Local Need Not Equal Yokel

Local Need Not Equal Yokel

As a child of not-the-90s, I grew up watching reruns of Leave It to Beaver, The Andy Griffith Show and Get Smart on the local UHF channel. Which means most of the commercials interrupting my quality time in the Cone of Silence were for local businesses. And while some...
Local Need Not Equal Yokel

Battle of the USPs

Whenever I sit down to write one of these columns, I worry that, at best, I’ll just be adding to the noise. After all, there isn’t exactly a dearth of blogs, columns, articles, books, conferences, tweets, clubs, pamphlets or banner ads about marketing, branding and...
Local Need Not Equal Yokel

Your Brand vs. The World

Do you know who your competition is? This is not a trick question. Nor am I expecting you to answer in the negative (although if you did I’d like to interview for that CMO position you so desperately and obviously need). Rather, I would bet that you know exactly who...
The Obligatory Super Hole X

The Obligatory Super Hole X

The Obligatory Super Hole X Get excited, America and all parts beyond: Super Hole X is upon you. Indeed, this is the tenth time I have expunged all enjoyment from watching the Super Bowl so that I may proffer my opinions on the commercials contained therein to, as...
Local Need Not Equal Yokel

How to Work with Your Ad Agency

Perhaps you’re a small business owner who works with an equally small design shop. Maybe you’re a marketing manager at a medium-sized enterprise who continually interacts with a quiver of ad agencies regarding media plans, content calendars and integrated campaigns....
Local Need Not Equal Yokel

The Language of Brand Irrelevance

It’s been 26 years since the comic strip Dilbert introduced us to the Pointy-Haired Boss. And 16 summers have passed since the movie “Office Space” asked us if we got that memo. (Yes, and we’ll read it right after stapling that cover sheet to our TPS report when we...