Writing & Ideas
Thoughts on Marketing,
Music & Strategy.
Essays and ideas from two decades at the intersection of digital marketing, higher education, and a lifelong obsession with sound.
MarketingIn your ad campaigns, are you chasing aesthetic consistency at the expense of conviction? Where’s your “White Album” moment hiding?
MarketingWhat a 36-year-old Depeche Mode record can teach us about the architecture of a great campaign — and why the best work rewards a closer look.
StrategyThe best work — in music and in marketing — reveals more on a second pass. Are you building campaigns with that kind of depth, or just filling the feed?
AudienceR.E.M.’s Murmur launched with zero mainstream radio — just college airplay and word of mouth. A lesson in trusting the right audience to carry the signal.
BrandingMakaya McCraven’s International Anthem releases share a visual and sonic identity so coherent you’d recognize them anywhere. That’s a brand strategy, not a coincidence.
StrategyDe La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising was once impossible to stream — and the scarcity only made people want it more. On the power of restraint in marketing.