About the Book

Here is the deal, Gimme! is about how to make more effective marketing, better branded campaigns, and stronger communications strategies. It shows you what works, and why.

In short, I believe we can apply the insights of how humans are wired to making marketing work better, much better. Humans are the consequence of genetic evolution, whether through Intelligent Design, or through random gene mutations (survival of the fittest). Some manifestations of evolution found in all cultures include emotions, habits, memories, desires, moods, thinking, and motivations. We share these characteristics because these are the consequence of our genes. The better we can appreciate these characteristics, understand how we are genetically wired, and why we act the way we do, the better we can persuade others. This is the main theme of "Gimme!" and explains the book's title

"Gimme!" applies insights into how humans are wired to better leverage the drivers of motivation. I share dozens of "lessons learned" from my experience in the advertising world, backed by the knowledge gleaned from the vast Ipsos databases of tested commercials, tracked campaigns, and equity studies. Gimme! explores some of our evolutionary traits and then shows how the Ipsos database confirms that advertising and brand marketing follow our evolutionary features. Here are some of the leanings which you will find in "Gimme!" to help make more efficient and persuasive marketing:

  • Consumer memory works best in units, icons, stories, and vision. Branding and marketing approaches which serve up their message accordingly outperform those that do not.
  • Our brains are lazy. We desensitize to familiar stimuli. It is important to be both disruptive and irregular to engage consumer brains. Furthermore, campaigns which change their creative frequently tend to be more effective.
  • Poor brand association is one of the biggest reasons for advertising failure. Learn how to make better branded advertising.
  • Often advertisers strive to make emotionally engaging advertising. Learn why this is important, but also see how emotional response is only a (small) driver for motivation. Creating emotional associations towards the brand is far more important. The focus should not be emotional advertising, since many emotional ads fail.
  • Recognize that emotions and rational thinking are not opposites but two sides of the same coin. Humans make decisions based on the emotional pay-offs they expect to experience. Rational selling messages get converted into emotional pay-offs. Brands which create emotional associations, above and beyond rational tangible product/service features earn better brand equity, higher prices, and business success.
  • Optimal media planning for a campaign is not about exposure, frequency, and high share of voice. The key focus should be on media efficiency and efficacy. These are more qualitative in nature and require true insights. Learn about the facts of media effectiveness from thousands of tracked ad campaigns.
  • And learn much more from the Ipsos database about the sequencing of ads, the nature of more effective creative, the importance of triggering, the impact of "popularity," enriching brand across the human senses, and much more.

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