Michael Kraabel

    Branding - Marketing - CMO - Creative Direction - Minneapolis

    Dear Internet of the Late ’90s and Early 2000s

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    I miss you.You weren’t perfect. You were loud, clunky, and a little too obsessed with under-construction GIFs. But you were alive. Messy, chaotic, and full of raw energy. You weren’t trying to be “seamless” or “user-friendly.” You were digital for the sake of digital. And that made you exciting.You didn’t care about KPIs or engagement…

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    The Bio Challenge

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    Most bios are word salad. You’ve seen them. “Strategic leader.” “Passionate innovator.” “Driving growth through synergy.” None of it means anything.I was reviewing resumes for a social media and paid media management role recently, and by the fifth one, I couldn’t tell if I was reading different people or copy-pasting the same buzzword-laced template. Everyone…

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    The Silent Erosion of Language in the Age of Algorithmic Curators

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    Words are disappearing, and most of us haven’t even noticed. A recent study from technologist Richard Soares found that more than 11,000 common English nouns have dropped in usage by over 80 percent. Not over centuries. Not even over decades. In just the past few years.These aren’t obscure terms or outdated jargon. These are everyday…

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    Writing Human: Stop Speaking in Acronyms

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    I’ve been in this industry a long time, and I’m trying to figure out if I’ve just turned into a grumpy old veteran or if acronyms have genuinely gotten out of control. Either way, it’s a problem we need to address. Stop writing and speaking in acronyms.Meetings already require stamina. Now add an endless parade…

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    The Machine Watches, The Machine Waits

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    When E. M. Forster published The Machine Stops in 1909, the world had no internet, no digital assistants, no algorithms curating every desire. And yet, he saw us coming. His world of isolated citizens, living underground, connected by a vast system that both provided and controlled, was not merely a dystopian fantasy. It was a…

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    200+ Overused Words and Phrases in AI Generated Content

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    There’s something off about the way content reads lately. You’ve felt it. Your audience has felt it. Maybe they can’t name it, but it’s there. That weirdly polished, vaguely helpful, suspiciously wordy copy that says everything and nothing at the same time.It’s the content uncanny valley. And AI is digging it deeper every day. Skip…

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    Brand Performance Marketing

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    Clients don’t usually come to me asking for help with their brand. They come when performance starts slipping. When Customer Acquisition Costs spike. When retargeting stops working. When the paid ads that used to convert like clockwork start going quiet.And the ask always sounds the same: “We need better performance marketing.”But nine times out of…

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    To Sound Human

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    I woke up this morning asking myself the very important question: how can I write more human?  I’ve written a lot about generative technology and how it’s changing our perception of the value and quality of good copywriting. Most writing these days falls in an unfortunate position of being “okay enough.” In certain industries, like…

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    The Create Everyday Project

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    I challenge myself to make something every day. A design, a sketch, a thesis, a digital experiment. Some turn into finished pieces. Some don’t. The point isn’t the result. It’s the practice.Creativity works like a muscle. If you don’t use it, it weakens. Waiting for inspiration never works. Sitting down and doing the work does.…

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    Finding Truth and the Human Content Condition

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    I like to experiment. I view myself somewhat of a marketing engineer, constantly looking at ways to break down tools, methods, processes, and technology, to find out how it all works, before I put it back together again.

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    Translating Marketing Resumes

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    I spend more time on LinkedIn these days than any other social platform. Partially because it’s free of the usual internet garbage, no political shouting matches, no viral thirst traps. But mostly because LinkedIn is the ultimate real-time case study of people in transition.

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    How Agencies Often Sabotage Themselves

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    I have always believed that an agency should function as a “teaching” organization just as much as a “thinking, doing, and making” organization. The agency should be viewed as a partner that prioritizes educating, comforting, and guiding clients through unfamiliar territory. Clients don’t just hire agencies to execute tasks; they hire us to help them find…

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