Tag: marketing strategy
Learning How We Make Decisions
Courtesy of Knowledge of the Day
I’ve just listened to a podcast by Derek Halpern of Social Triggers blog which presented a fascinating glimpse into the world of neuroscience and its impact on marketing. Interviewing Jonah Lehrer, author of “How We Decide”, the podcast explained that decisions are primarily made when there is an interplay between the stimuli that we receive and their influences on different portions of the brain.
Perhaps the most fundamental point is that emotions play a big impact on decision making. In studies where brain injury patients lose the use of their emotional brain centres (the limbic brain system), these individuals are often unable to make the simplest decision such as deciding where to have lunch and so on.
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We the Undercover Marketers
The Joneses were portrayed as the ultimate stealth marketers (source of image)
Excuse me, are you an invisible stealth marketer? If you have no clue what this is, perhaps its high time for you to read about this.
My curiosity in stealth marketing was first piqued when I read Martin Lindstrom’s brilliant marketing expose Brandwashed. In the book, the neuro-marketing exponent revealed many of the psychological and neurological tricks employed by marketers to get us to buy more, often without us knowing it.
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Brandwashed by Martin Lindstrom: A Book Review
Wonder why you are perpetually tethered to your smartphone, refusing to put it down even when your kids are yelling at you?
Or started eating that tub of delicious Haagen Dazs ice cream, and couldn’t stop until it’s all gone.
Perhaps you’ve got a 10 year old boy who nagged you incessantly about getting him that latest Play Station Portable (PSP) which all his friends in school have.
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Create Your Own Marketing Rites and Rituals
What do cultural festivals, anniversaries, and special days (Mother’s Day, Teacher’s Day) have in common?
Well, beyond the festive buzz, there will always be a certain annual rhythm in how things build up to a crescendo, infused with traditions, rituals and customs that date back to time immemorial. These beloved practices are often part and parcel of our collective heritage, bonding us and helping to shape our individual and collective identities.
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Zag: A Book Review
“In a world of extreme clutter you need more than differentiation. You need RADICAL differentiation. The new rule: When everyone zigs, zag.”
That, in a nutshell, is what Zag: The #1 Strategy of High Performance Brands is all about.
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Evil Plans: A Book Review
Written and illustrated by renowned cartoonist and blogger Hugh MacLeod of gapingvoid.com (he just completed his 10th year in the business), Evil Plans: Escape the Rat Race and Start Doing Something You Love is a business book that reads more like a personal motivation tome. True to MacLeod’s craft, every other page (or more) is peppered with his characteristically abstract and witty cartoons, complete with clever captions.
An example of this is found below:
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Marketing Greatest Hits: Book Review
With the subtitle “A Masterclass in Modern Marketing Ideas”, British marketing consultant Kevin Duncan’s Marketing Greatest Hits provides quick summaries of what he considers seminal or interesting titles and their key ideas in marketing. Touted as a “definitive compendium of everything you need to know from the best minds in modern marketing”, the book attempts to encapsulate key lessons from the discipline’s thought leaders.
Neatly organised into six chapters, Duncan’s book systematically dives into the essence of 40 books covering major themes, principles and philosophies, branding, consumer behaviours, creativity and personal organisation. Each section provides a book summary that is further crystallised into an elevator pitch of sorts called a one-sentence summary – the core idea behind a book. Examples of these include the following:
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7 Ways to Use Deep Metaphors in Marketing
Have you used metaphors for your marketing efforts? What were the outcomes of your attempts?
An integral part of your everyday life, Analogies and Metaphors are popular storytelling methods which simplify complex ideas and imbue them with meaning. They help to make your advertisements, articles, and brand stories come alive.
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The Role of Showmanship in Marketing
On a recent visit to Takashimaya Shopping Centre for Christmas shopping, my family visited their highly popular basement food mall area looking for gift ideas.
Amidst the festive air, I noticed that there were many stalls offering gourmet food items for sale where the delectable pastries and candies were made ‘live’ by chefs.
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