It’s been awhile since 2011, when Daniel Kahneman wrote “Thinking Fast and Slow,” and definitively provided an answer to something marketers had long suspected: emotion is the first level of all decision making, and rationality is the second (if the rational system even plays a role at all).  More dominoes fell in favor of this … More Even Though Marketing is Responding to Emotion, the Wider Businesses Still Aren’t

I’ve been thinking a lot about “aspirational” marketing lately.  The phrase was one I heard constantly during my decade in advertising, especially from the agency side, as teams tried to sell through a particularly slick concept. It seemed to function as a blanket term one could apply that translated roughly to… doing cool stuff in … More Aspirational Marketing Represents Whose Aspiration, Really?

Over the years, I’ve had many clients bring me research needs and objectives that are truly thorny challenges, requiring an experienced hand.  And… I’ve also had requests for research bordering on the ridiculously simple, such as requests to understand mostly observable behavior or to ask consumers straightforward questions with quickly-explainable rationale. My next research fallacy … More When Research Isn’t for the Pros, and DIY has a Place

I’m writing a little series of posts on Fridays that involve common consumer research errors, illusions, and falsehoods in a series of posts I’m calling, “Research Fallacy Fridays.” Because: alliteration. To get this series started, I want to begin with a really straightforward (and yet maddening) one:  RESEARCH FALLACY 1: Starting a focus group with … More Why Starting a Focus Group with an Intro Kills Time and the Vibe

This post is a continuation of the series I have written about the 40 known subjects I interviewed as part of an informal qualitative research study on COVID-19. If you didn’t read part 1 first, it is here. If you need to read part 2, it is here. If you already both, keep reading…   … More Post THREE: Life, Interrupted, Emotions in the 2nd and 3rd week of coronavirus

This post is a continuation of the series I have written about the 40 known subjects I interviewed as part of an informal qualitative research study on Covid 19. If you didn’t read part 1 first, it is here. If you already read that one, keep reading…   Post 2: Inner Emotional Lives During Early … More Post TWO: Life, Interrupted– Emotions in the 2nd and 3rd week of coronavirus

Post 1: How People Feel about the Virus, Loss of Lifestyle, and Facing the Scale of the Problem Study Background How People Felt about the Virus Feelings About Loss of Lifestyle Emotions When Facing the Scale of the Problem “I vacillate between, ‘it’s gonna be OK,’ and ‘I gotta get my go-bag ready and get … More Life, Interrupted— Emotions in the 2nd and 3rd week of coronavirus in the USA

I researched and published piece about “Bro Culture” in advertising as part of my work with the 3% Conference a few years ago, and in attempting to keep an impartial distance from the research while I was conducting it (and out of not wanting my own experience to overshadow the experiences of the women who … More My Experience of Bro-Culture Pushed Me Out of the Business

  “You take what is flowing down the testosterone train or get left behind” Is advertising agency culture so ‘pro-bro’ that it ends up becoming ‘anti-woman’? In the past few years, more and more women have been appointed to helm departments and agencies, and the ad agency world has been patting itself on the collective … More Bro Culture in Ad Agencies and the Impact on Women

  Harley is a commonly-cited example of a great brand, and its many practices have been praised and written about over the decades. There are dozens of ways Harley works hard to create the mystique and experience of the Harley brand— an American icon. Marketing pundits often point to the way the brand creates customer … More Harley Davidson and the Power of Naming

Today, I paid a visit to the newly-opened “Amazon Books” store here in Seattle. For everyone who isn’t familiar with the venture, chances are you weren’t anywhere near the internet the week of November 6th, 2015— because it went bananas over the tech giant’s decision to open a physical store. Initially, I’d regarded the University … More Amazon Books and the Power of Affirmation

As soon as one crosses into South Dakota on I-90— immediately, billboards begin to be strewn along the desolate highway. Some old and some new, these boards are full of charming and disarming phrases, finishing with a promise of miles remaining until the Destination You Didn’t Know You Had: “Wall Drug, only 361 miles.” It’s … More Wall Drug and the Tyranny of Advertising