This week, we look at brands that separate themselves from the herd. In the world of marketing, standing out is the most critical thing a company can do. Having a distinct personality gives shoppers a reason to remember a brand and a reason to buy. We'll analyze a wrestler who used a delicate flower to intimidate his opponents, a single eyepatch that gave one company a $28M bump in sales and a motorcycle brand that succeeded by taking the fun out of the ride. Hosted on Acast. See aca...
Jan 27, 2017•28 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, we explore why some big brands fail when they attempt to expand internationally. It’s always interesting when massive companies with marketing firepower move into a new country and end up packing up their tents and going back home. Sometimes those companies succeed in other countries, but one just trips them up. We’ll look at how Home Depot and eBay originally struck out in China, why Germany didn’t take well to Walmart and we’ll dive deep into the real reasons Target fail...
Jan 20, 2017•28 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast This episode explores what happens to brands when a completely unexpected event occurs. Most companies tightly control every aspect of a brand - but occasionally, an unforeseen circumstance rears its head. And it’s always interesting to see how the company reacts and what happens to their business as a result. We’ll look at what happened to Ford Broncos after the OJ Simpson slow-speed car chase, what happened to Red Lobster after Beyonce gave it a sexy callout in a song, and what happened to Jam...
Jan 20, 2017•53 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, we explore the crazy world of Trademarks. The key to success in marketing is to stand out from the crowd. One of the best ways to do that is with trademarks. Brands try to create logos or slogans or design features that they can protect legally, giving them unique marketing tools. In this episode, we'll look at a lawsuit between Disney and a music performer over a mouse trademark, we'll listen to how companies trademark sounds, we'll talk about a ring announcer who earned over $...
Jan 06, 2017•27 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we take a peek into the risky, yet delicious world of commercial parodies. Some spoof ads are created just for the laughs, while others are sharp critiques of questionable products, overzealous advertising claims and self-congratulatory corporations. We'll look at a magazine that satirized one of the most controversial court cases of the century, a company that parodied the competition, then sued another company for parodying their parody, and unpack the Saturday Night Live skits that...
Jun 24, 2016•27 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we take a peek into the risky, yet delicious world of commercial parodies. Some spoof ads are created just for the laughs, while others are sharp critiques of questionable products, overzealous advertising claims and self-congratulatory corporations. We'll look at a magazine that satirized one of the most controversial court cases of the century, a company that parodied the competition, then sued another company for parodying their parody, and unpack the Saturday Night Live skits that...
Jun 17, 2016•28 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast This time, we explore the little known and surprising world of Industrial Musicals. In an unexpected collision of Madison Avenue and Broadway, companies in the '50s began staging full-fledged musicals in an effort to inspire their employees, parade new product lines and boost morale. We'll look at one company that tripled the production costs of My Fair Lady to inspire its sales team, another that unknowingly funded one of the most iconic novels of our time, and the handful of...
Jun 10, 2016•27 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast The research team at Under The Influence does a lot of reading over the year, and finds a lot of great stories - many of which don’t fit into our regular episodes. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be told! This week, we’ll tell the story of how Stephen King’s wife fished a story out of the wastepaper basket that changed their lives, how Engelbert Humperdinck’s manager tricked his record company into signing him, how Rocket Richard taught an enforcer a lesson, and we’ll tell an emotional stor...
Jun 03, 2016•27 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast This time, we explore the world of loyalty programs. In this day and age, marketers do everything possible to encourage loyal customers, and loyalty programs are one of the most effective ways to retain them. We’ll go back in time to see how the first loyalty programs started, and we’ll analyze the marketing strategies behind today’s programs to see how they really work. Loyalty cards may give shoppers points, miles and merchandise, but what they give marketers is fascinating. Hosted on Acast. S...
May 27, 2016•27 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we take a trip to five different countries to listen to some astonishing radio advertising. From a theatre company in Switzerland that sponsored the traffic in a whole new way, to a radio campaign that tried to bore you to sleep, to an amazing radio ad that asks you to donate your voice to help other people - all of these amazing campaigns are turning radio on its ear. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 20, 2016•28 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast It’s part two of our Strange Bedfellows episode. It’s not just smaller brands that are beginning to advertise on porn sites, Hollywood has come knocking, too. Large audiences and cheap ad rates are making advertisers ignore the risk in the hunt for reward. At the same time, porn sites are starting to advertise in mainstream media, and are trying to entice advertisers with analytics, public service messages and even college scholarships. It’s an interesting crossroad and a very dangerous intersec...
May 13, 2016•27 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast In this show, we explore the increasingly blurry line between advertising and porn. There has always been a line advertisers wouldn’t cross to promote their wares - but now some marketers have tiptoed over that line to advertise on porn sites. From food companies to fashion brands to Hollywood movies, marketers have breached the final frontier in their search for bigger, more affordable audiences. And on the other side of the tracks, porn sites are beginning to advertise in mainstream media. It’...
May 06, 2016•26 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast This is our annual episode where Terry tells some interesting stories about the brands he admires. This year, it includes the very first toy ever advertised on television in 1952, a teen magazine dedicated to heartthrobs, the only trailer people can name-check on highways, and a book that can be found in every hotel room. Each of these brands has a special reason why it has survived and thrived. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 22, 2016•27 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast In this show, we explore the world of business-to-business advertising. It used to be the most boring advertising in the world - where green copywriters cut their teeth, and washed-up copywriters ended their careers. But all that changed when B2B companies dared advertise on the Super Bowl, and showed the marketing world that advertising industrial equipment could be as sexy as advertising a sports car. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 15, 2016•30 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we search for some of the world’s oldest brands. 80% of companies fold after 18 months, the ones that survive average a 50 year lifespan - then there are the ones that manage to last 100, 300 or sometimes even 600 years. We’ll look at a retail store that began in 1670, a brewery that poured its first beer in 1366, and the oldest fast food joint that used root beer to attract drinkers during Prohibition. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 08, 2016•27 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we look at how marketing companies bounce back from blunders and epic missteps. Yes, most apologize, but what happens after the apology? We find out by telling the story of an airline that mistakenly offered business class tickets to Europe for $39, the cautionary tale of a company that made fun of a very serious Twitter hashtag and paid the price, the way a major candy bar company was forced to pull a global campaign off the air but came back even stronger, and the odd story of how a...
Apr 01, 2016•27 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast While there are many strange products in the world, there are even stranger service companies. This week, we talk about a company that rents wedding guests, a company you can hire to actually cuddle you, and we’ll explore a company that promises to cure your hangover in just a few hours. And if you need an alibi to go with that hangover, there’s a company that markets lies, too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 18, 2016•27 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast The most interesting cultural differences aren’t country to country, they are province to province, state to state, and even city to city. This week, we explore how and why people living in different locations buy such vastly different products. British Columbia likes to show off luxury cars, Toronto likes big homes, and New York likes luxury watches. The most pampered pets live in Saskatchewan. Last year, the city that bought the most sex paraphernalia was Victoria, this year it’s a city out ea...
Mar 11, 2016•27 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we explore when a smaller advertiser attacks the weak spot in a bigger advertiser’s marketing. It’s a strategy of brinksmanship, because it means a smaller company not only chooses to attack a larger company, but it attacks the weakness in a bigger company’s strength. It takes surgical precision, but when done well, the smaller advertiser gains market share, while diminishing the bigger company’s reputation at the same time. We’ll talk about how Avis aimed an arrow at Hertz, how Tylen...
Mar 04, 2016•27 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, we explore the marketing of movie merchandise. From the earliest days of merchandising book characters, to the true beginning of movie merchandising with the birth of Mickey Mouse and the Disney Studio, the marketing of toys and games became a critical strategy for movie and television studios. We chart the milestones in entertainment merchandising, how those milestones became a marketing strategy to build loyal audiences, and how the biggest merchandising breakthrough in a gala...
Feb 26, 2016•27 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we explore words invented by marketers. Many of those words found their way into the dictionary and have become part of our daily language, like “Dependability” and “Halitosis.” While some other familiar words like Retsyn and Fahrvergnugen were around for a short time, then disappeared into the annals of commercial history. We’ll also get to the bottom of Corinthian Leather. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 12, 2016•28 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast This episode explores how small moves can result in huge business gains. While much of the business world spends its time looking for the big idea, many companies enjoy massive results with tiny moves and subtle tweaks. We’ll look at how a hit movie that was turned down by every studio in town was finally sold thanks to a small change in the way it was pitched, how Obama used a small tactic to beat John McCain, and how broccoli made a small move to become popular during the infamous OJ Simpson t...
Feb 05, 2016•28 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we look at the consequences when marketing companies lie. From the Volkswagen scandal, to a promotion that brought Hoover to its knees, to a company that promised super-charged sexual enhancement, each was a case of fraud with disastrous repercussions. Join us as we explore what happened, and whether those companies could ever regain the trust of their customers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jan 29, 2016•28 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast This week, the topic is Zombie Brands - products and companies that had a long run of success, then ran into difficulties, and were either shut down or slipped into bankruptcy - only to rise from the dead and exist yet again. We’ll look at an airline grounded 25 years ago that has taken flight again, a retailer that died and came back, a television show that was cancelled then resurrected to become one of the most successful of all time, and an automobile that once ruled the road, was then disco...
Jan 22, 2016•27 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Most products offer customers as many features and benefits as possible in order to lure shoppers toward a purchase. But then there are some companies that offer you less, and profit more. We’ll look at a book company that eliminated their books and made millions, an electronics company that broke all the rules by eliminating the recording function from a tape machine and made history, and how two companies looked at a shoe and made millions by throwing away the laces. Hosted on Acast. See...
Jan 15, 2016•28 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast In our first episode of 2016, we look at how the marketing industry created many of our everyday rituals. We don't think twice about having bacon & eggs for breakfast, or taking a coffee break, or using soap to wash our hands. But each of those routine rituals was invented by marketing companies to sell more product. You may even be surprised to learn that when our kids trick or treat has a marketing story behind it. Join us as we explore how these and many more rituals began and how they in...
Jan 08, 2016•27 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast This is the final episode of our 10th season on CBC. And to celebrate, we turn the show over to you. That means Terry will be answering listener questions. He’ll talk about why he chose advertising as a profession, how political marketing differs from product marketing, whether the jingle is definitely dead, why some bad commercials actually work, and how he would advertise marijuana if it ever became legal. The questions are fun, insightful and amusing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo...
Jun 21, 2015•27 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we take the marketing lessons from big brands and apply them… to you. If you have to sell yourself, sell your services, if you want more “likes” and followers, or if you’re looking for a job - this episode explores how to manage your social media, how to pick the best profile photo, how to maintain a consistent tone of voice, how to avoid cliches in your resume. It’s time to overhaul your personal brand. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jun 14, 2015•27 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we look at the impact of the Internet of Things on the world of marketing. Soon, most of the devices in our lives will be given a digital voice. Your fridge will be doing your weekly grocery shopping for you - and that means marketers will have to send discount coupons to your appliances now. Your car will be able to make appointments with a mechanic all by itself, and you can now order laundry detergent, coffee and bathroom tissue with the push of Wi-Fi Amazon Dash button in your hom...
May 31, 2015•27 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast This is our annual episode dedicated to great stories from our Under The Influence research books that didn’t make our regular season. We’ll tell the story of why Tim Hortons always chooses brown bricks for their stores, how Best Buy helped men set up their electronics without offending their manhood, an amusing story about the problem of Ronald McDonald taking naps between scenes of a television commercial, and how Levis sold a product to the teenagers of Europe that they didn’t even want - but...
May 24, 2015•28 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast 
