The Episodic Content Creator’s Guide to Using SparkToro

Last Saturday, I received an email from Rich Wilan, founder of Fascinate Productions. Rich and his team help podcast creators build audiences and top charts, and they’re very good at their work, helping clients like Zoe: Science & Nutrition, Startup Dads, A Cuppa Happy (and more) launch, grow, and reach chart-topping numbers. Rich kindly gave me permission to make my…

Google, Apple, and Amazon Stifle Innovation When They Favor Their Own Products

The SparkToro team got an exciting surprise on Sunday evening: a mention of our research on Last Week Tonight by John Oliver. The full episode, Big Tech Monopolies, is available on YouTube. It covers an issue I’ve railed against before, but with a heightened sense of urgency: there is actually a bipartisan bill in Congress that might fix this. Thankfully,…
Events Personal

The Best Damn Food & Drink Gift Guide 2021

Welcome back to the best edible, potable guide to gift-giving the Internet has to offer. Like last year, we’ve assembled a lengthy list of food and beverage gifts from around the web. And, like last year, we have absolutely no ulterior motive. None of these links have affiliate codes, there’s no kickbacks, we’re just sharing products we (and people and…
Events Personal

The Best Damn Food & Drink Gift Guide on the Web

What’s in this guide that makes it so good? 37 small, privately-owned, high-quality businesses you’ll actually want to support, 75+ delicious food and beverage gifts that your friends and family will love to receive, and 0 slideshows, 0 ads, 0 affiliate links, and $0 dollars biasing the editorial recommendations. In short: everything you’d want in a food+beverage gift guide, nothing…
Data Events Marketing Psychology

Marketing Takeaways from the 2020 US Election | Part V: Brand Familiarity & The Weaknesses of Product

Welcome to the final episode in our five part exploration of the 2020 US election from a marketing lens. If you haven’t already, make sure to check out the rest of series Part I: Identity & Common EnemiesPart II: Positioning & SegmentationPart III: Polling Problems & Growing Fans vs. Persuading ConvertsPart IV: Narratives & Information DistributionPart V: Brand Familiarity &…
Data Events Marketing Psychology

Marketing Lessons from the 2020 Election | Part IV: Narratives & Information Distribution

Welcome to the penultimate episode (part 4/5) in our ongoing analysis of the 2020 US elections. If you haven’t already, check out part one, covering identity & common enemies, part two on positioning & segmentation, and part three on polling problems & growing vs. converting audiences. This time, we’ll look at the memorable power of simplistic narratives, then take a…
Data Events Marketing Psychology

Marketing Lessons from the 2020 Election | Part III: Polling Problems & Growing Fans vs. Persuading Converts

It’s time for part three (of five) in our ongoing analysis of the 2020 US elections. If you haven’t already, check out part one, covering identity & common enemies, and part two on positioning & segmentation. Today, we’ll get into the weeds of survey methodology, why election polling appears to be less accurate, and how your market research might suffer…
Data Events Marketing Psychology

Marketing Lessons from the 2020 Election | Part II: Positioning & Segmentation

Welcome to part two (of five) in our ongoing analysis of marketing takeaways from 2020’s record-shattering US elections. Yesterday, I wrote about how cultural identity drives behavior, and the power of common enemies. Today, we’ll pick up the series by diving into the opportunities and limitations of both positioning and segmentation. In case you skipped yesterday’s post, a few caveat…
Data Events Marketing Psychology

Marketing Lessons from the 2020 Election | Part I: Identity & Common Enemies

I don’t believe there is any greater, more public example of capitalist-driven marketing on display than the American presidential elections. It is, unquestionably: A globally-followed eventA marketing-driven (rather than product-driven) outcome10X+ larger in spend than any other marketing campaign on Earth Ad spend figures from Quartz, Nielsen, & OpenSecrets This pinnacle of influence-driven action is much more than that, obviously.…

Extraordinary Times Call For Extraordinary Measures

There can no longer be doubt: the majority of people in advanced economies are living through the most life-altering event of the last forty years. Natural disasters, wars, economic turmoil, political shifts, technological disruption — all of these pale in comparison to COVID-19’s breadth, speed, and the raw quantity of prolonged, global change. That’s in no way meant to minimize…