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This cartoon is partly inspired by a classic quote attributed to David Ogilvy:
“The trouble with market research is that people don’t think what they feel, they don’t say what they think and they don’t do what they say.”
That’s not to say that that market research isn’t important. But directly asking consumers what they want is inherently flawed. People don’t really know what they would do at the moment of purchase or why they do it....

In 1976, Tom Waits released his classic song “Step Right Up”, a hilarious rant on the state of advertising. It’s an anthem to all the bad marketing clichés of the time with lyrics about “year-end clearances” and “50% off” messages jockeying for attention...

“We approach the integration of AI with a mixture of excitement and caution,” Kate Seymour, marketing director at CMYK, said recently.  She captured I think how many businesses are thinking about AI.
She went on:
“While we recognise the vast potential AI holds for enhancing our own marketing strategies and improving the services we offer our clients, we also acknowledge the importance of preserving the human touch.”...

I’ve always been fascinated with how marketing teams make decisions, particularly how they try to tap into consumer insights.
Any form of consumer research is an inexact science.  Focus group glass can distort insights like a fun house mirror.  It can easily be shaped by the team’s own biases and politics. Quotes can be cherry-picked to support a predetermined decision.  Ad...