Yesterday was the ultimate dance for brand marketers. This was especially true if your specialty in marketing has to do with buidling brand awareness. You get 30 seconds for a little under 3 million (plus or minus production) and the world is watching. Traditionally, the funniest (read, most viral) ad generated the greatest number of …

“TIVO-justice” is what one ad agency executive calls it. Television advertising is now subject to TIVO justice in the real world. If the TV ad isn’t memorable, you skip it completely. If the ad is as good (or better) than the program you stop and notice it. You might even show it to a friend …

An advertising executive recently asked me if I saw his company’s new TV ad on a recent episode of The Office on NBC. I said, “yes, but unfortunately I watched it at 200 miles per hour.” Nobody at the table laughed. Real marketing opportunities, where you have someone’s attention, are getting harder and harder to …

OK — This post might smart. A few years ago I was visiting Italy on behalf of Yahoo. I brought some nice sweaters for my hosts, complete with the Yahoo logo emblazoned on the front. When I presented these as gifts, I was schooled in the church-and-state line that a true gift doesn’t cross. My …

For the last seven years or so, I’ve been a huge proponent of experential marketing. It all started with The Experience Economy by Pine and Gilmore. They argue that business is a stage (much like the rest of life) and that winning companies will differentiate and profit by staging an experience that is “engaging and …