Casual Fridays

The military spends tons of money to make something blend in and then loses it. Sounds pretty stupid when the army does it, yet advertisers do something even more inept. They spend an insane amount of money buying ad space to get attention, but then camouflage their ads. They still remain invisible [...]

There are two models of communication at play today.
Conspiracy or Collaboration
There are times when conspiracy is a necessary evil. Most of the time though, conspiracy is a detriment to our relationships. It limits us and pits us against one another.
Which do you use in your business?
… in your church?
… with your friends and [...]

Great article by Guy Kawasaki explaining Lois Kelley’s Nine Best Story Lines for Marketing.
I would probably add one more story line… Leaving Ruin. These are stories of the pheonix rising from the ashes. How a person, group or organization survived certain peril. How they turned the ship around when all seemed [...]

Beyond Marketing & Advertising Ribbon Cutting

My business partner Sandy cuts the ribbon with me, Alee (hiding behind me), and the Jenks Chamber of Commerce.

Sandy and I are excited to announce the opening of Beyond Marketing & Advertising, a full-service ad agency outside Tulsa, OK.

Our office is located inside the beautiful RiverWalk Crossing center in Jenks, [...]

Here are a few tidbits from my presentation yesterday. I spent most of my blog time (and more) preparing to speak at Entrepreneur’s Day, so this might be my only post this week.
The Marketing Proverb

If this is a marketing proverb, what is the moral?

or, some ad agencies prefer to

…simply entertain.
Do you ask this [...]

Management Impact
Wednesday, Feb 28th 2007
BMA Tulsa Luncheon (11:30 -1:00)

Jack Hayhow of Opus Communications
Focusing on the four key activities of all great managers, Jack will show how great managers provide employees what they need to increase productivity and profit.
Jack and his book, Wisdom of the Flying Pig, were featured on Brand Autopsy exactly one year ago [...]

“Our product is superior to the competition. Our advertising shows people how we’re better. Why aren’t people buying our product?”
There could be many reasons, but today I’m going to focus on one possibility: You’re not talking to the green cows. (before you question my sanity, read the rest)
A lot of marketing and advertising [...]

I’ve grown quite fond of my old-style hats. I have a fedora and a willis hat. When I wear theses hats I get comments from people (and sometimes stares). Yet, these were the hats everyone used to wear. Now, it seems like a very new thing to do.
Of course trends come [...]

Some business owners say they don’t “buy into” marketing. They characterize their business as nuts and bolts. Providing a high quality product to the customer is the path to success.
By educating the public about the superior features of your product, people will see the truth and buy your brand.
The problem is most people [...]

My wife and I attended a piano concert this week. Before the pianist would play a piece, he would give some background on the composer and the meaning behind the composition.
It was amazing how knowing the background of Debussy’s General Lavine made it more meaningful. Otherwise, I would have simply considered it a [...]