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Incest, Smelling T-Shirts, and Dimes (Part Two)

In a previous post, I’d presented several findings suggesting that, on many occasions, our actions are responsive to factors we aren’t aware of. I said this is relevant for marketers, something I will further explore in this post. First of all, I’d like to go deeper into our inability to pinpoint factors that could have Read More

Interlude 2: SydNYE

It’s December 31ts, 2019, and people start coming en masse to the vantage points where they will be able to witness the beautiful firework displays of the Harbour Bridge. The event is so popular that people start arriving in the early morning, waiting for almost 20 hours for the event. And when the time comes… Read More

Interlude: Personal Branding

Before Part Two of my previous post, I wanted to write something about personal branding. “Nowadays, it’s all about personal branding”. This sentence expresses a well-known idea in marketing circles. Personal branding is basically building a professional image that makes you attractive for companies or potential customers (if you are a consultant, for example). The Read More

Incest, Smelling T-Shirts, and Dimes (Part One)

A few weeks back, I had a conversation with a friend about the facts that make some of us like or dislike other people. She is of the opinion that these facts are open to inspection by the self. In other words, according to her, we are able to correctly identify those reasons that make Read More

Shawmila, Pamela Anderson, and Mimetic Desire

On June 21st, 2019, Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello’s single “Senorita” was released. Two months later, the music video had more than 500 million views on YouTube. The video sparked a sea of rumors about a romance between the two singers. And yes, the rumors were shortly confirmed and now it’s official: “Shawmila” was born. Read More

Pushy Guys, YouTube Ads, and Reactance

Reactance theory states that if a person’s sense of freedom, or control, is threatened, she is likely to engage in behaviors or omissions whose intent is to restore it. We have all experienced this. An ad suddenly pops up on a website, and you immediately click on the “X” button to close it. Of course, Read More

Marketing Cults

Cults can have nefarious consequences. The mass suicide lead by Jim Jones in 1979 is an example of the power of manipulation and the radical ideas promoted by some cults. Drawing the line between mere influence and manipulation is important, even though the distinction strikes some as useless.

Tinder, Democracy, and Reviews

Nowadays, internet reputation is crucial for businesses. According to some studies, reviews in websites like Google are one of the most important factors that determine if people want to do business with a company (second only to family and friends’ recommendations). Are reviews  a good decision-making procedure for people? There is not a straight answer.

Commitments and Alternatives

We love choices, don’t we? Not always. Think about channel hopping; all of us have been guilty of it. What could be an accurate description of the goal of this activity? One possible answer is that it is enjoyable by itself. However, after engaging in it, frequently, we end up feeling that we have wasted Read More

Consumption and Happiness: Can We Reconcile Them (Nikes’ Value)?

Are consumption and happiness related? Many people live their lives under the assumption that they are, and the fact that they do is most likely marketers’ fault. But, what is the purpose of marketing? Two words that easily come to mind when pondering what marketing could be are “sales” and “manipulation”. Marketing, under this construction, Read More