When being wrong is so very right.
There we were, observing remote user testing, and a prototype we had created for one of our clients was failing. Spectacularly. And repeatedly. We have worked with this client, a large financial services institution, for years and have a lot of familiarity with their digital properties and how people use them. One of the insights …
The hidden superpower
Early in my advertising career I remember hearing the saying that “if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but as a life-long runner I thought to myself, “great, I will go alone. I like going fast.” I was recently …
“You can do whatever you want.”
What could you do with your digital property if you discarded all those strict brand guidelines, publishing templates, back end requirements – never mind those pesky budgets? How easy could you make it for your customers to accomplish a task? What’s that big problem you could finally solve? Here’s a suggestion: go through that hypothetical …
What makes some brands last so long?
Recently our team got into a debate about the relative value of a brand’s heritage. Some believed the longevity and endurance of a brand brought intrinsic and positive value; others argued that a brand with a long and storied history might have overstayed its welcome in a modern market filled with innovation. We happened to …
When a few weeks becomes a full year.
“Our plan for the coming weeks.” That was the subject line of the email I sent to the Shiny team on March 15, 2020 outlining our plan to pivot to working from home as a result of the growth in Covid-19 cases. Those anticipated weeks have stretched into our working fully remote for a year. …
This post should be longer.
Black History Month, and seeing Amanda Gorman and Vice President Harris at the Inauguration, got me thinking of the amazing Black women I’ve had the opportunity to work with, and learn from. That made me want to sing their praises and make sure more people know about them. With no further ado, following in alphabetical …
Reddit Won It
Now that the Super Bowl is over all of us in adland can start our annual parsing of which ads were great, which weren’t, and debating the Ad Meter scores. In my—and many people’s —opinion, Reddit won the game. The :05 buy was brilliant. It cut through, literally forced people to stop, rewind and read …
Even a millennial can learn a few social media tricks.
A few weeks ago, a member of the Shiny team, who shall remain nameless, asked a favor: Could I provide an education on social media? I laughed, thinking this was a good-natured joke at my expense. When I realized it was not, in fact, a jab at my relative youth I immediately agreed. After all, …
Three business lessons I learned from having my blood drawn.
Like most (all?) people, I don’t really enjoy having blood drawn. Between the mandatory fasting (definitely a problem for me) and a few uncomfortable needle sticks in the past (the old “let’s try the left arm, no the right, okay back to the left” and my favorite “ugh…your vein just rolled over on me”), I …
I received a credit card offer and you'll never guess what happened next.
A couple years ago, I made a few big-ticket purchases and decided to finance them on a 0% interest credit card offer in order to pay them off over time. Once the balance was paid and the no-interest offer was over, the card went to the dreaded back of wallet position. It had served its …
The skyline isn’t the only thing changing in Wilmington.
When I was asked to write this piece and give my perspective on the regional business environment I was immediately whisked back to an evening in the early Fall of 2014. My future business partners and I were eating burritos from El Diablo and having an important conversation that boiled down to “Are we really …
It’s Got to Work the First Time
As an Airbnb/friend’s couch kinda guy, I don’t often stay in hotels, but I did a couple weeks ago for an extended weekend. On the drive there, I pulled up the hotel app (I was a passenger). It greeted me with, “Today’s the day!” I’m already impressed. The app knows why I’m there and follows …
#JointheConversation
I’ll admit to being a bit of a newcomer to the world of marketing. I officially hit the one-year mark of working in the industry in July. But I am not a newcomer to the world of technology and social media. Technology and social media have dominated our world, especially in the marketing industry, for …
Saved by the voice.
The other day I was in the backyard planting window boxes while my boyfriend was off having lunch with one of his daughters. I went inside and on my way back out, accidentally kicked the backdoor closed, heard a sickening “click,” and suddenly found myself locked out. I checked the front door – locked too. …
Tweets, memes, and roasts: how to succeed on Twitter as a brand.
There is nothing better than seeing a brand post in your feed that doesn’t feel like it’s trying to sell to you. One that is witty, timely, and topical. And conversely, there’s nothing worse than one that tries to do all of that… and fails. The best place to observe this is Twitter. Since most …
Radical simplicity.
Marketing is very complicated right now. Brands vie for our attention at every turn, in every medium. The devices we carry around or strap on our wrist are a continuous cacophony of alerts and reminders of things we should be doing, or reading, or tracking. At Shiny we talk about how this has created “the …
Dear smartphone (aka daydream killer),
You’re robbing me of my brain’s downtime. Next in line for my car to come out of the carwash. Minutes into being a passenger. One minute after being in the line at the post office. Seconds into waiting for a red light. Instantly when a commercial comes on. And countless nights lying in bed. These …
The hidden superpower
Early in my advertising career I remember hearing the saying that “if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but as a life-long runner I thought to myself, “great, I will go alone. I like going fast.” I was recently …
What makes some brands last so long?
Recently our team got into a debate about the relative value of a brand’s heritage. Some believed the longevity and endurance of a brand brought intrinsic and positive value; others argued that a brand with a long and storied history might have overstayed its welcome in a modern market filled with innovation. We happened to …
This post should be longer.
Black History Month, and seeing Amanda Gorman and Vice President Harris at the Inauguration, got me thinking of the amazing Black women I’ve had the opportunity to work with, and learn from. That made me want to sing their praises and make sure more people know about them. With no further ado, following in alphabetical …
Even a millennial can learn a few social media tricks.
A few weeks ago, a member of the Shiny team, who shall remain nameless, asked a favor: Could I provide an education on social media? I laughed, thinking this was a good-natured joke at my expense. When I realized it was not, in fact, a jab at my relative youth I immediately agreed. After all, …
I received a credit card offer and you'll never guess what happened next.
A couple years ago, I made a few big-ticket purchases and decided to finance them on a 0% interest credit card offer in order to pay them off over time. Once the balance was paid and the no-interest offer was over, the card went to the dreaded back of wallet position. It had served its …
It’s Got to Work the First Time
As an Airbnb/friend’s couch kinda guy, I don’t often stay in hotels, but I did a couple weeks ago for an extended weekend. On the drive there, I pulled up the hotel app (I was a passenger). It greeted me with, “Today’s the day!” I’m already impressed. The app knows why I’m there and follows …
Saved by the voice.
The other day I was in the backyard planting window boxes while my boyfriend was off having lunch with one of his daughters. I went inside and on my way back out, accidentally kicked the backdoor closed, heard a sickening “click,” and suddenly found myself locked out. I checked the front door – locked too. …
Radical simplicity.
Marketing is very complicated right now. Brands vie for our attention at every turn, in every medium. The devices we carry around or strap on our wrist are a continuous cacophony of alerts and reminders of things we should be doing, or reading, or tracking. At Shiny we talk about how this has created “the …
What matters to you?
Want to get work that really matters for you and your business? Let’s talk.
Email Us