Marketoonist is the thought bubble of Tom Fishburne. Marketing cartoons, content marketing with a sense of humor, keynote speaking.
Consumers expect personalized experiences. Yet they also grate at attempts by marketers to collect personal data about them to deliver these personalized experiences. That’s a paradox that marketers increasingly have to navigate. There’s a fine line between cool and creepy, between personalization and stalking. For years, the default mode in marketing was to collect as much consumer data as possible,…
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I was struck by this observation from Ron Carucci in his HBR article last month on returning to the office: “If the transition to WFH wasn’t challenging enough, the transition back to the office may prove even more difficult. “Our brains will be looking for familiar routines to “return” to that simply won’t be there. And when that happens, our…
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Faris Yakob wrote an interesting piece last year on what motivates consumers to buy, particularly in the few seconds a consumer spends at shelf. He wrote: “In 2005 P&G coined the term “first moment of truth” to describe the importance of packaging in their marketing model. The first point of contact is encountering an advertisement, the second is when they…
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I recently heard a marketing executive say at a conference that “to establish trust you have to appear authentic.” I found this turn of phrase interesting, and telling; she didn’t say “be” authentic — she said “appear” authentic. Influencer marketing is a large and growing part of this widespread pursuit by brands to appear more authentic. This makes the fakery…
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A recent study from the CMO Council and Deloitte found that only 17% of CMOs track Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) well. Customer Lifetime Value is a fundamental marketing tool, but it can be a bit of a guessing game, particularly when making future predictions on individuals or cohorts. Many businesses look retroactively at the ratio of CLV to CAC…
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There’s a perennial search for the next big thing in marketing, which can distract us from getting the basics right. I recently re-discovered “Eat Your Greens”, a thought-provoking collection of essays by marketing thinkers, edited by Wiemer Snijder in 2018 (he kindly peppered a few of my cartoons between the essays). The book includes a sharp piece by Mark Ritson…
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Epoch Strategy Director Alex Murrell wrote a fascinating piece a couple years ago on “The Ageism in Advertising” and the knee-jerk way that marketers obsess over younger generations. Alex cited that only 5% of advertising spend is targeted to adults aged 35-64, despite the fact that over 50s hold 80% of the wealth (in the UK), make up 60% of…
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