Speaking & Thought Leadership
VR as a Nostalgia Tool: Reminiscence Therapy and Beyond
What role can VR (and XR as a whole) play in preserving and restoring memory? As part of April 2021’s Innovation Week at Paradowski Creative, I gave this Pecha Kucha presentation on innovations in reminiscence therapy for dementia and the way technology is taking on nostalgia — for better or for worse. Along the way I talked about dementia villages, how social media may warp the way we view and value our own past, why highly personalized XR and AI experiences are necessary for ensuring we accommodate a wider range of life experiences, and something called trigeminal-based temperature illusions.
Building Brand Love
I spoke on Building Brand Love in B2B at the Midwest Digital Marketing Conference (MDMC). Watch a video of an earlier version of the presentation (which I gave with Atomicdust Creative Director Mike Spakowski at the Stage at KDHX), or download the ebook.
How to Build a Brand Worth Falling in Love With
In this short video, I discuss our close relationships with brands, why brand love matters and how businesses can achieve it.
The Power of Play
I was thrilled to give the morning keynote ("The Power of Play") at the Iowa AMA Experience 2020 event. I gave an earlier version of this presentation at MDMC in April 2019.
Industry Insights
Six Tips to Turn a Free Trial User into a Paying Customer
As the SaaS (Software as a Service) market grows, the competitive landscape grows with it. If you’re the owner or marketing manager of a SaaS product with a free trial program, how can you ensure trial users snap up your subscription offer instead of the dozens of others they may be fielding? Read more.
Playing Nice With Others: Struggles with Creative Collaboration
You must love the process of creating something amazing with your team more than you love being “right,” or being the decision maker. A “we’re all in this together” mentality isn’t just a nice-to-have. It truly improves the quality and thoughtfulness of the work. Read more.
Writing is Courageous (But First You Have to Actually Do It)
The act of writing for the public is inherently a confident act. At worst, it could be seen as a narcissistic one. It assumes an audience. It declares a belief in its own worth. By putting a piece of writing into the world, you imply that it—and by extension, your opinion and your voice—deserve to be heard. Read more.
Deceptive Design: Why It Happens, and How To Avoid It
Design is manipulative. It says “look here, not there.” It nudges people toward a specific decision, whether it’s which button they should click on a website, the direction they should walk through a museum, or the decision to “impulse buy” a candy bar strategically placed near the checkout. Read more.
To Lead Your Industry, Look Outside of It
Here’s a question we often hear from clients: “This has always worked for my industry; why mess with the formula?”Any brand that wants to dramatically grow market share or take that coveted number-one spot from a competitor has to reject this thinking. Read more.
The Art of Giving Feedback
I would rather go through 1,000 rounds of client feedback on the way to groundbreaking work than spend my time on something easy and run-of-the-mill. I think most agency creatives feel the same way. Feedback is a tough topic. It literally means noise – unwanted sound. But part of helping clients is hearing from them. And great creative thinkers really do want to help their clients. Read more.