Sage Advice, LLC

Paul Sage's Marketing Work and Observations

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MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS LEADER skilled at planning, creating, implementing and measuring communications in consumer and business markets. Industry experience includes telecom, banking, utilities, business services, building materials and healthcare. Key Capabilities • Fractional Marketing Director • Marketing Communications Project Management • Marketing Research and Communications Measurement • Agency and Vendor Selection, Direction and Evaluation; Vendor Contract Optimization and Cost Reduction • Writing: Brand Definitions, Creative Briefs, Proposals, Online and Offline Content • Coaching and Training

Category: Packaging

  • Less Than Meets the Eye

    I bought this bottle of Gorilla brand Super Glue at Walmart. After unpackaging it and using a few drops, I noticed the bottle was half empty (or half full for the eternal optimists in the room). My first thought was that the product-to-packaging ratio was a merchandising ploy, but it’s not about marketing. It’s about…

  • A half gallon of oxymoron

    Kroger sells a product they call “Fat Free Half & Half.” Half & Half is supposed to be half cream, half whole milk, with a butterfat content of about 12%. TWELVE PERCENT. What’s the story, Kroger? I invite spokespeople from Kroger, all members of the dairy industry, and anyone who has ever tried this product…

  • Ozarka is made in Texas?  That ain’t natural.

    I feel like the kid who just found out about Santa Claus, or, in keeping with the season, the Easter Bunny.  My illusion has just been shattered. Ozarka® water is not made in Arkansas. I just assumed it was.  But what do I know, I live in Arkansas.  Nonetheless, I was just being logical, or…

  • Bottle Shock

    Maybe it was just a bad run of their label-making press. Maybe it’s my inability to discern fifty shades of pink. Maybe I just don’t grasp the concept of subtlety in packaging. I’m having a hard time reading the label on this bottle of Aquafina Flavor Splash Sparkling Berry Loco Four Berry Blend Flavor, a…

  • The Pointawfulessness of Stock Photography

    Stock photography in marketing communications: It’s pointless.  It’s awful.  It’s pointawfuless. There’s an old saying in advertising agencies and other purveyors of promotion production:  “Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick any two.” Stock photography is cheap and fast.  But it’s not always good. I bought this package of Kroger potato chips because they were half the price…

  • New Packaging + Very Old Product = Big Idea

    Take music that’s aged 300 years, put it in a sleek, modern package, and give customers a benefit they’ve never had before:  the ability to carry ALL the works of Johann Sebastian Bach in their pocket.  Their BACH pocket, of course. Just $182.25. http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Teldec/2564661127

  • Betty, Duncan and the Doughboy all love a word we hate: Moist

    Yesterday on Slate.com, writer Matthew J.X. Malady went into great detail to tell us how uncomfortable the word “moist” makes many people feel. http://www.slate.com/articles/life/the_good_word/2013/04/word_aversion_hate_moist_slacks_crevice_why_do_people_hate_words.single.html In “Why Do We Hate Certain Words? The curious phenomenon of word aversion,” Malady defines word aversion as “seemingly pedestrian, inoffensive words driving some people up the wall.” He explains that…