At the outbreak of WWII the entire nation of Switzerland was fully mobilized for invasion in just 3 days. Their strategy was to cede the cities and fight from the Alps. Fortunately, a full scale invasion never materialized preserving beautiful hamlets like St. Moritz. We recently went skiing there followed by visits to Lake Como and some family in Lake Lugano. At dinner one night we marveled at their ability to transition between English, German, French and Italian seamlessly. They didn’t realize they were speaking Frenglish or Germalian – it was second nature. However social media evolves, these hybrid people culturally have a distinct advantage to adapt woven into their DNA.
The Boutiquefication of our Business.
Boutiquefication. I like it. And I called it. What am I laying claim to exactly? The tipping point for an interesting consumer trend happening right now simultaneously in key categories including food, footwear, apparel, dining, skin care, healthcare remedies, software, to name a few.
A Looney View #3: Tulum
For our latest mini-adventure we biked to Coba’, home of Nohoch Mul, the largest temple pyramid in the Yucatan Peninsula. To get there you must bike for miles on beautiful narrow paths in the jungle, then suddenly, bam, there it is, piercing the green canopy. Nothing is more exciting than a grand reveal. Coba grew to 50,000 people, but was abandoned and nearly forgotten for nearly 400 years. Even the grandest schemes can all but disappear without constant maintenance. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMQPXCYCMPs&feature=youtu.be[/embed]
A heads-up for hedge funds
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It’s been more than a year since the SEC approved Rule 506 of Reg. D permitting the use of general solicitation and advertising. Broadstone Net Lease, a growing REIT, wasted little time thereafter marketing to new investors lowering their minimum from $500k to $250k and admitted approximately 300 new investors.
A Looney View #2: Ecuador
We rec'd a lot of feedback on team Looney's recent summit of Gros Piton. Turns out they've traveled to every continent and more than 25% of the countries in the world. So we've decided to have them share something small they've learned in each country when the mood strikes.
A Looney View: Gros Piton
We're back from vacation well-rested and rejuvenated. Hiking Gros Piton with my son further proved that lean and mean is far more efficient than big and bulky.
What is your brand strategy IQ?
There’s a fair amount of bad marketing out there. Where did things go wrong? It’s usually well before the creative was developed or the media was planned. It’s right at the beginning during the brand strategy process…or perhaps lack thereof.
What the Hell is a Creative Strategist?
The best marketing starts with a really smart brand strategy. You don't need layers. You need access to experts who can define and differentiate your brand up front. Every creative and media decision after that is a lot more efficient.
Liquid Lunch
People have been working hard for months. Quite a few late nights. I didn't see this yesterday, but spied this tonight. Already half polished off. There's always funky stuff in the agency fridge. This one made me smile.
Cross-Pollination
It’s brilliant. Useful. Innovative. Durable. It’s cheap. It’s made out of cardboard. And it’s a bicycle. I first saw it on IPPINKA.com, and then I read about it in Fast Company.
On Agency Culture
We just hired another bright person, so I recently reviewed our Employee Handbook--mostly a guide filled with an overview of nuts and bolts and some legal stuff our lawyers included. At the very end I came across a small paragraph meant to give new employees a window into our culture and what we expect.
Most of us are inspired by the underdog. Very few would choose to be one.
I’ve been completely humbled by the stories behind the athletes at the summer Olympics. A silver-haired 39-year old gymnast who can still hold himself parallel to the ground. A mother of twins who came back to win gold after not placing in the previous two Olympics.
Need creative inspiration? Don't be afraid to get dirty.
We used to run to survive. To catch dinner. Perhaps to escape someone chasing us with a club. Fast forward a few centuries and now we run to stay in shape or to organize our thoughts. Talk about being born at the right time. But even for enthusiasts that live to put one foot after the other, mile after mile, running gets tedious sometimes. That’s why there are different distances, trails and races. It’s great motivation to set new goals for a new challenge.
Stack Me Up
StackMeup
When we launched this site a friend of mine who ran a large company said, “I thought you own an ad agency?” This was before even a small handful of shops even had internal content labs. That was the thinking back then. Now it’s completely different of course.
NFL
We helped this premiere entertainment icon understand that they were the only brand in the country that could combine their brand campaign with a merchandising campaign under our "12th man" strategy.
Gelazzi
Goodbye Cruel World
Jan Horsfall used to be my client on another brand. Now he owns this franchise. An incredible guy that always made decisions like an entrepreneur rather than a ‘marketing executive.’
Panera Bread
Panera Bread
Panera was perceived to be a bakery or sandwich place by light users. We focused on their assets (ingredients, preparation, ambiance, kids meals, etc) and tied everything together with a “Details" strategy, which was co-opted nationally.
New Balance
New Balance
To influence runners, you need to influence the influencers. We had no budget for this project, so we targeted elite runners with this grassroots campaign at high-end marathons starting in Chicago.
Physicians Formula
Physicians Formula
We worked with this challenger brand for 6 or 7 years and watched them grow 20-30% a year. There were 7 reasons why they consistently outpaced the competition; more efficient media buying from our partners at WMI was one of them and a much faster, more intuitive product innovation process was another.
Ironshore
Ironshore Innovation
We worked with this challenger brand for 6 or 7 years and watched them grow 20-30% a year. There were 7 reasons why they consistently outpaced the competition; more efficient media buying from our partners at WMI was one of them and a much faster, more intuitive product innovation process was another.