Inscrutable
Neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett comments in Scientific American about the supposed correlation between facial expressions and emotions.
When your marketing is almost too good
Adweek features a story about Oatly’s clever positioning and marketing strategy. It is behind a paywall, so if you don’t subscribe, here is the dumbed-down version.
Doing well by doing good
Today at the IIEX North America Conference, we will discuss our ZMET research into minds of sustainability innovators. One of the points emerging from the research is that for sustainability to take root in an organization, it must be perceived as a contributor to the company’s bottom line, not charity work that can be jettisoned whenever times get tough.
Don’t do it
The brilliant Under the Influence podcast recently featured two episodes about “Don’t Do It” advertising. It discusses examples of campaigns that have successfully convinced people not to do something.
Market research lessons from the wild
It is difficult to ask consumers to predict what they will do in the future. Well, you can ask. But you won’t necessarily receive an accurate answer, especially when people don’t have any context for predicting that future.
How fairy tales shape us
The authors apply their research to hypothesize about the surprisingly successful Ukrainian resistance. They argue that, in Ukraine, children grow up hearing bedtime stories about characters who persevere against long odds. They follow a classic Hero’s Journey, using their savvy and persistence to emerge triumphant.
I have commanded armies and conquered worlds
Imagine you were PlayStation and you had the insight that people use games, in part, to escape from the drudgery of everyday existence. How would you bring that to life in an ad?
The adult pacifier
Just like you’re not you when you are hungry…you’re not you when you are on your phone. (Or maybe you are.)
Things that make ya go…hmmm…
Under the category of “Words Matter”…. YouGov recently ran a poll that revealed that only 37% of Americans agree that “K-12 schools should be allowed to mandate vaccines for their students.”
Seeing through a different lens
A Super Bowl ad that has stuck with me is “Seen on Pixel” from Google. The ad highlights Real Tone, which is the culmination of years of development efforts to ensure that Google’s camera technology accurately represents all skin tones.
Changing times, changing culture
Just as marketing and culture can be intertwined, so is art and culture. In that light, the graphic above about film genre popularity (from 1910-2018) is fascinating.
Sharing a ride, making a friend…or not
Thanks to OZ’s Joe Plummer for sharing this research by Dr. Lindsey Cameron of Wharton, who has published a paper that explores the mind of the ride-hailing driver.
Why Wordle?
For the next five minutes or so, Wordle will remain the hottest thing on the web. Wharton Professor of Marketing Cait Lamberton explains why this is a perfect game for this moment in our culture.
Breakin’ the law
A boutique running store in Paris called Distance recently took advantage of some news headlines with a clever guerilla marketing campaign.
“Creatively brave, possibly misjudged”
Homestead Creamery is a local Virginia dairy that uses its packaging not only to promote sustainability, but also as part of its brand image.