In 1995, Newsweek ran an article claiming that all the hubbub about the Internet was overblown. It’s online communities couldn’t possibly replicate the benefits of face-to-face interactions, so “this trendy and oversold community” would never last. The author claimed online stores were overblown and that “my local mall does more [...]
Instagram Stories are short, temporary videos which appear at the top of people's Instagram feeds, and more subtly in your profile, beside every post you share, and in your direct messages. If a story gains traction and catches on, you can also save it as a permanent “highlight” which remains [...]
So, you’ve got a slot for a print ad in an upcoming magazine. You have a full page spread—maybe even two pages—to communicate a big idea, create positive associations with your brand, and drive results. There are no hard-and-fast rules about what your print ad should look like. You want [...]
Designing print ads can be tricky. They’re often far larger than their digital counterparts, which means you have more space to work with—but it can easily feel like too much space. There’s also more at stake: once they go live, there’s no turning back. You can’t just pull a print [...]
It’s notoriously difficult to measure the full value of print ads. It’s simply impossible to track every conversion or to measure the impact of exposing your audience to your brand. But that doesn’t mean print ads aren’t valuable. In fact, they play a vital role in branding, and psychology teaches [...]
Nearly a century ago, a team of psychologists led by Edward Thorndike discovered that when military officers evaluated soldiers on a variety of qualities, one rating would always affect the others. If a soldier was rated high for their physical appearance, they were also perceived as smarter, better leaders, and [...]
It’s nice to imagine that if you present the right facts and statistics, the sheer weight of your logical arguments will convince people to buy your product or service. But that’s not really how most people make purchasing decisions. While facts, logic, and statistics are important, emotions play a critical [...]
Say your sales reps have a booth at a conference they’ve never been to before. They prepare to spend plenty of time introducing people to your brand, explaining what your organization does, and discussing how your product or service helps people. But before they even get started, everyone says, “Oh, [...]
Every brand has a story. It’s the reason you exist. It’s what you do. It’s the problem you help your customers solve and the aspirations you empower them to fulfill. Maybe you inspire people to have a positive impact on their community. Or you equip pastors to lead their congregations. [...]
While most other forms of advertising disrupt a consumer’s reading or viewing experience in some way (like a forced a commercial break or a popup ad), native ads are designed to imitate the natural ways people expect to find content. Native ads blend in with the sites, apps, and platforms [...]