Sunday, July 25, 2010

ADDED STUFF DOES NOT EQUAL ADDED VALUE

How many times have we heard the advice, "Less is more"? We hear it in so many situations, and we nod our heads in quick agreement. But then we (apparently) just as quickly forget it. This week we consider the very real problem that marketers routinely face in expressing their key strategic documents: the counter-productive habit of "adding stuff" without adding value.


The DISPATCHESTM for July 25, 2010 can be found here:

ADDED STUFF = ADDED VALUE

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

ADDED STUFF = ADDED VALUE

It is also available in PDF here:

AddedStuff-AddedValue.pdf (PDF File)

Monday, July 19, 2010

DEVELOPING A MORE PRODUCTIVE CREATIVE BRIEF - PART 2

A couple of weeks ago we began a four-part series of DISPATCHES articles titled "Developing a More Productive Creative Brief." We are using the Deepwater Horizon ecological disaster as a metaphor for what goes wrong in the development of the Creative Brief. (And what can go wrong will go wrong!) Specifically, we contend that four broad areas are emerging as contributing to the Deepwater Horizon disaster: faulty engineering; errors in human behavior; lack of oversight; and dysfunctional corporate culture.


The DISPATCHESTM for July 18, 2010 can be found here:

DEVELOPING A MORE PRODUCTIVE CREATIVE BRIEF - PART 2

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

DEVELOPING A MORE PRODUCTIVE CREATIVE BRIEF - PART 2

It is also available in PDF here:

DevAMoreProductiveCB2.pdf (PDF File)

Sunday, July 11, 2010

PAINT IT BLACK - OR, THE POWER OF RESISTING THE USUAL

Ever consider really innovative packaging? Like maybe "black" packaging or even consider the real human behavior surrounding such an unusual design? Read on...

The DISPATCHESTM for July 11, 2010 can be found here:

PAINT IT BLACK - OR THE POWER OF RESISTING THE USUAL

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

PAINT IT BLACK - OR THE POWER OF RESISTING THE USUAL

It is also available in PDF here:

PaintItBlack.pdf (PDF File)