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Let's wrap up this fun week with a few fabulous gems from some of my favorite marketers.
Plant something meaningful in their minds (The Wordman)
Copywriter Dave Harland (aka The Wordman) went shopping for glasses, and discovered that Vision Express just switched their tagline from "See more for less" to "Express your vision".
And he's having a proper mourning period over this.
Why?
Their old line was a perfect little gem that even rhymed with the brand name for that sweet ad sign-off: "See more for less, with Vision Express." Beautiful. Simple. Memorable.
The brand was probably trying to get away from their old tagline because it boxed them in to being the "cheap" brand. And that's fine.
But in their goal to shake off "value" and get aspirational, they evolved into nothingness. Because that's what "Express your vision" is - nothingness. No real meaning.
Dave points out that they shouldn't have abandoned "see" - a word loaded with possibilities! It's easily rhymable, has homophones in "sea" and the letter "C", and comes with dozens of idioms ready to be twisted into something ownable.
Instead, "vision" is just too... vision-y. Too limiting. Too boring.
Your tagline is prime real estate that people will read again and again. It should make them THINK something AND FEEL something. The best taglines balance the rational (what you do) with the emotional (how you make people feel).
Compare that with Dave's local dairy company's van: "FRESH MILK ON THE MOO'VE" - rational (they deliver milk) AND emotional (a pun makes people smile every time they see it). That's the sweet spot Vision Express missed by a mile.
So what's your tagline saying about you? Is it all rational with no emotional hook? Is it all about you with nothing for the reader?
Take a look at it, and see how you can tweak it so it both conveys what you sell AND arouses some emotion.
DON'T optimize for AI. Instead, do this. (Eli Schwartz)
The SEO playbook keeps evolving, but too many marketers are making the same old mistake: focusing on the engine instead of the user.
Back in the day, SEO was technical - keyword density, HTML structure, and link networks could game the system. When Google got smarter with its Panda update in 2011, the mindset still lingered - chase the algorithm first, users second.
Now with generative AI, we're seeing history repeat itself. Marketers are scrambling to exploit AI quirks and blind spots for short-term visibility.
Here's the thing: unlike old search engines, generative AI constantly evolves through feedback. Today's optimization "hack" is tomorrow's obsolete tactic. It's building on rented land.
The fundamental truth remains: focus on the human. AI's purpose is serving people, not being an optimization puzzle. While traditional search engines act as content gatekeepers, AI aims to fulfill user intent directly – which means being mentioned doesn't guarantee clicks.
Your best bet? Focus on the middle of the funnel where users need solutions AI can't provide. Generic top-funnel questions will be answered by AI itself. The money is in understanding what keeps your audience up at night and building actual solutions - not chasing algorithm tweaks or AI quirks.
Human-first always wins. The engines will follow.
A surprising way to reduce fraud (Science Says)
Research from five universities found that customers feel much less guilty about acting unethically toward AI than toward humans. When interacting with standard AI, people were 10.6% more likely to report a false reason for returns to get lower shipping costs - they simply don't feel bad lying to a machine.
Why? We perceive AI as emotionless entities that can't judge us morally, so we don't fear feeling guilty about deceiving them.
The solution is brilliantly simple: add human-like elements to your AI. Give your chatbot a name, an avatar, or a conversational tone. Tell customers it works alongside humans or is monitored by your team.
These small tweaks create an emotional connection that activates our built-in guilt avoidance system, making customers 18.5% less likely to attempt fraud.
So if your AI handles sensitive areas like returns, refunds, or customer support, don't just focus on efficiency – add that human touch. Your bottom line will thank you.
Hope you found these tidbits as valuable as I did!
See you on Monday,
Chavy