Boston Archives - Bob Cargill

17Dec 2025 by Bob Cargill No Comments

“Do Big Weird Stuff,” Says Ben Collins

[embed]https://youtube.com/shorts/v50HxDQ_HiI?si=lCzIgPdH1djFVt2H[/embed] Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion, lit a fire under me and everyone else in the audience at the Boston Globe Summit at the House of Blues in Boston recently when he said, “Do big weird stuff.” That message hit me right in the heart. Those words reminded me that in this crazy, crowded, AI-powered world, you win by being brave enough to stand out, take risks and do the things everyone else is too afraid to try. So what did I do with that message? I stood on a table in the Business Foundations class I teach at Suffolk University to make sure my students felt it, not just heard it. Big gestures make big points. Big weird stuff makes big impressions. I told them: If I can…

11Nov 2025 by Bob Cargill No Comments

Be Like Mike’s Pastry

Advertising, Boston, Branding, Business, Marketing, Restaurants

[embed]https://youtube.com/shorts/LA2g1OipyzQ?si=KuZCCL2zkaOSNB4D[/embed] Barbara and I were walking down Hanover Street in the North End of Boston recently when we passed Mike's Pastry. You know the scene... the long line out the door, the white box with the blue lettering and that signature string tied neatly around it. People walk around town carrying those little boxes of delicious Italian pastries and desserts like they just won a prize. Because in a way, well, they did. 😊 That’s branding. That’s marketing. That's sales. That’s a reputation built over years of showing up, delivering high quality, being raved about and becoming a big part of the culture. When you see that box, you don’t even have to open it to know what’s inside. You just know it’s something special, it's something irresistibly good, it's something…

04May 2025 by Bob Cargill

A Winning Experiential Marketing Activation from Bank of America

Boston, Boston Marathon, Branding, Marketing

From a brand strategy standpoint, ‪Bank of America‬ executed a textbook example of experiential marketing at the Boston Marathon Expo at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston recently. Their activation was bold, immersive and deeply aligned with the values of the marathon community. They transformed their space into more than a booth. It was a compelling, irresistible storytelling platform. A big, long 26.2-mile carpet map visually represented the historic journey from Hopkinton to Boston. Custom signage invited audience participation. Personal messages and nonprofit spotlights reinforced emotional connection. And the bank's shout-outs to a multitude of local charity running teams underscored a commitment to inclusivity and purpose-driven branding. As someone running my 20th Boston Marathon - my 17th for charity and 11th for Christopher's Haven - I see firsthand how campaigns…

01Apr 2025 by Bob Cargill

Episode 196 of Bob Cargill’s Marketing Show (Podcast) – Conversational Marketing, Podcasting and More with Casey Cheshire

Boston, Marketing, Podcast, Social Media

In a recent episode of my podcast, Episode Number 196, I talk to Casey Cheshire, Podcast Producer and Chief Evangelist at Ringmaster, a Nashua, New Hampshire-based company that produces "branded podcasts for B2B companies that create authentic conversations that generate irresistible content." Casey and I have a ridiculously awesome conversation in the Fisher College (Boston) podcast studio (thanks to college student and podcast producer, Ryan Sheehan) about everything from marketing automation to the importance of in-person, face-to-face conversations with your clients and prospects, from climbing mountains to running marathons and much more.

30Dec 2024 by Bob Cargill

Episode 194 of Bob Cargill’s Marketing Show (Podcast) – Teaching, Running, ElevenLabs, Rustic Marlin and More

Boston, Branding, Business, Marketing, Social Media

In this episode of my podcast, Bob Cargill's Marketing Show, I catch you up on some of what I've been doing the last few months, including teaching marketing at two universities in Boston, hosting the Bob Cargill's Marketing Road Show conference in Boston in early November, using AI (ElevenLabs) to record an audio version of my book, Twenty Jobs, Twenty Lessons - a Long, Strange Career in Marketing, from Junk Mail to Social Media and more. I also share a couple of good marketing-related stories, one about seeing this ridiculously awesome "selfie station" in front of a store, Rustic Marlin, at Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston, and another about an ad I heard recently that inspired me with the words, "The World Revolves Around You."

19Nov 2024 by Bob Cargill

Does Your Business Have Its Own Selfie Station?

Advertising, Boston, Branding, Business, Marketing, Selfies, Social Media

You might call it a chair. Or a bench. In 2024, when it's right in front of a store, I would call it a selfie station. I would call it brilliant. I would call it an opportunity for this store, Rustic Marlin, to attract more prospective customers into their store and perhaps increase their sales. It's a great idea. Especially with all the stickers, in this case, emblazoned on it that say, #Boston. It's something a lot of different brands and businesses could take advantage of themselves. Think about it. This bench is located in a crowded tourist destination in Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Lots of people are walking by on a regular basis. They might want to sit down and relax. They might need to take a break for a…

04Oct 2024 by Bob Cargill

Bob Cargill’s Marketing Road Show on November 8, 2024 (1-8 PM)

Boston, Marketing, Social Media

Come one, come all. Come to Bob Cargill's Marketing Road Show, an exhilarating, enlightening half-day conference on the latest trends, techniques and technologies in marketing and social media for businesses of all shapes and sizes, hosted by renowned industry thought leader and subject matter expert, Bob Cargill, and featuring an all-star cast of successful experts and authorities in the field. From panel discussions to keynote presentations, there will be a huge handful of incredible speakers to listen to, but there will also be lots of time for some serious networking and just plain having fun. Education. Entertainment. Food. Drinks. Music. Pics. You'll get all of that and much more. You'll get to experience a conference like no other, the long-awaited sequel to Bob's first ridiculously awesome Marketing Road Show held…

13Aug 2024 by Bob Cargill

A Great Sign for Lyrik Back Bay in Boston

Advertising, Boston, Branding, Business, Marketing

I have no idea how many new commercial developments are built in Boston every year, and I hardly know the names of any of them, but I know quite a bit about this big, new office, hotel and retail development. Lyrik Back Bay. Sure, it's situated on Massachusetts Avenue between Boylston and Newbury Streets over the Mass Pike in the Back Bay neighborhood, so it's hard to ignore. But it's some of the street-level signage that really caught my eye, not necessarily the unique location punctuated by two tall buildings that will house a citizenM hotel, the LEGO Group's new US headquarters and CarGurus. Seeing a line - er, a lyric, I should say - from the Led Zeppelin classic, Stairway to Heaven, especially caught my attention, admittedly because I'm…

22Jul 2024 by Bob Cargill

Noah Kahan at Fenway Park: Epic Show, Epic Livestream

Boston, Music

What's the next best thing to actually being there, seeing Noah Kahan live in concert? Watching his show live via the TourGigs livestream. Seriously. For less than $20, I joined the 38,000 or so fans who were lucky enough to see Noah Kahan live in concert at Fenway Park in Boston last Thursday night from the comfort and convenience of my own home. From beginning to end, I felt like I had a front row seat for this incredibly gifted folk-pop singer/songwriter's ridiculously awesome performance, enjoying every magical moment of the concert as though I were there myself. Noah is an amazing artist who I've been listening to religiously now for about a year. You might know his music from his big hits, "Stick Season" and "Dial Drunk," but he…

Category: Boston