Ep# 2 in our “Best of Travel” series is Expedia's "Made to Travel" and its shift away from marketing destinations and deals to marketing the moments and feelings that great travel makes possible. Thanks to Kantar for sponsoring this series.

Ep#1 in our Travel Series. Leverage distinctive features in distinctive, humorous ways. Having to experience our world in virtual ways led to a craving for reality. And Iceland offers stunning, natural reality in spades, without silly headsets. We talk with SS+K, NY and Visit Iceland. Thanks to Kantar for supporting this series. 

Byron is the author of How Brands Grow and Director of The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Sciences. Some refer to him as the dark lord of effectiveness. He’s blunt and unapologetic. And I like that about him.  He lives in a black and white world, so no apologies to those who live in the gray. 

We wrap-up our Effective Outcomes series with a panel discussion. I'm joined by Elizabeth Paul, CSO at The Martin Agency, David Tiltman, SVP at WARC and author and strategist James Hurman. Thanks to WARC for sponsoring.

Marcus’ book demonstrates the risks of chasing product-based  value propositions and losing sight of how much influence culture and identity have on our purchase decisions. Identity in terms of how we signal who we are or how we want others to think of us. From the clothes we wear to the cars we drive, to where we live, to what we eat. All are signals of implied membership, status, attitude or aspiration. And none are rational decisions.

With its goal of "Easing the Burden of Dishwashing," Finish detergent in Istanbul moved from fifth to first in part through its "Skip the Rinse" brand platform and its Glasses of Drought/Water Index initiatives. We talk about all three.

There was no product shots, no consumption occasion, no restaurant shown. No "ba da ba ba baa." And the industry went nuts. We hear the story behind the work and the ethnography research that fueled it, from Tom Sussman, Head of Strategy and Joe Beveridge, Planning Director, of Leo Burnett, London.

From moving beyond the morning occasion to a focus on quality, Folgers coffee wants to win over younger drinkers.

When the QSR brand asked for a focus on quality, Preacher's Head of Strategy Marika Wiggan and Founder Seth Gaffney found a way to reframe it... For What it's Worth.  

It started with a dinner conversation. That led to Edelman's Tom Hehir, EVP, Head of Strategy, joining me to chat about trust as a strategic goal and why Edelman feels it should be the ultimate metric.