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Brad VanAuken

Articles by Brad VanAuken

brad vanauken has written 504 articles for AdTalk

Brad VanAuken

Tapping Into Human Needs

by Brad VanAuken

 I am excited to announce that I have developed a new inexpensive online course entitled “Tapping into Human Needs.” This one-hour seminar will help you better understand human needs and motivations. This understanding should inform brand positioning, marketing copy, selling scripts, and unique value propositions. We will cover Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, The Triune Brain, the […]

Marketing Needs Assessment

by Brad VanAuken

We have been running a continuous marketing needs assessment survey since April of 2017. Here are the latest findings. Organizational role:CEO – 19%CMO – 12%Marketing director – 12%Product manager – 12%Marketing manager – 10%Marketing vice president – 7%Brand manager – 5%Research analyst – 5%Marketing analyst – 3%Media planner – 3%Creative director – 3%Graphic designer – 2%Account […]

Transitioning to e-Commerce

by Brad VanAuken

I am conducting a free two-hour workshop on transitioning to e-commerce for artists on Sunday, September 27 from 4 pm until 6 pm. You are invited to attend.This workshop will teach artists how to develop, host and promote websites for e-commerce including becoming familiar with different web development and hosting services, e-commerce platforms and payment […]

Comprehensive Brand Positioning Course

by Brad VanAuken

This course will provide you with everything you need to position your brand to win. It is based on a proprietary process and set of tools that have been used to successfully position hundreds of brands throughout the world. This unparalleled brand positioning process was refined over 30 years and has been used by more than […]

Marketing and Marketing Communication Are Not the Same

by Brad VanAuken

Frequently, I encounter organizations whose marketing departments consist solely of marketing communications professionals. Those organizations view marketing solely as marketing communications. The department is tasked with writing marketing copy, providing content to websites, running social media campaigns, creating brochures, crafting event announcements and the like.But who is developing the brand’s unique value proposition? Who is […]

Marketing to Human Needs

by Brad VanAuken

If one is not marketing to human needs, that person should not be considered a marketer. Marketers, and especially those who craft brand strategy and marketing communications, must deeply understand human needs to perform their jobs well. I have written a number of blog posts over time that speak to addressing human needs. I have […]

Brands & Storytelling

by Brad VanAuken

Stories are the glue that holds societies together. Consider the stories of Plymouth Rock and the Pilgrims, the Boston Tea Party, the Revolutionary War, the Declaration of Independence, the Civil War, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln. These are the basis of our American Heritage. They provide us with a sense of history and […]

Marketing Needs Survey

by Brad VanAuken

If you are responsible for marketing in your organization, please share your marketing needs with us for a chance to win a Brand Aid book, two hours of free marketing consulting or an Amazon gift card. The survey will take less than 8 minutes of your time. I will post our findings in this blog […]

Brand Research Topics

by Brad VanAuken

These are some of the areas of customer, brand and marketing research that I think could better inform brand management and marketing activities and decisions:Understand how well this generic four part segmentation scheme applies to a wide variety of product and service categories: (a) price conscious customers, (b) convenience oriented customers, (c) brand loyal customers, […]

Brand Aid Book Among Best-Selling Brand Books

by Brad VanAuken

I am proud to announce that Brand Aid is #31 among the top 100 best-selling branding books of all time. 

Eclectic Branding Posts

by Brad VanAuken

I have compiled an eclectic collection of 25 branding posts from over the years (in case you have missed some of them) for your reading pleasure.Brand Research55 Ways to Sabotage BrandsBranding MunicipalitiesWhen a Brand’s Problem is Not a Marketing ProblemLuxury Brands QuizBrand SwitchingFocusing on the WhyBrand TonalityMayo Clinic AdvertisingMarketing CareersBrands and Memory Triggers20 Research-Based Findings […]

The Lincoln Project Advertising

by Brad VanAuken

I have been a student of brand advertising for more than 35 years. I was involved with Hallmark’s award-winning Hallmark Hall of Fame commercials. And, as a consultant, I have advised more than 100 brands on their advertising. Throughout my career, I have seen more bad advertising than good advertising. And, for decades, I have […]

Potential Long-Term Impacts of COVID-19

by Brad VanAuken

It is interesting to think about the potential long-term impacts of COVID-19, including the opportunities and threats for businesses. Here is what comes to my mind in no particular order:More people will continue to work at home rather than in the office. This means less commuting, which may continue downward pressure on gasoline prices. This […]

Values Survey

by Brad VanAuken

We have created a survey to explore the personal values of people who reside in the USA and its territories. It is a simple 5-minute survey and all responses are anonymous. We hope you will take this survey and then share its link with your friends, family members and business associates so that they can […]

Societal, Technology and COVID-19 Trends

by Brad VanAuken

As marketers, we need to stay abreast of societal and technology trends. Here are some trends that will have large impacts on our lives:Societal trends:While globalization continues, nationalism and “buy local” trends increaseRise of the global middle class while the US middle class stagnatesIncreased tribalism in the USGlobal climate change and its consequences – increased […]

Brands, Ethics and Authenticity

by Brad VanAuken

I have written a lot about how brands can tap into deep attitudes, values, hopes, fears and other emotions to sell their products and services. Compared to selling attributes, features and functional benefits, it works extraordinarily well. Having said that, far too many brands have built their foundations on these deep emotional promises, promises that […]

Discover Your Truth, Live Your Truth

by Brad VanAuken

Brad VanAuken is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.Topic: Discover Your Truth, Live Your Truth WebinarTime: May 14, 2020 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us04web.zoom.us/j/75364836162?pwd=aHg3ZmgrOEhOVTNUMjQ3Nnk5aGM4dz09Meeting ID: 753 6483 6162Password: 7wf27z

Virtual Brand Positioning Workshop

by Brad VanAuken

You may know that BrandForward has conducted more than 150 successful brand positioning workshops for some of the top brands in the world. These workshops were designed to achieve leadership team consensus around emotionally compelling unique value propositions for those brands. Today, in the COVID-19 environment, it is more important than ever to craft a […]

Brand Building During COVID-19

by Brad VanAuken

What can brands do when people are stuck in their houses and not able to eat out, shop at local shopping centers, go to concerts or do anything else that is not connected to “sheltering in place” and home delivery? And what can brands do when people are laid off, have lost some or all […]

Marketing’s Revolving Door

by Brad VanAuken

You may have experienced marketing’s revolving door as a marketer, as an HR professional or as a business manager. The median tenure of a chief marketing officer is 27.5 months but some organizations are replacing marketing people at all levels as frequently as annually. Obviously, this is not ideal.One could surmise that one or more […]

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