Book Review : Atomic Habits by James Clear. At first glance, Atomic Habits by James Clear doesn’t appear to belong on a marketing reading list. It’s not a book about brand strategy, customer journeys, or campaign performance. Yet that’s precisely why it deserves a place on the modern marketer’s bookshelf. Marketing is a profession built…
In this episode of The Overthinker’s Guide to Modern Marketing Podcast, Sean Makin explores a question many marketers are quietly asking: what exactly is the role of a marketer in the age of artificial intelligence? While AI is rapidly transforming marketing by analysing data, automating campaigns, and eliminating much of the spreadsheet-heavy busywork, it hasn’t…
The Curious Case of the Human Brain, a Cup of Tea, and the Suspiciously Comforting Logo. There is a peculiar habit among human beings which has puzzled philosophers, economists, marketing strategists, and at least one mildly confused Labrador for centuries. It is this: People overwhelmingly prefer things that feel familiar. Not better, necessarily. Not cheaper.…
Why do people stay with your brand long after the discount code has expired? There are many things that persuade a customer to buy from a business. Price is one. Convenience is another. And occasionally a particularly persuasive photograph of a sandwich. But none of these, on their own, explain why people remain loyal to…
Book Review: Guerilla Marketing – Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business. by Jay Conrad Levinson. If you run a website called The Overthinker’s Guide to Modern Marketing, there is a certain irony in recommending a book that basically says: “Stop overthinking. Go do something bold.” And yet, here we…
A slightly irreverent exploration of metrics, meaning, and mildly panicked marketing meetings. There is a particular moment in every business owner’s life when they sit across from a marketing agency and hear the words: “Of course, brand-building is measurable.” At which point the business owner nods in the same way one nods when a dentist…
Why do customers ignore perfectly logical arguments… and buy from the brand that simply “feels right”? In this episode of The Overthinker’s Guide to Modern Marketing Podcast, Sean Makin explores the delicate dance between warmth and competence, the two silent questions every customer is asking: Do I like you? Can I trust you? From chatbot…
There was a time, a gentler, more cardigan-friendly time, when a business could simply make something decent, charge a fair price, and rely on word-of-mouth to spread the news. You made a good pie, people told others about it, and society functioned beautifully. That system has since been replaced by what can only be described…
Marketing is one of those curious human inventions that, when properly understood, can transform a modest small business into something approaching a minor galactic presence. When misunderstood, it can also result in a great deal of frantic posting, several regrettable taglines, and a lingering sense that one has spent money shouting into the void. For…
Book Review: D&AD – The Copy Book If words are the atoms of great marketing, then D&AD – The Copy Book, published by Taschen, is the periodic table every creative thinker ought to have on their desk. Loaded with insights from some of the world’s sharpest copywriters, this book isn’t just a manual; it’s a…