May The Best Brand Win

Call me crazy, and maybe it was the heat and humidity of Nashville at Summer NAMM last week, but “marketing" is really pretty simple stuff. Yet so many approaches fail to deliver what the company really needs. So we’re going to find out why that is as we show you some “crazy" yet simple ways to run your marketing programs. We’ll also see who’s winning and losing this week as we pass out the crazy sauce on the next heartfelt episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Radio.  

In the movie Jurassic Park, Jeff Goldblum’s character Dr. Ian Malcolm makes a miraculous observation when he says “your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could (make dinosaurs) that they didn’t stop to think if they should.” Ahhh the difference between can and should is important when making dinosaurs — and it’s equally important in marketing and communications. We’re going to go deep into the jungle of “Jurassic Park Logic" and test out some popular marketing torture mechanisms to see whether they are really worth the risk. We’ll also see who’s winning and losing this week in the ultimate fight for business survival so join me behind the park gates on the next awe-inspiring episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Radio.

Everyone remembers their first time….marketing something. The message was so new, so innocent and everything was just…perfect. Well, a few years later and let’s face it, you’ve grown tired of all of that pesky “message consistency” and you (or the Board of Directors) feel a need to “change it up” or “refresh the brand.”  This can be good and it can be as disastrous as your first time probably was. Join me on the next edu-taining episode of May the Best Brand Win and learn when to stick with your brand and when to slap on another coat of paint. We’ll also dig into who’s winning and losing so you don’t want to miss it!  

When you bake a cake, there’s an order. When you build a house, there’s an order to how it’s done. And when you do professional marketing & communications there is also an order. The sequence or order of how/when things are done often determine their success and it’s why you crack the eggs and mix them in BEFORE you bake it, it’s why you dig and lay the foundation BEFORE you install the sundeck and it’s why we work on the brand message so hard BEFORE we communicate anything.  The order of things counts and we’re going to hit this hard this week and see who’s winning and losing as we break a few eggs on the next action-packed episode of the Tony-award-winning classic May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Radio.  

My fellow Missourian Mark Twain wrote and said a lot of great things, but my favorite has always been “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”   So certain are you? says Yoda.  …And yet marketers trip over their own feet and step right in it with alarming frequency.  So in this episode of the Emmy-nominated May the Best Brand Win, we’re going to do a bit more myth busting and shake up what we think we know about human behavior and these stimuli that we tell ourselves will create create the desired actions with our audiences.  And we’ll delve into who’s winning and losing too.  See you out there!  

If social media is a custom designed network of feeds and posts to stroke our own egos in various ways (and it is) then probably the last thing you want to see there is something about anyone else but you - Especially something that is trying to do business with you.  As obvious as this reality is, many brands still struggle with their role in social media as they try to create a business model from our narcissistic groundswell of social networks.  Can you make money on social?  Should you try?  We’ll tackle these important questions and check in with who’s winning and losing this week in marketing.  Join me, won’t you?

When we think of branding, we know everything counts, but how often does marketing have its act reasonably together only to be sabotaged by some other part of the company (which in the mind of the consumer also counts)? How can one person or one department be expected to control EVERYTHING that makes up the brand 24/7 for companies, bands and organizations? In this episode of the critically-acclaimed May the Best Brand Win, we’ll talk about the small things that matter and what you can do to keep little wounds here and there from totally flatlining your brand. We’ll also dig into who’s winning and losing in a really BIG way as we tackle all the small things on the next one so join me, won’t you?

The prophet Joan Jett once said/sang, “I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation” and the world hasn’t been the same since. Just kidding, as a society, humans have been building and burning reputations since it all began. (trust me, there are scrolls, books, poems and rock songs all about it). But what are we talking about REALLY when we say corporate or company reputation?  We’re going to dig deep into this topic and we’ll find out who’s building and burning their reps in Winning and Losing as well. Join me and sing along!  — I Don’t Give a Damn Bout My Bad Reputation (insert air guitar there). 

….And then the chicken just lays these fabulous golden eggs and all you have to do Mr. Farmer is go out and grab one each day and you’ll be set for life!  It’s like a friggin’ fairy tale!  And that’s exactly what most marketing pitches are —pure fiction. Ready for the truth? Then tune into this episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Radio where we’ll talk about a few things that SOUND so incredibly good but come with serious terms and conditions when they’re used. We’ll also chat about who is winning and losing this week in marketing so join me for story time, won’t you?

Journalism was once a fact-based unbiased way to talk about newsworthy events and thereby attract an audience. But as the Pew Research numbers have shown, its credibility continues to plummet affecting our society and many industries including public relations. It’s a big topic and big topics require some help so I’m bringing in Sarah Jones, former editor-in-chief at Keyboard Magazine to talk about journalism in general, music journalism past, present and future. We’ll also double team who’s winning and losing this week in marketing. Extra, extra hear all about it…on the next action-packed episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Radio. 

One of THE worst words in the history of public relations is “spin.” It’s not a compliment. It means people think you lie for a living. Good PR people hate the word, but hate the practice more. Unfortunately, like NFL quarterbacks, there’s a lot more bad ones than good ones out there. Join me for this episode of May the Best Brand Win where we’ll dig into “spin” and show you why you should never do it. Of course, we’ll hit who’s winning and losing in the no-spin zone this week as well.  So get ready for the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth on this next episode.

For the longest time, the Holy Grail of marketing was “awareness” because the assumption is once an audience is “aware” of us, then our problems are solved, right? Well…In this action-packed episode of May the Best Brand Win, we’re going to explore the idea of awareness — where it really works as a measuring stick and where it fails to get the job done. We’ll also see who’s winning and losing ways climbed into the public’s awareness meter this week.  GI Joe famously said “knowing is half the battle” so tune in and we’ll teach you about the other half this week.

Oh it’s out there and as we journey on the right side of the line, the light side of the Force, etc., we see the other side — the dark side in full view. Really, really, really dumb things like re-targeting, telemarketing, paid reviews and old school SEO that can only be explained by calling them out and berating the perpetrators of such nonsense.  And  that’s why you have me, folks. Yes, deep down in places that you don’t like to talk about in polite conversation you WANT me standing on that wall. You NEED me standing on that wall! YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH! Oh, and we’ll dig into who’s winning and losing this week, too. So join me for another wildly entertaining and semi-educational episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Radio.

Has there ever been a less exciting word to describe YOUR awesome message than “content?”  Yet, The Avengers was content.  So was Lady Gaga’s halftime show and every NFL game and lots of good things. But….many marketers use this golden opportunity to talk all about themselves and pretty much urinate on the embers of any type of growing brand relationship. Hey, it doesn’t have to go that way. Tune in and learn how to make your brand’s content stand apart and rock in a sea of awfulness.  We’ll also hit who’s winning and losing this week in marketing. It’s gonna make for some groovy “content” on the next May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Radio!

Marketing goes deep, we all know that. But do we know just HOW deep it goes? In this episode of May the Best Brand Win, we’re going deeper than ever to talk about subliminal marketing.  What do we know about it? Is it legal? How can it be used?  and of course, the most important question —should it be used?  We’ll also see who’s winning and losing in the marketing world this week and whether they are even aware of it.  So strap on the electrodes and get ready to go truly mental on the next May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Radio!

We humans LOVE to tell ourselves little stories. From the time we are very small, we learn about our world through them, entertain ourselves with them and literally create reality for ourselves (and others) using them. But are they really true? In this episode of May the Best Brand Win, we’re going to closely examine the narratives and mind games behind marketing approaches so that we can of course learn to easily manipulate and bend the will of our customers to something more financially appropriate for our companies and clients. Just kidding, it’s just marketing, not mind control —right?

Public relations isn’t even 100 years old, yet it’s still one of the most misunderstood and misused “arrows" in the marketing and communications quiver. What does it REALLY do?  Why should you use and when are the best times to use it?  We’re going to demystify this profession and spin our way into oblivion on the next episode of May the Best Brand Win. And we’ll also discuss the mass media and their role in PR as well as who is winning and who is losing this week. Join me!

Today you can own your own media channels. Yes, with absolutely no experience on how to run a media channel whatsoever, you can get one and blast out your marketing messages to a whole bunch of people.  But you shouldn’t.  Social media is an important part of every communications strategy but just like a gun, you’d better know how to use it before you pull that trigger. In this episode, we’re going to talk about social media and the role it plays in the strategy and we’ll dig into the big ones — Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram, maybe even Pinterest.  Join me for a Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride down the information superhighway on the next episode of May the Best Brand Win!

Turn your head and cough, sir….Place your feet in the stirrups, miss, Sigh. Here we go again. Most marketing today is still an invasive procedure that puts the marketers needs above the audiences.  It’s completely sad and completely true, kinda like the LA Rams’ 2016 football season.  But…yours doesn’t have to be.  There is a better way and I’m gonna show you how to do things better. Plus we’ll talk about who’s really being invasive in the winning and losing segment. All this and more on the next episode of May the Best Brand Win on Entertalk Radio!

Marketing, Communications, SEO, Public Relations, Promotions, Trade Shows — lots of arrows handled by many different archers out there but how does a company change their approach from a hit or miss arrow here or there to a volley that blacks out the sun?  Ok, a little too much Game of Thrones there but you get the point — how do we bring this stuff together for maximum impact and effectiveness. That’s the subject of today’s show and of course we’ll also touch on Who’s Winning and Losing out there.  So join me for the knock-down drag out fight of the century as marketing faces off against communications for control of the throne.