Can You Feel It? Why Emotion is Driving Brand Story Selling
FOR SALE: Baby Shoes….Never Worn. Just six simple words but what a story they tell. Ernest Hemingway penned this short, short story years ago on a $10 bet. But it speaks to what makes for a truly...
View ArticleTales from the Front: Lessons Learned from Social Media Week Chicago
This year’s sessions during Social Media Week Chicago served as an excellent reminder for content strategists and marketers alike when looking to craft compelling brand stories and content marketing....
View ArticleInnovate and Thrive: Chicago Tribune’s Blue Sky Ventures into New Content...
Innovate or Die. Back in the mid-90s, this credo became popular to describe the innovations that were taking place with technology and the Internet. Today, when you think of innovation, you’re likely...
View ArticleBwahahaha! Take a Bite out of the Content Zombie Apocalypse
Bwahahaha!…..Go ahead. If you dare, look over your shoulder. You will likely find the content apocalypse is fast catching up to you. It will require agility, creativity and careful planning to avoid...
View ArticleDear Dad: Life and Love Lessons from Lou
It is absolutely and perfectly appropriate that the sun is shining brightly without a cloud in the sky on this unseasonably pleasant July day in Chicago. Today I laid my beloved dad, Louis “Lou”...
View ArticleHonoring Our Veterans and the Greatest Stories Ever Told
This Memorial Day is a memorable one for me. It is the first Memorial Day I am not able to tell my dad in person how much I respect and honor him for his service in World War II. He passed last July...
View ArticleGifts from Dad
The third week of June in my family has always been about celebrating Dad. Like nearly every other family in the nation, we spent the third Sunday of June honoring Dad on Father’s Day. But my dad was...
View ArticleOne Year Later: Honoring Dad’s Legacy
How is it possible? How is it possible that a whole year has passed? It is a question that many ask themselves as they face the one-year anniversary of the death of a loved one. Today is my turn to...
View ArticleSuper Bowl 50 Commercials Score with Emotion, Empathy
Just minutes before the coin toss that would kick off Super Bowl 50, “Broadway Joe” Namath, former American football quarterback, American Football League icon and Hall of Famer, shared some...
View ArticleFeel the Customer Love: Spice Up Your Content Strategies
Relationships are tough. Just ask any couple and they’ll tell you maintaining long-term, mutually fulfilling relationships takes work. The same is true of the relationships content marketers...
View ArticlePrince: Lessons from a Storyteller, Trailblazer and Freedom Fighter
Today we lost a true Prince. If anyone deserved the crown of music royalty, it was Prince Roger Nelson who died unexpectedly at his Paisley Park home in Chanhassen, MN at the age of 57. Many tributes...
View ArticleThis Father’s Day, Tell Your “Dad Story”
Really great storytelling isn’t always about crafting a brand new tale. Sometimes, it’s about retelling truly worthwhile stories to keep them alive. On Father’s Day, there’s perhaps no better way to...
View ArticleMoving from “Meh” to Marvelous: 10 Ways to Get Beyond Average Content Marketing
You’d think with content marketing now fully recognized as a valuable function within the enterprise that the reams of content being churned out would be anything but average. But despite growing...
View ArticleThe Chicago Cubs and Me: My Story, My Lessons
Ask any true Chicago Cubs fan about their love for their team—whether they just jumped on the bandwagon during this pennant-wining season or have spent their lives waiting for the Big Win—and they’ll...
View ArticleBrands Rise Up to Stand Out in Super Bowl 2017
This year, a few brands took the Atlanta Falcons’ rallying cry “Rise Up” to heart and significantly changed up their approach to the annual Super Bowl competition for blockbuster ads. Their entries...
View ArticleLessons Learned from 84 Lumber’s Super Bowl Fail
84 Lumber got it wrong on Super Bowl Sunday. In fact, the brand got it really, really wrong. For the first time in its history, 84 Lumber, a $2B building materials company, entered the Super Bowl ad...
View ArticleUnfinished Business: Content Marketing’s Role in Cracking the Glass Ceiling
When it comes to tackling the gender equality issue in the industry, content marketing strategies need to be more than skin deep. It requires content marketers to proactively tell richer and more...
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