Michael Baer

Articles by Michael All articles by Michael

• Data-Rich, But Insight-Poor in Marketing Insider on 03/01/2023
  

  Here are some tips on how to pivot your data approach toward insight development rather than mere data collection.

• Start With 'Who,' Rather Than 'Why' in Marketing Insider on 12/08/2022
  

  Focusing first on "who" makes sure your "why" isn't just about you, but instead is about understanding and fulfilling a real need of your customer.

• Calling Your Content 'Thought Leadership' Doesn't Make It So in Marketing Insider on 09/27/2022
  

  Thought leadership goes beyond in its ability to provide a greater sense of authority, expertise and trust than content marketing.

• Define Your Ideal Customer -- Or Be Magnetic To No One in Marketing Insider on 09/01/2022
  

  If your business is for everybody, then it's likely to have a very generic offering that isn't really the perfect fit for anybody.

• Stop Making Content Only YOU Care About in Marketing Insider on 07/06/2022
  

  Three steps to make your content plan more engaging to your consumer.

• Marketing Is A System in Marketing Insider on 05/16/2022
  

  When marketing is working as a system, its disparate parts work in sync with each other, and the momentum builds on itself. Why is this so hard to achieve?

• The Purpose Of Purpose in Marketing Insider on 04/04/2022
  

  After widespread growth of the practice of creating a purpose-based brand, it's recently become trendy to badmouth brand purpose. I disagree.

• What is Marketing? Connective Tissue in Marketing Insider on 03/14/2022
  

  Great marketing is the connective tissue between all of your projects, products, and programs, which helps connect each of these to something bigger.

• Do Less --- So You Can Do More in Marketing Insider on 02/28/2022
  

  Most teams don't have the bandwidth to do everything they want to do -- so it's critical to stop doing things that take time away from core programs.

• Are Your Strategy And Execution Out Of Balance? in Marketing Insider on 02/03/2022
  

  When marketing teams feel so busy that they don't have time to think, that's a problem. They're just spinning plates and juggling balls all day.

Comments by Michael All comments by Michael

• Data-Rich, But Insight-Poor by Michael Baer (Marketing Insider on 03/01/2023)
  

  Haha - I bet you do! And thanks for the kinds words!

• Stop Making Content Only YOU Care About by Michael Baer (Marketing Insider on 07/06/2022)
  

  Thanks, Dane - entirely true. Being consumer-centric ought to be the focus and drive of nearly all businesses and media/content programming.

• The Purpose Of Purpose by Michael Baer (Marketing Insider on 04/04/2022)
  

  Agreed, Marcelo. Purpose only helps if it's authentic and real - and also connected to your business endeavor. But when it's both genuine, integrated, and embraced, it's a real differentiator. Thanks for input.kind regards,mb

• The Risks Of Being Too Data-Driven by Michael Baer (Marketing Insider on 12/20/2021)
  

  Thanks, John. And totally agree - combining data from different sources can be very challenging for the reasons you say, plus the difficulty often faced just getting the different sources and streams to even communicate with each other. The simple act of collecting your own first-party data presents lots of challenges... 

• Affluent Outlook: Finding Clouds In A Silver Lining by Michael Baer (Marketing Insider on 02/24/2020)
  

  Thanks, Ron. This is the exact point I made about Boomers and Seniors - their higher positivity is aligned with/correlates with their higher net worth (and our data corroborates that HNW households are also more positive). We have focused our research (for over 40 years) on the top 20% HH's in America - which aligns with a HHI $125k+. Naturally, this is more "mass affluent" than a "truly affluent" group, as you say. However the sample size is large enough for us to provide relevant brands and marketers statistical cuts of HNW and beyond.

• How Authentic Influence Is Earned by Michael Baer (Marketing Insider on 03/05/2019)
  

  Ford-Not sure if you read the article but it IS specifically about influence - and what we found drives a consumer to actually be influential across their networks. Influence isn't just a paid marketing vehicle leveraging those who have large social followings - real influence happens when regular consumers are looking for advice. And they end up seeking advice and recommendations from the folks that have earned their influence by becoming experts, having a good deal of in-market experience and spending more in the category. The point is that brands would be well served to understand these people because they are the ones who, once engaged, can legitimately influence the shopping behaviors of their network.

• The Affluent Outlook 2018: Affluents In The Age Of Polarity by Michael Baer (Marketing Insider on 02/12/2018)
  

  What was a bit surprising is the dichotomy between people's enthusiasm to how 2017 treated them personally and how they viewed it's affect on the country at large. And that, while the economic news has been a bit of a salve to some, it's moved the needle less than we might have imagined.  

• Happy 'View' Year by Michael Baer (Marketing Daily on 01/04/2017)
  

  Thanks, Nigel. I agree with you somewhat - except for the unmitigated growth of display ad spending budgets and the unabated rise of programmatic media buying, which generally are placed in basic "display" modes. In any event, I agree that better consumer-based strategy (planning), better creativity across the mix, and smart use of technology and analytics all help deliver us from this red herring of viewability.

• Is Annoyance A Media Strategy? by Michael Baer (Marketing Daily on 11/21/2016)
  

  Thanks, PJ. I'll check out your blog piece.

• Is Annoyance A Media Strategy? by Michael Baer (Marketing Daily on 11/21/2016)
  

  Agreed, Ed. There's no single person at fault. And, at the end of the day, it is the Client's money. I also agree that media dis-integration plays a role - when media and creative are sitting in separate silos it can be hard to find common ground.

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