Word of mouth is always the best marketing…but after your first impression doesn’t go as planned, it’s the only type of marketing that makes a difference.

So make it cool and less risky for your fans to re-tell their friends.

-Gabe the Bass Player

I love this ad

Not because it’s especially good or cool.

Because instead of rambling on about features or tech specs, it frames things in terms of the emotional benefit to the customer.

Shoppers don’t care about the technical stuff until they’re about to make the purchase.

Grabbed tacos with some coworkers last week from a restaurant that opened in an old UPS Store space. Even if we hadn’t known (we only knew because one of the crew remembered it being there), it would have been obvious as soon as we walked in.

All the UPS Store fittings were still there—counter, table, shelves, carpet—with some thematic decorations and touches layered over the top.

This wasn’t a place to sit and eat, it was a grab-and-go counter. And it was delicious (bonus points for having beef tongue tacos, not often seen on menus around here).

They could have put money into renovations and appearance, or they could focus on the food—the actual product.

I’d go back, so I guess they focused on the right thing.

Plus, the absurdity of the interior makes it more likely that I’ll talk about it and remember it.

“Hey, let’s go get tacos at the old UPS Store.” 🌮

More findings from Podscribe’s recent podcast performance report:

• Ads bought per episode (“episodic”) outperform buying across shows (aka “run of network”)—more conversions on more efficient spend
• Host-read ads drive more purchases but cost effectiveness might be a wash
• Mid-roll ads are more efficient per impression, pre-roll are on a per dollar basis—and post-roll are trash
• Longer ads deliver better performance, especially on a per dollar basis

New study sheds light on the role of sound and music in gendered toy marketing

commercials aimed at boys, the soundtracks tended to be louder, more abrasive, and distorted, reinforcing notions of masculinity through harsher soundscapes. In contrast, ads targeting girls featured softer, more harmonious music, reinforcing traditional associations with femininity.

[music-primed gender schemas] merge aesthetic and gendered meanings, priming listeners to associate certain sounds with masculinity or femininity. In the context of advertising, this can reinforce narrow conceptions of gender roles, which, in turn, shape children’s perceptions of what is ‘appropriate’ for boys and girls

According to the first author, toy commercials can be described as “semiotic bombs,” packing multiple layers of meaning into short bursts of sound, imagery, and language.

Don’t just zig when your competitors zag, try zigging when your brain zags. Doing the opposite of what “feels right” or “normal” or “standard.”