Persuasion
Why Your Facebook Rants Feel So Darn Good (But Still Don’t Work)
We were at dinner. There were 6 of us. One of the six is Ann. Ann is the token loose cannon. We all are nice to Ann, but think she’s crazy. She’s a grandmother, very friendly, a little nutty. We’re polite and generally try and ignore her conspiracy theories or neuroticism because, you know, manners. (…)
The Surprising Upside of Manipulation
A funny thing happens when you tell people you work in marketing. You become the devil. “So (dramatic pause), you manipulate people for a living?” That’s always a fun conversation starter. (I recommend this debate if you’re bored at your next dinner party. #protip) When I started in marketing, the ethical boundary for me was very (…)
Why We Buy Things We Don’t Need
You know that feeling of standing in your closet filled with clothes, but you have nothing to wear? Most people believe that feeling is the brainchild of evil of branding and marketing experts conspiring to make you addicted to wanting more stuff. Trust me, marketers wish they could dupe you into buying things you don’t want. Heck, I’d (…)
How to Write a Good Customer Survey
“Are you afraid of the impending robot revolution or do you feel completely safe and not at all worried about A.I. technology?” That wasn’t a joke. A real surveyor for a real (and prestigious!) institution asked me this. A pollster called my landline and I agreed to “answer a few brief questions on the economy.” (…)