Poll Pain: Don’t let polling get you down

We could use polls for so much more. As a forecasting tool polls aren’t that great – they set some expectations, and then we still have to wait for the votes to be counted and find out if expectations were met or dashed. But polls are one area where we can actually seek to understand the reasons people vote the way they do. Polling should be a source of insight and empathy. Rarely are polls used that way, and it’s a missed opportunity.

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How to Avoid Groupthink in Focus Groups

What is groupthink? It’s when a single opinion is expressed, and the group rallies behind it without developing opinions of their own, meaning they don’t express those opinions. Sometimes groupthink is a result of the loudest or most persuasive person making others feel like their own opinion isn’t worth sharing. When a person feels like they might be the only person in a crowd who has their particular thought, they aren’t likely to share it. In fact, they’ll change the opinion they express to conform to the group’s. Individuality disappears, and with it the valuable insights of the individual.

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Marketing Is a Lot Like Surfing

We recently had Jeremey Wright, experienced Wavetronix, Conagra, Nestle marketer come and speak to us. He explained an excellent analogy that we share here with his permission.

We think a lot about marketing strategy, obviously. There are a lot of frameworks and theories about how to go about it. Here’s Jeremey’s approach to hitting a great wave and marketing for success:

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Marketing Lab
Build trust in your brand in 3 easy steps

If you draw a box that says that the focus of your brand is premium meats from American-grown beef, you’re not going to start selling toilet paper, trips to space or grade B meats. Even if you did, customers wouldn’t accept it. Think about it, if you’re going to space, are you going to catch a ride on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, or the Oscar Meyer sausage rocket? Obviously you’re going to catch a ride to space with SpaceX (though option two does sound fun and exciting). Likewise you’d choose Oscar Meyer sausage over a SpaceX sausage.

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Is Your Brand Culturally Out of Touch?

In an era when just about anything can get politicized overnight, it is more important than ever to follow the Stephen Covey’s habit, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Brands are facing new risks because our culture is shifting, with brands feeling the pressure to take on social responsibilities.

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Matt Madden
Brand L.O.V.E.

For superfans, football is life. (Or is it soccer?) Who are your brand’s superfans? Would any dress up as YOUR mascot? Maybe not, but thinking about how to develop brand love is vital. Think of a brand you just LOVE. Why do you love that brand? What does that brand do for you? Why do you feel a connection with it?

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Emily Cottrell