
The 1% Delusion
“If we get just 1% of this HUGE market…” I hear this constantly from product teams. Always have. Right now, I’m working with a client who initially calculated 100 million
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“If we get just 1% of this HUGE market…” I hear this constantly from product teams. Always have. Right now, I’m working with a client who initially calculated 100 million

I was at Starbucks yesterday, waiting for my Americano and browsing the merchandise wall. The prices stunned me. Not because they were high (though they were), or because I’m a cheapskate (I

When I was writing about Lush the other day in my post about Experience Design innovation, I was reminded how the brand did something in 2022 that most wouldn’t dare: They

Stopping by the grocery store closest to my home yesterday to grab coffee cream, something got my wheels turning. At the customer service desk near the checkouts, mixed in with

I play this fun game every time a delivery arrives: Guess what’s inside based on the box size. I’m terrible at it. Last week, a watch band arrived in a

A Keurig sits on our office counter. We use it daily. Quick, fresh coffee, one cup at a time. And often when I pop in a K-Cup, I think about John Sylvan.

Happy Saturday! Most people think product innovation means adding new features. But that’s just one of NINE main ways you can create meaningful differentiation. Let me show you all nine,

Standing in the card aisle yesterday, I watched last-minute shoppers face that familiar moment of sticker shock. Looking at card after card, finding one that seems ok. Flipping it over.

When I help product teams to eliminate friction, I expect to get some pushback. They may point to luxury brands, premium products, and companies that thrive despite — or because

Ever watch someone struggle with a new product interface because they’re stuck in old patterns? That’s the Einstellung Effect at work. You might recall that I referenced it a few

Starbucks doesn’t make the world’s best latte. Jack Daniel’s isn’t the world’s finest whiskey. And McDonald’s? Let’s not even pretend about those burgers. Yet these brands absolutely DOMINATE their categories. Because perfect isn’t

Many B2B product companies I work with use battle cards. Basically, cheat sheets that outline competitive intelligence, pricing strategies, and objection handling. Consumer brands rarely create them. They should. Of

Ever walked through a department store (or a Sephora) and felt bombarded by celebrity-endorsed products? It’s a popular marketing strategy, and Thursday’s launch of Billie Eilish’s “Your Turn” fragrance is

Cheetos just went and launched a marketing campaign that 99% of its customers won’t fully understand. And THAT’S pretty much the point. They challenged professional font designers to create a typeface

I’ve never been a fan of “impossible” packaging. The ones that require scissors, a knife, and essentially minor surgery to open? (Or possibly stitches for me because of a slipped

SharkNinja makes the kind of products you probably have in your home right now. A robot vacuum cleaner. An air fryer. Maybe that amazing blender you got for Christmas. You might

You’ve seen them everywhere lately. Brown italic fonts. Shaky camera work. “Authentic” lookin’ steamy mess. Max cringe. The “ugly ad” trend started a while back and is still rampant. Meta

Ever think about Del Monte? You know — as in those cans of bland and squishy peaches your grandma used to serve? It’s okay. Me neither, until I came across a

Ever ask a kid why they want something? Their first answer is never the real reason. “Why do you want that toy?” “Because it’s COOL!” “Why is it cool?” “Because

I’ve been working with a client to name a piece of proprietary hardware technology. We need to call it something memorable. Something competitors can’t easily copy. Most importantly, we need

A few years ago, my wife bought me a pair of vivid blue On running shoes. I’d never really heard of the brand at the time, except for the beige Ons I’d

“Practice makes perfect.” What a load of crap. Yet it’s one of the most popular mantras ever in business, sports and learning. Not saying practice is anything less than essential.

Ever watched someone try your product for the first time? That moment when their eyes light up and you know they “get” it? It’s the instant when your product flips

TikTok is back after going dark last week, but on probation. (Will Microsoft buy it?) Truth Social lost 47% of its active users in a year. Twitter (or X) keeps changing rules about who sees

Tesla launched its first car in 2008. Now, 17 years later, global EV sales are expected to pass 20 million units in 2025. That’s more electric vehicles than the TOTAL number

BeReal is having an interesting impact on how businesses validate products. It’s showing up in the real world, not the Insta-perfect one. If you haven’t seen it yet, BeReal is

Did you know Google now answers 2/3 of searches without a click? The search engine has evolved to be that way more and more the past few years. They want
My kids have tablets and e-readers. Yet they strongly prefer printed books. They’re not alone. Print book sales keep rising, even as digital options multiply. When my girls were toddlers,
Mondelez knows a thing or two about your snacking habits. Including a thing or two YOU might not even know yourself. They’ve been watching how weight loss drugs like Ozempic are
I wrote yesterday about the DTC “apocalypse.” Scary stuff if you’re selling products direct to the consumer. But it doesn’t have to be that way. After watching countless DTC brands
‘Member when every startup wanted to be “the Warby Parker of (their product category)”? That was in 2019-20, heading into the pandemic (which itself was great for DTC in general).
Abercrombie & Fitch built an empire on exclusion. CEO Mike Jeffries famously said they only wanted the “cool kids.” The stores were dark, loud, and heavily scented. When I was
Jaguar’s recent transformation of its leaping cat into a simplified fashion font is only the latest in a long line of controversial rebrands. Social media erupts. Design blogs savage. Loyal
My wife was just telling me about Canada Goose’s “Generations” program where you can trade up to a pre-owned parka, bomber or vest. In exchange, you get a gift card
SHEIN just announced a $5 million donation to textile recycling in Africa. Sounds pretty huge. 5 million bucks! But think about it relatively. A company that produces an estimated 1.8
You can still buy a chocolate bar for a buck. At a dollar store, anyway. That very same bar costs THREE TIMES as much at the grocery store down the
Lead in protein shakes. Heavy metals in dark chocolate. Cadmium in organic supplements. A new report reveals that 47% of protein powders contain potentially unsafe levels of toxic metals. Worse
When Japanese auto import restrictions hit in the 1980s, Toyota started building plants in America. It wasn’t a factory invasion. Douglas Fraser, president of the United Automobile Workers at the
Corona’s parent company just watched its stock drop 14% in one day. Not because of bad press, ambassador faux-pas or product issues. Young people aren’t drinking like they did back
Dunkin’ Donuts has launched a personal care line at Walmart. I’m not kidding. Through a collaboration between Dunkin’ and Native, you can now buy: My first reaction was “Why?” My
“Oh. My. God. You guys HAVE to try this!” [Insert perfectly lit video of someone “discovering” a product they were clearly paid to promote] If you spend any time on
A water bomber just collided with someone’s drone over the Los Angeles fires. For real. A massive, specially designed CL-415 firefighting aircraft, sent from Quebec to help save lives and
My father-in-law, a fine artist, buys his art supplies on Temu. Not just for the prices. For the selection. That derailed my thinking about Temu. Because it signals something bigger
Over the holidays, we spent a lot of time playing board games with our kids. The classics came out: Monopoly, Othello, Scrabble, Trouble, even chess. Most are older than I
I buy my share of Kirkland Signature products from Costco. And the odd piece of Amazon Essentials clothing. Also store brands from other retailers I trust. The quality is usually
Anyone in your household get a cool smart appliance over the holidays? You might be surprised by how much it already knows about you. Recent investigations revealed smart air fryers
At Costco yesterday, a sample server pitched her offering as “delicious, easy and convenient.” I looked around. Those same words could describe nearly EVERY edible product in the store. When
Movie sequels are everywhere. We took the kids to see Moana 2 today, and it feels like everything gets a part two these days — sometimes even decades after the original.
I chuckled at a sign near my home: “BAD DECISIONS MAKE GREAT STORIES.” The message continued to play around in my head because I found it SO true in product
Here’s a newly revealed marketing paradox that might surprise you: 44% of American consumers feel ignored by advertisers. The kicker? Many are affluent suburban households making over US $100,000 annually.