INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD D. CZERNIAWSKI, AUTHOR, AVOIDING CRITICAL MARKETING ERRORS: How to Go from Dumb to Smart Marketing

Q: Why the book and why now? RDC: I believe, as the late Professor Peter Drucker opined years ago, that because the purpose of business is to create customers, its two most important functions are marketing and innovation—which, by the way, are not mutually exclusive. These functions are even more critical today as we live […]

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KNOWLEDGE IS IN DOING IT WELL

During this period of lockdown and social distancing, my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) School, Gracie Downtown Pensacola, has been closed. However, the school owner and lead instructor has been providing online instruction, live, twice a day, Monday through Friday. It has been beneficial to me. We’ve been reviewing in detail some 80 techniques that we need […]

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TO “TWEAK IT,” OR NOT

Tweak (transitive verb) to make unusually small adjustments in or to (something) The word “tweak” is frequently used by marketers when providing direction to members of their immediate team, support staff, ad agencies, and suppliers. Unfortunately, it is often misused and, therefore, promotes misunderstanding.  For one, a small change in the wording of, say, a promotion can make […]

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KARMA CAN BE A BITCH!

Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, we are in the early stage of what appears to be an economic recession. For some companies and their brands, it may be more like a depression. How long this will last is anyone’s guess? Will we have a “V” or “U” shaped recovery given the massive stimulus being pumped […]

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AMIDST THE PANDEMIC, AN ADVERTISING PANDER-DEMIC

Pander to someone, vb.  To please other people by doing or saying what you think they want you to do or say. “Sean Haney, a digital marketer at a software company, made an ad compilation called ‘Every COVID-19 Commercial Is Exactly the Same’ after noticing similarities as he worked from home with the television on in […]

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HOW TO MARKET DURING AND POST THE COVID-19 RECESSION

The coronavirus is devasting lives and an economy that had been the most robust in our lifetime. This brings me to the question: What’s the difference between a recession and a depression? A recession is when you are out of work. A depression is when I’m out of work. What this means is that if […]

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THE ROLE OF THE CMO – 4

We need marketing to work more effectively, particularly in this “age of abundance and sameness” where products are interchangeable and generally acceptable quality (GAQ) reigns. CMOs need to accept the responsibility of their role—making marketing work! It’s not about merely overseeing tactics or serving as senior brand (micro)manager. It’s about making marketing matter. Accordingly, the […]

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THE ROLE OF THE CMO – 3

The role of the CMO is to make marketing work! If marketing is not working for a given organization, it is not the fault of the marketing discipline. Instead, it’s a problem with the way marketing is practiced within that company. The responsibility for failure lies at the feet of the CMO regardless of whether […]

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SHOULD YOU ADVERTISE DURING THE QUARANTINE?

There’s a debate about whether marketers should advertise during this period of quarantine. It’s not an ethical debate but one of stewardship of the assets and resources entrusted to them. Those against advertising now believe that if it isn’t driving sales, then the marketer is squandering precious resources, especially if the company is not open […]

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THE ROLE OF THE CMO – 2

The fish stinks at the head. (A proverb that means the root cause of failure of an organization is its leadership—or lack thereof!) Last week I posited that the reason marketing has lost, and continues to lose, relevance is due to CMOs not fulfilling their roles and responsibilities to the enterprise, which are to:  Create […]

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