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Why do we remember the things we do? Why are certain messages or images memorable? Not just in advertising, but in the larger world? How do we process the worlds around us? To understand this we need to go back, way back.

Building trust? That’s one way to look at it…

In 1974 cognitive psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky identified what is known as the “anchoring heuristic.”  A heuristic is essentially a mental shortcut or rule of thumb the brain uses to simplify complex problems in order to make decisions (also known as a cognitive bias). The anchoring bias describes the common human tendency to […]

Remember your first job? I do. I started work at Demoulas Market Basket — a prominent grocery store in New Hampshire and Massachusetts — when I was 15, bagging groceries, pushing carts, etc,. When you work in the checkout (called “the front end”) you’re either a bagger, cashier, assistant front end manager, or front end […]

Do first impressions matter? Do we make decisions based on information we collect in the first minute of an experience? As in turns out, in many cases a first impression is all the brain needs to make a decision. Take ancient cavemen for example, if something looks like a lion, then it is a lion. […]

Your work environment matters. The desks, the chairs, the paint color, the pictures on the wall, and of course, your coworkers. These elements create a landscape that sends a signal to employees encouraging them to act in certain ways. Often times, you’ll hear how creative professionals need to work in an inspirational/creative environment. This “inspiration” […]

I spent my first couple years after college working as an ad agency account executive. It was busy, crazy, awesome, stressful, and (in between the madness) fun. I learned some things. These are those things:

First off, calm down, this is not a Facebook-hating post. The following is an observation of an interaction that takes places on a platform that just happens to be called Facebook, and its resulting effect. But first, let’s lay the groundwork, which requires an understanding of comparison.

According to sociologist Robert Merton much strain is caused by the discrepancy between culturally defined goals and the institutionalized means available to achieve these goals. And while this statement is driven by an explanation for why crime occurs (meaning if there’s no legit way to make money I’ll just steal), it highlights why comparison causes […]

Why are some of the most shared pieces of media focused around things that are strictly offline? The obvious answer is that, of course, offline is where most things happen, what many people refer to as “the real world.” This is likely subjective on my part, but the stories I share the most are about […]

When Google rolled out the Panda update Rand Fishkin said: “So, Panda kind of means something new and different for SEO. As SEOs, we never really had to think as much or as broadly about, ‘What is the experience of this website? Is it creating a brand that people are going to love and share […]

But it seems easy. We read blogs all the time. We’re inundated with content from every direction. Especially people blogging about marketing, usually as part of their own marketing strategy. The sheer volume of all the blogs out there make the medium seem accessible, which is misleading. Jason Fried says “do the never.” Find an […]