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Hello. I'm Stacey Pilcher. I am a strategic marketer and brand consultant who is passionate about helping my clients build their businesses.
I started my business in 1999 and believe inspiration comes from within - and also within the Grand Canyon - that's why you can find me hiking there every year.
I started this blog to help my clients think about new opportunities. How can I help you?
Posts Tagged ‘marketing trends’
Got a Light?
Monday, March 22nd, 2010
Advertising has taken many shapes and forms over the years and is constantly changing due to technology and culture. Who would have imagined when Al Gore “invented” the Internet that the interface would become a platform for advertising and social media?
One unique medium to fall victim to both technology and culture in the 20th century has been the matchbook – wonderful miniatur
e pieces of advertising, art and memories. They were first commercially produced in the 1890s in the United States. But it wasn’t until the 1940s that they began to reach commercial success as an advertising medium. Matchbooks served as reminders of products, restaurants and destinations for nearly five decades.
Smoking was cool back then, too. Just watch the popular TV show Mad Men for five minutes.
But in 1968 the first anti-smoking campaign ran in the U.S. Within three decades, the number of smokers was reduced by 50%. This was a true cultural shift. Today, smoking is even banned from restaurants and bars. To make it even more difficult for the little matchbook, technology changed. Disposable lighters flooded the market and the matches became archaic.
Now an art form for collectors, the matchbook holds a unique place in history. Will Facebook one day stand by its side? You can count on change as the only constant in marketing, and in life.
Tags: advertising, marketing trends, social media
Posted in 2010 | No Comments »
Can Tools Change Trends?
Monday, March 1st, 2010
What sounds better? Music played from a CD on a high fidelity stereo or music played through an MP3 player or iPod? According to research conducted at Stanford University by Professor Jonathan Berger, today’s iPod generation prefers the sound of digital music. For the past eight years students have participated in an experiment where they rated a variety of audio formats while listening to the same song. He found that in fact, over time, there was an increase in preference for the music played digitally. Their experience changed their perception.
In 1913 the Italian psychologist Mario Ponzo created this image and illusion, where the top line appears to be longer. 100 years ago, he thought it was because how our brain interpreted the space on either side of the lower line. However, new theories on how the brain works suggest the perception is due to our experience. In this case, our experience tells us that the vertical lines are receding, like train tracks, meaning that the horizontal line at the top is longer. Not the case – but it is our perception.
These findings remind me that all consumers have past experiences that help define their reactions and decisions. Knowing just where they are coming from will help us move them in a new direction. The iPod generation believes that digital music is great, not to mention they can carry thousands of songs in a device the size of a match book. Oh, do you remember those? Matchbooks – a great advertising tool from the 1940s.
Tags: consumer experience, consumer perception, marketing trends
Posted in 2010 | No Comments »