by Evelyn Starr | Dec 9, 2022 | Brand Experience, Emotional Connections
I may be single-handedly keeping the post office in business. Few days pass when I don’t mail a card to someone. I buy 5 books of stamps at a time and cards by the dozens. Cronin Cards, a small business selling cards specifically for business communications, is a...
by Evelyn Starr | Nov 16, 2022 | Brand Experience, Marketing Insights
I love when my newsletter readers send me ideas for future issues. Last April my neighbor Tina emailed me to share a recent experience at Panera. On a Sunday Tina placed an order via Panera’s app as she was finishing her grocery shopping. She arrived at Panera 5...
by Evelyn Starr | Aug 19, 2022 | Brand Experience, Marketing Insights
I used to joke that chocolate was a food group. I’m no longer joking. My diet contains a small daily dose of dark chocolate (or two) which I take with the devotion I used to give to a multivitamin. My husband Dan knows of my passion for dark chocolate and shares my...
by Evelyn Starr | Dec 10, 2021 | Brand Experience, Brand Storytelling
On a bright mid-October Monday, my friend Liz and I had a strange experience when we had lunch outside at a restaurant. Sunlight warmed the patio where two parallel rows of tables were spaced about 15 feet apart. Liz sat across from me, with her back to the other row...
by Evelyn Starr | Oct 8, 2021 | Brand Experience, Brand Strategy, Marketing Insights
My internet browsers open to the front page of The New York Times. For years, the first thing I would see when I went online looked like this: My go-to browser was Google Chrome. It seemed to function best with the apps I use. On August 30, 2021, I saw my tech-world...
by Evelyn Starr | Feb 19, 2021 | Brand Experience, Brands In Adolescence, Marketing Insights
On Sunday March 8, 2020, I took my friend Kathryn out for brunch. We did not know this would be one of the last times we would be inside a restaurant that year. We were celebrating her birthday, but she had a gift for me. Kathryn and her boyfriend Neal saw the mug in...
by Evelyn Starr | Jan 22, 2021 | Brand Experience, Marketing Insights
I gave up making New Year’s resolutions years ago. I’m more of a make-a-goal-when-you-need-a-goal person. But on New Year’s Day 2020 I got drawn in by Tara Parker Pope’s “7-Day Sugar Challenge” in The New York Times. Pope almost lost me on Day 1 with her admonition to...
by Evelyn Starr | Dec 11, 2020 | Brand Experience, Brand Strategy, Marketing Strategy
My son AJ has always had a penchant for colorful clothes. Orange is his favorite color. A fair portion of his wardrobe reflects that, along with an ample array of reds and greens. On November 11, I sought to replace a beloved, well-worn pair of Nike orange sweatpants...
by Evelyn Starr | Nov 13, 2020 | Brand Experience, Brand Growth & Rebranding, Marketing Strategy
Early November brings certain reliable events to our New England neighborhood. The whir of leaf blowers replaces the buzz of lawn mowers as trees shed their remaining colorful leaves. At least one household begins prematurely displaying holiday lights. Sweaters,...
