Repurpose
When I was in high school, no one visited the guidance counselor. I mean NO ONE. He was a creepy hippy-turned-teacher who sat alone in his third-floor office, waiting for someone to show up and ask for help. We students thought asking for help was an act of surrender. A sign of weakness. An admission…
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Hi – Last week I sent an email about the welcome message I send to new subscribers. I later realized the questions I ask new subscribers are relevant to longtime subscribers, too. So I’m reaching out to ask… Why do you subscribe to my list and open these emails? What do you hope to learn/accomplish here? Any…
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In early January, when the St. Louis Blues were in the National Hockey League cellar with the fewest points of any team, Interim Head Coach Craig Berube tore the standings from the locker room wall. Yesterday, hours before the Blues clinched the Western Conference championship and punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final, a…
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In 1774, King Frederick II of Prussia was ruling over a land ravaged by famine. He urged farmers to plant potatoes to end the famine. But back then, potatoes were considered livestock feed in Eastern Europe, not suitable for human consumption. So farmers defied the king and didn’t plant them… …until King Frederick changed marketing…
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I was at a concert last night and heard some lyrics that made me think: “That’s a great marketing lesson.” (I couldn’t help it. That’s where my mind goes). Here are those lyrics from an old Kris Kristofferson song called “To Beat the Devil:” If you waste your time a talkingTo the people who don’t…
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As I entered a quick shop yesterday, I noticed a guy walking out who looked down on his luck. He stopped by the door and pulled from his shirt pocket a half-smoked, crooked cigarette butt. He bent it back into shape, lit up and took a long drag. When I walked out of the store,…
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A few months ago, I asked my 21-year-old daughter to help me lug trash from the three barrels next to our house to the dumpster in the alley. She was home from college for a couple of weeks, and I thought she could pitch in. She shot me one of those looks that said, “Dad,…
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My pal Adam Kreitman sent me (and everyone else on his list) a great email today that compared the current frenzy over podcasting to the California Gold Rush. Here’s some of what Adam wrote: “There were a few lucky folks who struck it rich mining for gold. However, the people who really made money during the Gold…
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I had a good laugh today while reading an online discussion board for marketers. A puzzled marketer asked the community to weigh in on the best material for tote bags she and her husband would distribute at a trade show. She was leaning toward polypropylene (“feels like soft cloth” and “the cheapest way to go.”)…
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One of Saturday Night Live’s most popular advertising parodies almost didn’t make it on the air. The fake ad was for “Kotex Classic” — feminine pads described as “the original” and “your mother’s pad.” Some historical context…for the men in the audience or those women too young to remember: Sanitary pads were much bulkier back…
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