I call Adpulp, "The Chronicle of Bright Ideas," because I'm a collector and admirer of smart thinking and elegant doing. After a long week with my head inside a strategy deck, I'm now choosing to unwind on Saturday morning by reflecting more deeply on three articles in my queue. 1- "Brand First" Is the Wrong Position Steve Bryant is a storytelling weirdo at Article Group. He makes a great point about the …
Forging An Ironclad Brand Gives Us Much-Needed Marketing Basics and More
In an age where so many books on branding and marketing resort to a gimmicky approach, it’s refreshing to get a back-to-basics but comprehensive look at the business. That’s what we get with Lindsay Pedersen’s Forging an Ironclad Brand: A Leader’s Guide. This book really is a lengthy Branding 101 lesson. Pedersen starts with defining a modern brand and works her way towards demonstrating how to develop brand …
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Advertising Is A Critical Spoke On the Marketing Communications Wheel
Advertising lives at the top of the customer experience funnel. Thus, it's important to make and run great advertising. It's equally important to realize that no matter how high quality the ads, and how spot-on the messaging is, advertising is only one of several important parts of the customer's experience journey. Smart brand managers use advertising to build awareness and drive purchase intent. From there, …
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Our Relationship To Money Is Changing, Visa Wants To Talk About It
Women today are challenging gender norms and tackling taboo topics, but there’s one taboo topic that remains unaddressed: money. According to research, Millennial women feel more comfortable talking about sex than money. Visa wants to change that. This week, Visa is launching phase two of its popular social and digital series ‘Money is Changing’ with the help of its agency partner, Decoded …
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Sonic Branding And The Sound of Newly Minted Money
Sonic branding is catching on. Just last week, Mastercard unveiled their new sonic identity not long after their move to a new wordless logo. Mastercard, unlike so many others, recognizes the power of sound to help distinguish themselves in a crowded marketplace. Furthermore, with the explosion of smart speaker devices on the horizon, the time is right for brands to figure out their sonic brand. For brands …
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The Danish Way: Probably Perfect Pilsners In Sustainable Packaging
"Small refinements make a big difference." This is a line from the new Carlsberg commercial. The statement is emblematic. "The Danish mindset and the philosophy of our founder of 'always pursuing better,' has driven the brand since its creation in 1847," says Julian Marsili, Global Brand Director. "Probably the best beer in the world?" You don't see this kind of humility from a leading brand every day. The thing …
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Make Sure Your Brand’s Audio Is In Tune
Do you recognize these sounds? Which brands do they represent? All of these brands carry a distinctive sound. Apple’s power up sound; it’s simple and elegant just like the brand. I can almost imagine Steve Jobs chanting this on one his meditative retreats. NBC’s three-note tag is a mnemonic. It helps you remember the brand by singing the name to the melody. Lengthening a bit, McDonald’s has the ear-worm, melody …
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Kraft Foods Comes Through In the Clutch
A job with the federal government may not be the most exciting job, but it offers some stability and the benefits are great. The downside, as we continue to learn, is that the federal government routinely sputters and like a normal business that's poorly run, shuts down. During the present shutdown, now in its 3ist day, 800,000 federal workers are without pay. This is leadership at its worst. Meanwhile, corporate …
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