PodLessons®

Have you ever wondered, “What the heck is an insight anyway?” Insights is the most abused word today in marketing. In this episode of The Use and Abuse of Insights, you will hear a practical definition of insights, three components we look for in an insight, and five tips for evaluating insights.

Why do we ask questions? How can we ask better questions so we get better information and leave a positive impression on the person we ask? We will break down the five themes and help you get to a better approach to asking, and therefore a better path to learn.

Do you get uncomfortable when you talk about that four-letter word in marketing that begins with an “F” that we call “FEEL”? Daryl Travis, the founder and CEO of Brandtrust, will join us for this episode to “demystify” what we mean by emotions and feelings in marketing, where you can find your emotions button and connect it to your brand benefits.

Behavioral Economics (BE) is still a relatively new field with a growing number of books, publications, and studies trying to apply BE principles to understand decision making. In this episode, we are NOT going to focus on proving that physicians are irrational, but rather what to do when we know we should be making our most rational decisions yet behave irrationally — and what should we do when we recognize that it’s happening.

Habits are powerful! Much of our daily lives are dictated by our habits, yet we have a limited understanding of them and the degree to which they impact behavior. As marketers, we often ignore the power of habits and underestimate how difficult they are to change or create. Join us as we discuss why and how habits form, communicating with the subconscious mind, and five tips for habit-based marketing.

We live in a world today where we have many options when it comes to purchasing brands. In this age of sameness, “how we think” can be the critical difference in gaining a sustainable competitive advantage. Special guest, Jay Carter, former executive vice president of Abelson-Taylor, will join us in this episode as we discuss how we need to be extraordinarily creative in the way we think. It is essential in the development of a competitive brand positioning.

Strategy is one of those terms, like insights, that we use in our day-to-day working roles in marketing, and yet many marketers struggle to define and manage the process well. In this episode, we talk with Tim Calkins, Clinical Professor of Marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management about what is strategy is, how it is built, and the challenge of developing successful strategies in pharma today.

Any good brand planning process will have three phases. The first is situation analysis, the second is strategy, and the third is execution or tactics. The SWOT analysis helps you transition all the great data and insights you uncover in situation analysis to strategy. However, teams often gather facts and data but miss the key step of analysis. In this episode, Melinda and Mitch walk through how to correctly apply a SWOT analysis in the business planning process.

Putting together a good business plan doesn’t mean it’s going to get approved, supported, and be successful in the market. The only way people are going to support a plan is if they can understand it, and they know what really is in this plan. In this episode, we talk with Tim Calkins, Clinical Professor of Marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and co-author of a new book titled “How To Wash A Chicken – Mastering the Business Presentation” about why a good business plan does not speak for itself and why the role of storytelling is so important.

Too often in practice, we see brands hand poor strategies to their agency or creative partner, which can lead to bland and non-differentiated communication campaigns. In this episode, we talk with Kevin McTigue, Clinical Associate Professor of Marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and co-author of a new book titled “The Creative Brief Blueprint” about the process of writing and using creative briefs to generate more effective advertising.

With so much data and channels available today, segmentation has become more multidimensional within organizations. When multiple functions touch a segmentation, it’s easy to start on the right path but end up with something not usable or effective. In this episode, Melinda and Mitch tackle this challenge to unpack and clarify where and why there can be misalignment and what people need to keep in mind when developing and executing their segmentation.

Listening is something we can all get better at. It is more than just hearing the words someone speaks to you. In this episode, Mitch and Melinda will tackle the difference between the act of listening versus the art of listening which is creating the environment in which the other person feels heard.  We will breakdown the 101 and 201 listening skills for how to be a better listener.

Have you ever wondered why some companies consistently innovate while others struggle to keep up? The answer often lies in one crucial skill: curiosity. In this episode we will dive into the benefits of being an organization that fosters curiosity and how to inspire a curious mindset.

Have you ever wondered how the process for brand name selection works for pharmaceutical products? In this episode, Mitch and Melinda talk with special guest, Joe Daley, President of Addison Whitney, about how AI is helping to solve an escalating challenge and reshaping the process for pharmaceutical brand naming to create smarter, more strategic names.

We all like to believe we see the world clearly — that our decisions are rational, and our judgments fair. But what if we told you that your brain is quietly, and constantly, steering you off course? Mitch and Melinda are unpacking bias: what it is, where it comes from, and what — if anything — can we do about it.