Happy Sunday, Everyone! I spent much of this past week in Chicago (it was surprisingly nice…) at ShopTalk Fall. While there, I had the opportunity to share the stage with two fantastic marketers - Nick Hasselberg of Every Man Jack and Lauren Price of COS - for a discussion on Winning Brand Expression Across Platforms. That session had an exchange about both the purpose of marketing and how it ought to be evaluated…which dovetailed nicely into the topic I wanted to write about this week: what...
23 days ago • 18 min read
Happy Sunday, Everyone! I hope you’re all enjoying the start of fall – the leaves are changing, football is back, conference season is upon us (well me) and Thanksgiving is 74 days away (yes, really). Over the next six weeks, I’ll be speaking at 6 different events - starting with ShopTalk this coming week in Chicago, then BrightonSEO San Diego/HeroConf, GroceryShop, Senior Living Innovation Forum, ClioCon and Senior Care Marketing & Sales Summit. If you’re attending any of those, don’t be a...
about 1 month ago • 15 min read
Happy Sunday, Everyone! I hope you’re all enjoying the first weekend of fall – football is back, PSLs are everywhere, leaves are even falling here in Maryland. And, as happens most years, the return of fall has also heralded a return of many clients / brands who were away for the summer, all locking in (to borrow a Gen-Z term) for end-of-year sprint. Needless to say, it’s been busy. Much of the focus (understandably) from clients (current and potential alike) over the last week-plus has been...
about 1 month ago • 14 min read
Happy Sunday, Everyone! I hope you’re taking some well-deserved time to step away from the inbox, close the ad account, recharge and enjoy the last rays of summer before the NFL season (Go Birds), Q4 planning and (yes, really) 2026 arrive. This summer has been one of the busiest in recent memory for me – travel, events, new business, client meetings, hiring…it’s felt like a non-stop, perpetual whirlwind. To bring some order to my chaotic calendar, one of the things I’ve started to do is bring...
about 1 month ago • 24 min read
Happy Sunday, Everyone! I hope you’re squeezing the last bit of joy out of summer, whether that’s family time, travel, or just a cold drink in the backyard before back-to-school + the September chaos arrives. If you didn’t read last week’s issue, I highly suggest starting there. The big takeaway is marketing budgets aren’t expenses; they’re investments. And the way most marketers treat them (monthly caps, neat allocations, spreadsheets that look tidy but kill growth) is the #1 reason why far...
about 2 months ago • 24 min read
Happy Sunday, Everyone! I hope you’re all enjoying the August sun and (hopefully) getting in some well-deserved and much-needed rest/relaxation/family time, before the back to school and the end of Q3 kicks into high gear. For this week’s issue, I want to discuss a topic that I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about, but I almost never hear discussed: advertising investment strategy + capital allocation. If you read that last sentence and thought, “I have no earthly idea what he’s...
about 2 months ago • 23 min read
Happy Sunday, Everyone! I hope you’re all enjoying the final few weekends of summer – it’s hard to believe that Labor Day is on the extended forecast, back to school is in full swing (it seems like graduation was just yesterday) and the NFL season is only weeks away (Go Birds). Over these past few weeks, I’ve found myself thinking more about the implication of AI in the advertising/marketing industry going forward - and one conclusion I can’t shake is this: The value of taste will increase...
2 months ago • 12 min read
Happy Sunday, Everyone! We’ve officially entered the 8th month of 2025 – BFCM planning is in full swing, 2026 budgeting is underway and amongst all the chaos, there’s still some summer sunshine to enjoy and back-to-school campaigns to deploy. This week’s issue was inspired by a combination of things. For decades (maybe longer), marketing has embraced the concept of “right person, right time, right message” – and for good reason. It makes sense. The wrong message to the right person is a dud....
2 months ago • 23 min read
Happy Sunday, Everyone! I hope you’re all enjoying the final weekend of July (yes, really) - it’s hard to believe, but back-to-school sales are launching, NFL training camps are underway (including for the World Champion Philadelphia Eagles), and we’re already talking about 2026 plans with some clients (yikes!). But, while it’s still summer, I wanted to talk about one other challenge that keeps coming up - whether it’s in conversations with CEOs/CMOs/COOs, or get-togethers with fellow agency...
3 months ago • 27 min read