Author: Carol Wahl

Kind. Compassionate. Caring. Those might not be the three words most top-of-mind when you think about marketing. But in a span of less than 24 hours recently, I received three very distinct – yet similar – examples of companies using marketing to express their opinions on the current state of [...]

In marketing, a key to good results is providing the right message to the right audience at the right time. I think about that almost every time I visit a grocery store or restaurant. How in the world do they manage to keep up with the constant influx of diet [...]

I celebrated my birthday recently and was delighted to get birthday greetings from dear friends and family. In addition, my inbox filled up with a random bunch of emails from businesses and marketers “recognizing” my special day. Personalized marketing gone wild. Personalized marketing can be a highly effective tool when [...]

As marketers, we’re fond of using storytelling to convey a point. It helps show the humanity of the communication instead of just stating the facts. And, what is more human than FOMO? There was a girl, let’s call her “Carol”, who used to have a Facebook account. She wasn’t a [...]

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a particularly bad customer service experience. Since then, I feel like I’m encountering them everywhere. The importance of the customer journey cannot be underestimated in how it contributes to a brand’s value. Once a customer’s trust is violated, it can start to erode [...]

Years ago, when virtual coupons were building in popularity, I signed up for Groupon. I didn’t use it very much – I hadn’t made any purchases in the last five years and had unsubscribed from their email feed. So, I was surprised to find an email from them a few [...]

It’s that time of year again. Time to do a self-assessment and see where you can make improvements. Research shows resolutions are not generally very successful. Instead it makes sense to make life corrections and modifications on a more regular basis when something is going off track. This is good [...]

The Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) is one of my city’s best museums. They’re always coming up with fresh ideas and new attractions to keep their audience coming back. And this fall, they’ve launched a new interactive event that once again puts them ahead of the curve. Riddle MIA This [...]

Are there no new ideas anymore? Everywhere you look, the past is resurfacing. Bands going on reunion tours, athletes coming out of retirement, racks of clothing straight out of the 70’s in stores. Seems like the only organization that doesn’t get “do-overs” is a marketing agency. Hollywood is one of [...]

WOW! What a deal! Or is it? In recent months, these companies as well as others, have over-promised and under-delivered. How did it happen? What...