Been doing this thing with TV ads lately where I unmute for the last second or, at most, two seconds (the now normalized ad countdown makes this easy), and seeing — that is, hearing — what makes the final sonic impression, and then trying gauge the extent to which advertisers are doing anything in that final moment to catch the ear of and appeal to vigilant ad-muters

Great test not just for ad-muters but to use the peak-end rule.

What are you leaving on? What’s your last moment? What’s your goodbye?

Some homework from Steven Soderbergh:

Just looking at something and going, I like that, and then trying to break down, why do I like that?

What is it about that… that I like?

What do I steal?

What can I repurpose or tweak to make it fit what we’re trying to do?

He steals like an artist. We can steal like marketers.

Pay attention to the messages and artifacts you encounter. If something resonates or stands out, figure out why. Use it in your own work.

via Austin Kleon

Last year the flip happened, people spent more time on TikTok than watching TV.

There was an interesting article from Caroline Mimbs Nyce of The Atlantic, and the title was titled, You're Looking at TikTok All Wrong. The app is basically just broadcast TV now. It does seem like people are treating social media more like televisions, the share of time spent on social media where people are watching video has gone from, I think it was about a third before the pandemic to about two-thirds now.

Small improvements in our systems translate into large improvements to the customer experience.

Everything is customer service.

cranes are a proxy for construction and infrastructure investment. Since both are closely and positively correlated with a growing economy, seeing many cranes along the skyline is a simple but reliable heuristic to know if an economy is doing well or poorly.

In your field of work, what are your cranes on the horizon?

I might start including this in all analytics reports and dashboards.

via XKCD

U.S. Media Reactions Report finds people overall are being more receptive toward advertising. Nearly half (47%) of people surveyed say they have a positive feeling towards ads in general.

The report also points to a “misalignment” in the way marketers are spending their dollars.

“It’s notable that marketer dollars don’t necessarily follow where consumers want to see advertising, nor do they always follow the exposure opportunity,” the report says.

The theme persists

The most surprising thing I found about business was the large concern for finance and low concern for service.

–Henry Ford

Not being concerned about service is a great way to make finance concerning.

What sticks out attracts attention. Which is kind of the point.

Don’t smooth the edges of your marketing.

Polished surfaces are hard to hold onto.

from Luke Geddes via Austin Kleon

This is handy

Here is a quick look at the differences in post life on some of the major platforms:

• TikTok:  0-2 minutes
• Twitter:  15-18 minutes
• Facebook:  5-6 hours
• LinkedIn:  24 hours
• Instagram:  48 hours
• YouTube:  20 days
• Pinterest:  4 months
• Blog Posts: 2 years

(The page does not load properly for me on mobile. I recommend desktop or using the Wayback Machine to grab a cached version.)