by Mark O'Brien | Oct 2, 2014
Prevailing wisdom contends that the most important aspect of direct-email marketing is the subject line. I hadn’t given the notion all that much thought until I started receiving a blizzard of such emails, all with this attention-grabbing subject line: Burial...
by Mark O'Brien | Oct 1, 2014
A statement finding its way more frequently and annoyingly into the vernacular of business and politics is this: Hope is not a strategy. Yeah. The statement is true. But enough already. Its corollary statement is this: A tactic is not a strategy. Yeah. That’s...
by Mark O'Brien | Sep 29, 2014
Some people go to great lengths to make sure they’re not taken seriously. That’s sad because it’s really quite simple. If you want to ensure whatever you have to say is dismissed immediately and out of hand, all you have to say this: “We...
by Mark O'Brien | Sep 17, 2014
Hang on. It turns out rumors of print’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. In fact, this post, in the media research blog of the International News Media Association (INMA), says the following, in part: While any advertising campaign should feature a healthy...
by Mark O'Brien | Aug 28, 2014
People sometimes seem to be all but sneering when they use derivations of opportunism. They’re likely to say things, down their noses, of course, like: “That’s just shameless opportunism.” Or, with a dismissive shake of their heads as they turn...
by Mark O'Brien | Aug 23, 2014
A few weeks ago, I attended a local basketball camp to watch the son of a friend play. During the game, it occurred to me that young basketball players are like elderly drivers: They have no idea anyone else is around. They’re always surprised to discover...
