You think your brand is an asset. But testing may reveal it’s really not.

By Steve Cuno

If you and I were playing a friendly game of word association and I happened to toss out brand enthusiast, I bet direct marketer wouldn’t be the first thing you’d toss back. “Brand, shmand,” many a direct marketer …

By Steve Cuno

Ethan knew how to propose. On a trip to the Serengeti, his back to a spectacular sunset, he knelt before Jessica, produced a lovely ring and begged for her hand. So it was that one of my shop’s best employees returned from her vacation engaged.

Of course, Ethan could have skipped the whole …

By Steve Cuno

An international magazine offered three subscription options. Option A: For a modest price, you could have the online edition. Option B: For about twice as much, you could have the printed edition instead. Option C: For the same price as the printed edition alone, you could have both the printed and online …

By Steve Cuno

Note to parents: Washing your kid’s mouth with soap doesn’t prevent cussing. I know this because when my son was small, he tested it. Upon seeing a repeat-offender friend’s mouth cleansed for the umpteenth time, he came home, applied soap to his own mouth and then tried to say “damn.” And succeeded.

Little …

By Steve Cuno

Eons ago, when I’d been hired to work on the client side, my new employer’s ad agency invited me for a tour. The umpteenth person who had to feign being happy to meet me was the copy chief. This fellow’s ego would have fit easily inside a retail giant’s main warehouse (yeah, …

By Steve Cuno

Try this test to see if you were born with critical thinking skills (“critical” as in analytical). Are you:

A. Human (2 points)
B. Not Human (1 point)
C. Not Sure (0 points)

A score of 2 indicates that, even if you’re a good critical thinker, you probably weren’t born that way. (If you scored one or less, be …