There is a right way to get people interested and intrigued and motivated. And there's a way to not do it. And having just heard a way to not do it--creating a waste of the advertiser's money--it seemed like a good idea to look at a fundamental

How To Be A Good Community Brand And Avoid Looking Like A Jerk

Mar 5th, 2018 10m 10s

How does a small business brand represent itself as a good community member in its advertising without coming across as opportunistic or disingenuous? Even in the mighty and (mighty expensive) Super Bowl, there are commercials designed not to s

Yes, You Can Learn Something Profitable From Silly, Silly...

Feb 26th, 2018 8m 12s

Is there anything quite as ridiculous as the Bud light "Dilly, Dilly" campaign? Methinks not. However, it's also a juggernaut, having entered into the zeitgeist--with its apex so far being the epic, production-intensive Super Bowl commercial. B

Climb This For Fun & Profit...

Feb 19th, 2018 7m 52s

Now that the dust has settled, we finally get around to talking about Super Bowl commercials--beginning with what may be the single quietest, most potent and sexy sales message in a typically unsexy style of advertising. It also comes with a ta

A Big, Fat Valentine To Couple Entrepreneurs

Feb 13th, 2018 7m 25s

Would you be willing to put it all on the line and work without a net? Because that's what couple entrepreneurs do. They risk their careers and their marriages by going into business together. And at Slow Burn, we've decided to develop a podcas

Here Now, A Chewy Little Morsel Of Marketing Goodness

Feb 5th, 2018 7m 43s

In the wake of the Super Bowl, we here at the screed ignore the commercials for at least a week and allow the dust to settle. Instead, this week, we are telling the story of a friend who may or may not have had his work plagiarized by a state d

Now, I'm Crying When I Talk About Writing Better Advertising...

Jan 29th, 2018 12m 43s

During the last two weeks, in an effort to identify for a radio creative director how to find more affordable training for his creative staff, new info has been thrown into the mix that may have painted me into a corner--but also may have provi

They All Cried When I Talked About Writing Better Advertising...

Jan 22nd, 2018 9m 40s

Last time, the podcast was titled, "They All Laughed When I Tried To Write Better Advertising..." It was the first part of an effort to address a professional creative director's query about how to create better, more effective advertising with

They All Laughed When I Tried To Write Better Advertising...

Jan 15th, 2018 8m 9s

In the first installment of answering listeners' big, burning questions about branding and marketing, we address a professional creative director's query about how to create better, more effective advertising with his team. Training has become

A Great Advertising Thinker Leaves Us Behind

Jan 8th, 2018 8m 15s

On Christmas Eve, we lost a legend. And in his wake, we leaves a legacy of smart, funny advertising underpinned by an extraordinary degree of thought, intellect and a willingness to share.

HOT SHOTS REPRISE: More Blowing Holes In Nonsense From The Experts

Jan 2nd, 2018 11m 59s

REPRISE FROM JANUARY 2017: A fan from Romania asks how to brand a business--and says that many people say small businesses should not brand at all, but do only direct marketing--which makes us CRAZY. We review what brand really is and give a ca

Happy Boxing Day To The Middle Of Somewhere

Dec 25th, 2017 6m 8s

Ready to learn something interesting about small business in the middle of somewhere? On this Boxing Day, it seemed like a good idea to wish a Happy Boxing Day to any folks who celebrate it. But we have scant few readers and listeners who do ce

Finding Resonance Beyond Brand In Unlikely Places...

Dec 18th, 2017 9m 19s

Once again, a brilliant example of big-business brand advertising demonstrates the power of artful storytelling in a way that's useful and informative for the owner of a small-business brand.

A Scary, Profitable Advertising Lesson For The Small Business Owner?

Dec 12th, 2017 8m 14s

It's that time of the year when Best Of lists are being compiled, and advertising is no exception. And one of the year's "best" advertisements is a striking example for the small business owner. But...of what?

A Giant Brand, Giant Hilarity, And A Giant Lesson For The Profitable Small Brand?

Dec 5th, 2017 10m 51s

Yes, we're talking about beer branding this week, and a likely publicity stunt by a craft brewer that ostensibly drew the ire of a big mega brewery--and provides a few laughs and a couple of good lessons for the small business owner...

Building A Brand In A Bottle...

Nov 27th, 2017 10m 37s

As we continued our Napa tour as part of the CoupleCo interviews, The Fabulous Honey Parker and I came across an interesting and dynamic couple who operate a brewery. And they produce extraordinary brews that you may never get to taste. And tha

Love, Poetry & Profit In An Oaken Barrel

Nov 14th, 2017 9m 47s

Visiting the largely unscathed Napa Valley in the wake of the fires (and finding that it really is open for business), we had a chance to sit down with a couple who makes fabulous wine, whose business is a product of love and balance, and who d

Thing One Is Essential For Profit

Nov 7th, 2017 8m 46s

Napa after the fires has provided none of the apocalyptic strife predicted by so many in the wake of the Bad News about big fires. But what it did offer us was an interesting and cautionary tale of two brands and now you can get everything else

DOES THE NEWS MEDIA REALLY MEAN TO UNDERMINE A BRAND?

Oct 30th, 2017 10m 49s

The news media may not have as its goal the undermining of an entire region's brand and livelihood--but the 24-hour all-devastation news cycle can do it--and has done it again. We almost became victims of it ourselves until someone told us we n

Personal Brand In An Aluminum Tube

Oct 24th, 2017 9m 24s

Yes, it might sound crazy. but it's worth considering: What is your personal brand as a customer. And there may be no better place to examine the benefits of that than in the milieu of contemporary air travel.

Can You Make Big Money On An Advertising Platform That Doesn't Work?

Oct 9th, 2017 9m 28s

"Social media advertising doesn't work!" That's a ridiculous statement when you consider how many people DO make it work. What doesn't work is the same thing that doesn't work across all media platforms--including traditional advertising platfo

Don't Say It: Profitable, Small-Biz Insight From a Big, International Brand

Oct 3rd, 2017 12m 17s

Velcro has created a hilarious and valuable lesson not only in trademark law, but in the value of creating a movement--even a fake one--to build a brand and the tribe.

Hurricane Relief From An Unlikely Place & Brand

Sep 25th, 2017 7m 27s

We here at Slow Burn Marketing love a breakthrough brand. We didn't expect to find one providing relief for victims of hurricane Irma. But it's there, and it's doing "super good..."

Focus is Profitable--Until You Go "Splat!"

Sep 18th, 2017 10m 22s

Brand focus is a brilliant thing. We argue that it is essential. And, we are huge fans on intense, laser focus--especially when it comes to the restaurant business. Single-item restaurants are fascinating. But there's a Chinese fast-casual chai

Who Really Is Responsible--And How Can You Profit?

Sep 11th, 2017 10m 59s

The alleged creator of a hugely successful national promotional campaign died this week--or did he? He died--but was he the creator? Maybe he was ultimately in charge of it. But it doesn't really matter--because his tenure at a top broadcasting