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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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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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. Brand Noise PodcastHow Agencies Often Sabotage ThemselvesBrand Noise PodcastHow Agencies Often Sabotage ThemselvesBrand Noise PodcastHow…
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The concept of the uncanny valley isn't new, but it's never been more relevant. First coined by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970, the uncanny valley describes the unsettling feeling we experience when something, usually a robot or digital representation, becomes almost lifelike but not quite. The more human-like something appears, the more comfortable we…
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You know exactly the scenario I'm talking about. You're sitting in a marketing meeting, eyes glazing over, while someone proudly declares their new strategy revolves around "storytelling." Great. Except there's one tiny problem: there's no actual story. Brand Noise Lecture Series Stop Calling It 'Storytelling' If There's No Story Brand Noise Lecture SeriesStop Calling…
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I have seen too many companies waste time crafting mission statements that sound impressive but mean nothing. Words like innovation, integrity, and customer-centricity get polished, debated, and approved, then promptly ignored. A mission statement is supposed to define a company’s purpose, yet most are so generic they could belong to any brand in any industry.…
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For decades, I managed creative and marketing teams, and the hardest part of the job was never the creative work itself. It was getting useful feedback. Clients, executives, and even internal teams struggled to articulate what they wanted. Most people do not know how to critique. https://www.kraabel.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/KRAABEL_REVERSEPROMPTS_000002.mp3 They assume it means pointing out what they…
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Everyone has a favorite movie. Or at least that’s what they say. “This is my top five,” “That’s my all-time favorite,” “This one changed my life.” But me? I can’t narrow it down like that. There are too many. Some films hit me with perfect cinematography, others with unforgettable characters, and some just have a…
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Binaural and 8D audio aren’t new. They’ve been floating around in the ASMR and lo-fi music worlds for years, usually with labels like “brain-tingling” or “mind-melting.” But I’m not here for gimmicks. I’m here to see if immersive audio can take storytelling beyond words—beyond just listening—to something that surrounds you. Why Mess With This? Because…
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I’ve written brand strategy documents that no one reads. Detailed creative briefs that get skimmed at best, ignored at worst. Spent hours crafting messaging frameworks, only to have someone ask, “So… what’s the takeaway here?” after flipping past 30 pages. It’s not that people don’t want information—they do. They just don’t have the patience to…
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