for your phone number when you buy batteries?” A good question, albeit a very old one. (and let’s [...]