by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC + Practicing Skeptic When I was fresh out of college, I met this millionaire who made his fortune selling diamond jewelry through supermarket tabloids. You may be wondering, what kind of jewelry sells through the cheesiest rags on the planet — newspapers that you wouldn’t dare [...]
Tags:AllFacebook.com·critical thinking·diamonds·ethics·Facebook·hype·marketing·quantipulation·small business marketing·social media·statistics
by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC + Resolutionary Thinker I felt a great disturbance in the working force, as if millions of marketing voices cried out in terror over what their new year’s resolutions should be. After all, none of us is really gonna lose that weight or write that novel, so [...]
Tags:2012·advertising·marketing·new year's resolutions·rules·social media
by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC + Fellow Snarketer Seriously thinking about social media? Then think about it humorously first. Ron Shevlin has written the definitive primer for anyone considering a social marketing campaign: “Snarketing Two Dot Oh: A Humorous Look At The World Of Marketing In The Age Of Social Media” [...]
Tags:book review·education·marketing·Ron Shevlin·snark·social media
by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC + Guy Who Buys Too Much Stuff for His Cats They had me at “meow.” They lost me at “sign up.” I was flipping through Facebook, unmarking most of the “Top Story” posts (seriously, Zuckerberg, get your algorithm right already). And that’s when it caught my [...]
Tags:advertising·Cat Pods·cats·e-commerce·Fab.com·Facebook·Groupon·marketing·online shopping
by Freddy J. Nager, Professor of Marketing + Founder of Atomic Tango Too many entrepreneurs and CEO’s tell me that they “don’t have money for marketing” or they’re “not ready for marketing yet.” What they’re really saying is that they don’t know what “marketing” means…
by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango, Former Texan + Devout Football Fanatic This could only work in Texas. In the Lone Star State, there are two dominant religions: Christianity and football. And I would dare say that if there were a Cowboys game on a Sunday morning, most Texans would opt for football [...]
Tags:Baylor University·BCS·causewashing·college football·College Marketing·Friday Night Lights·higher education·marketing·PAC-12·Rick Perry·SEC·Texas·Texas A&M
by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC + Business Lit Taste Tester A friend recently gave me Seth Godin’s book Meatball Sundae, and I found that it lives up to its name: it’s a big mess. I won’t provide a full review of a four-year-old book here, but I have to refer to [...]
Tags:advertising·book review·business books·DailyCandy·dotcoms·marketing·Pets.com·Seth Godin
by Freddy J. Nager, Found of Atomic Tango LLC So let’s say you start an athletic shoe company specializing in tennis — a sport mostly favored by upper-crust Europeans and the country-club set. You cement your brand image by naming your company after a tiny, extremely civilized European country famous for chocolate, watches, skiing, and [...]
Tags:advertising·athletic wear·branding·brands·Hyundai·K-Swiss·Kenny Powers·Los Angeles·marketing·Microsoft·positoning·shoes·sports marketing·viral video·Walmart·YouTube
by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Occasional Coupon Clipper Just read a Mashable article by daily-deal entrepreneur John Amato, who trumpets how great Groupon and other discountosaurs are for everyone (“Why Daily Deals Are Here To Stay”). His key points: people have always loved discounts, the customer acquisition costs are relatively low [...]
Tags:advertising·coupons·customer acquisition·daily deals·discounts·Groupon·marketing·Mashable·pricing strategy
"Common sense is the little man in a gray suit who never makes a mistake at addition, but it's always someone else's money he's adding up."
- Raymond Chandler
Let's hear it for uncommon sense: that inner itch that inspires you to stray from the herd, ditch the training wheels and leap into the fast lane. As we all know, it's the risk takers who get their faces on the cover of Wired magazine and their words on National Public Radio. No one ever remembers who won "honorable mention"...
Cool Rules Pronto celebrates uncommon sense in marketing and media. It's written by Freddy J. Nager, the Founder of the L.A.-based creative strategy agency Atomic Tango LLC, and marketing instructor at UCLA Extension and Robert Kennedy College of Zurich, Switzerland.
