We all have that old t-shirt that is so comfy we don’t want to get rid of it. But after awhile, it probably doesn’t fit anymore or starts getting holes in it. The same goes for your target market.

Financial services marketing is slow to change. Consumer desires are not. That provides opportunity for financial institutions that can mentally separate the stifling government rules and regulations from their core offering. To be frank, to have more of a ‘can do’ than a ‘can’t do’ attitude.

I believe in firsts. First to market. First to break a story. First time to do something. It’s good to be first. During this week of Super Bowl hoopla, I’d like recognize the first commercial to launch a marketing and advertising phenomenon: Apple’s 1984.

“Half of the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” John Wanamaker didn’t have big data and cloud storage to prove the worth of his advertising. What’s your excuse?

For most in sales or marketing, trade shows are like the lottery. You buy that booth space before the deadline, wait for the big day, and then…..hope. Hope that you’re in a great traffic area. Hope that your smile is especially attractive. Hope that several new prospects came to the show, just to see someone exactly like you. AKA, you hope that you get lucky. Just like picking the right lottery numbers.

As a kid, I always wanted to play cards with a deck that included the Joker. We used it as our wildcard, meaning that we could determine it to be whatever card you wanted it to be. Some might say that the Joker leveled the playing field, giving lesser players a chance at the game.

Think back to when your business began using social media - what were you trying to achieve?

2014 saw the “rebranding” of several major consumer companies. From carb-loaded restaurant concepts to antiquated technology retailers. It’s apparent that there are just as many sophisticated marketers successfully repositioning companies, as there are people who still don’t understand the difference between a new logo and a revised brand.

October 1989 wasn’t the best year to start a marketing firm considering the stock market was still trying to climb back to pre-Black Monday levels from 1987. The economy was tight, making marketing budgets tighter.

Is there a formula for great ideas?

I just finished reading up on Facebook's re-release of Atlas and if you are someone who works in the marketing industry - you really need to be paying attention.