cat[&]tonic

Author: Danette Knickmeier

Guerrilla Marketing in the Cornfields of Iowa

I recently participated in my first-ever RAGBRAI. Anyone who rides bicycles or is from the state of Iowa is familiar with this event. Now in its 46th year, the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa is a gathering of around 10,000 cyclists who ride their bikes for 7 days [...]

By |August 22, 2018|Categories: General|

A marketer’s dilemma – curmudgeon or free spirit

I occasionally see a bumper sticker that says “Question Everything”. It usually appears on cars with other bumper stickers that say things like “Coexist” and “Be the Change You Want to See” and “Bernie Sanders 2016”. I love those cars, by the way. My takeaway on this somewhat ambiguous, yet [...]

By |July 26, 2018|Categories: General|

What happened to memorable taglines?

There is no question that marketing and advertising play a big role in our everyday lives—especially big brands that seem to be everywhere. And one key component to a successful brand is a good tagline. I was recently reminded of this when, halfway through April, Minneapolis got a huge weekend [...]

By |May 15, 2018|Categories: General|

Confessions of a reluctant marketer

I recently read Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard, the founder of clothing and gear company Patagonia. (Full disclosure: I can’t take full credit for my brilliant article title—I was inspired by the subtitle of Chouinard’s book: Confessions of a Reluctant Businessman). Chouinard is an outdoor enthusiast and [...]

By |April 25, 2018|Categories: General|

Six ways to improve your day with mindfulness

As a person who practices yoga on a regular basis, I’m constantly reminded about the importance of mindfulness and staying in the present moment. So, when I heard that a screening of a documentary film about Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh was coming to Minneapolis, I had tickets in my [...]

By |November 14, 2017|Categories: General|

Summer Challenge Week 2 Wrap-Up

Our week 2 challenge of giving up meat (and fish) and/or sweets (candy and desserts) came to a close last Friday. Overall, four of us went meatless, while six gave up sweets, including two brave souls who gave up both. Early in the week, there was some trepidation over how [...]

By |July 5, 2016|Categories: General|

REI – Walking the Walk

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably heard that REI is closing on Black Friday. I don’t know about you, but I think it’s a refreshing change to hear about a retailer who, in addition to not being open on Thanksgiving, has also decided to close on the [...]

By |November 24, 2015|Categories: General|

Root canals over savings accounts?

Since many of our clients are in the financial services industry, Fred routinely shares interesting banking tidbits with us. He recently shared an article from the St. Louis Business Journal that said, in a 3-year study of 10,000 millennials, 71% would rather go to the dentist than listen to what [...]

By |October 29, 2015|Categories: General|
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