Branding Archives - Bob Cargill

04May 2025 by Bob Cargill No Comments

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…

01Mar 2025 by Bob Cargill

Social Media is a Team Sport

Branding, Marketing, Social Media

Brands, businesses, professionals, people - listen up! 📣 If you're only relying on your official company accounts to carry the weight of your social media presence, you're missing out on a MASSIVE opportunity. The real magic happens when your team - your employees, your colleagues, etc. - is engaged and empowered to share content on your behalf. That's employee advocacy. That's a game-changer. Need a great example? Look at Lately and their ridiculously awesome CEO, Kate Bradley Chernis! Kate's entire team shows up, engages, supports, and amplifies their brand positively and persistently. And guess what? It WORKS. ⭐ More visibility. ⭐ More engagement. ⭐ More credibility. ⭐ More fun. I’ve worked with many clients over the years, from major brands to personal brands, and this is something I have always…

02Feb 2025 by Bob Cargill

The World Revolves Around You – Yes, You!

Advertising, Branding, Inspiration, Marketing, Motivation

I couldn't help but be incredibly intrigued by an ad on TV I saw recently that boldly declared, "The world revolves around you." This ad caught my undivided attention because, growing up, when I was just a kid, I heard something very different: "The world doesn’t revolve around you." Those words that I heard when I was knee high to a grasshopper left a mark - they made me feel small, unimportant, insignificant and disconnected. But these words? This ad? It offers something powerful - a message that speaks to the heart. It reminds us that feeling valued can change everything in our lives. In marketing, in advertising, on social media, in life itself, the greatest gift you can give someone is the belief that they really matter, that they’re…

06Jan 2025 by Bob Cargill

The Audiobook Version of the Book about My Career

Advertising, Branding, Business, Direct Marketing, Marketing, Social Media

In June of 2022, I published my professional autobiography, 20 Jobs, 20 Lessons - a Long, Strange Career in Marketing, from Junk Mail to Social Media. In January of 2025, I'm publishing the audiobook version of this book, recorded by my professional voice clone created by ElevenLabs. I can't tell you how excited I am to put this audiobook out there, which ironically, goes a long way towards reinforcing my point about Lesson 12 in my book, "Embrace Technology Now." When I spent about two years or so writing this book, I never could have imagined I would be able to create a recorded version of it in only about two weeks. But thanks to advances in #AI, specifically ElevenLabs' founding in 2022, here I am able to drop an…

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…

15Sep 2024 by Bob Cargill

What’s Your Personal Brand?

Branding, Marketing, Social Media

Think of your favorite movie star, rockstar or superstar athlete. What comes to mind? What's your impression of them? That's their reputation. That's their personal brand. After all, your brand is not what YOU say it is, it's what OTHER people say it is. What do people say about YOUR personal brand? Well, to even be thinking of you, they have to be hearing from you and seeing you on a regular basis, either here on social media, or on TV, on a streaming service, on the radio, on stage, wherever. That's step one. That's implied. Then, of course, everything that comes to mind, everything they are thinking and saying about you is, ideally, positive, is, yes, ridiculously awesome. So, what comes to mind when people hear YOUR name? That's…

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…

07Aug 2024 by Bob Cargill

Nike’s Great, New Ad, “Winning Isn’t for Everyone”

Advertising, Branding, Marketing

Am I a bad person? That's the question that Willem Dafoe, as narrator, asks in the great, new Nike ad entitled, "Winning Isn't for Everyone." Am I a bad person? In this ad, he's asking that question on behalf of a team of superstar athletes, incredible, iconic personal brands in the world of sports like LeBron James, Serena Williams and others. This is a great ad because of its storytelling and filmmaking, because it is both inspirational and motivational. This ad is an example, if you ask me, of advertising without advertising, of commanding your attention before you even realize it's all about Nike, not the athletes. "Winning Isn't for Everyone," of course, but it is for those who are willing and able to make that commitment to excellence. And…