Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly
Episodes
S6E05 - Judgment Day: Super Bowl Advertising
03 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we take a look at the biggest day of the year for the advertising industry: The Super Bowl. The only sporting event where viewers pay as mu...
S6E04 - What A Difference A Difference Makes: Standing Out In The Marketplace
27 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we look at brands that separate themselves from the herd. In the world of marketing, standing out is the most critical thing a company can ...
S6E03 - Passport Revoked: When Brands Fail Internationally
20 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we explore why some big brands fail when they attempt to expand internationally. It’s always interesting when massive companie...
S6E02 - LIVE: Unforeseen Circumstances: How Companies Are Affected By Chance
20 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This episode explores what happens to brands when a completely unexpected event occurs. Most companies tightly control every aspect of a brand - but o...
S6E01 - The Crazy World of Trademarks
06 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we explore the crazy world of Trademarks. The key to success in marketing is to stand out from the crowd. One of the best ways to do ...
S5E25 - Ask Terry 2016
24 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we take a peek into the risky, yet delicious world of commercial parodies. Some spoof ads are created just for the laughs, while others are...
S5E24 - Commercial Parodies
17 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we take a peek into the risky, yet delicious world of commercial parodies. Some spoof ads are created just for the laughs, while others are...
S5E23 - When Madison Avenue Met Broadway: The World of Industrial Musicals
10 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This time, we explore the little known and surprising world of Industrial Musicals. In an unexpected collision of Madison Avenue and Broadway, compani...
S5E22 - Bookmarks 2016
03 Jun 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The research team at Under The Influence does a lot of reading over the year, and finds a lot of great stories - many of which don’t fit into our re...
S5E21 - Persuasive Perks: The World of Loyalty Programs
27 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This time, we explore the world of loyalty programs. In this day and age, marketers do everything possible to encourage loyal customers, and loyalty p...
S5E20 - Radio Still Makes Waves
20 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we take a trip to five different countries to listen to some astonishing radio advertising. From a theatre company in Switzerland that spon...
S5E19 - Strange Bedfellows: Advertising & Porn, Part II
13 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
It’s part two of our Strange Bedfellows episode. It’s not just smaller brands that are beginning to advertise on porn sites, Hollywood has come kn...
S5E18 - Strange Bedfellows: Advertising & Porn, Part I
06 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this show, we explore the increasingly blurry line between advertising and porn. There has always been a line advertisers wouldn’t cross to promo...
S5E16 - Brand Envy 2016
22 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This is our annual episode where Terry tells some interesting stories about the brands he admires. This year, it includes the very first toy ever adve...
S5E15 - Business As Unusual: The World of B2B Advertising
15 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this show, we explore the world of business-to-business advertising. It used to be the most boring advertising in the world - where green copywrite...
S5E14 - World's Oldest Brands
08 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we search for some of the world’s oldest brands. 80% of companies fold after 18 months, the ones that survive average a 50 year lifespan ...
S5E13- Bouncing Back: How Marketers Survive Debacles
01 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we look at how marketing companies bounce back from blunders and epic missteps. Yes, most apologize, but what happens after the apology? We...
S5E11 - Liar For Hire: And Other Strange Service Companies
18 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
While there are many strange products in the world, there are even stranger service companies. This week, we talk about a company that rents wedding g...
S5E10 - Live and Let Buy: Where You Live Dictates What You Purchase
11 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
The most interesting cultural differences aren’t country to country, they are province to province, state to state, and even city to city. This week...
S5E09 - Achilles Heel Advertising: Repositioning The Competition
04 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we explore when a smaller advertiser attacks the weak spot in a bigger advertiser’s marketing. It’s a strategy of brinksmanship, becaus...
S5E08 - Movie Merchandising
26 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we explore the marketing of movie merchandise. From the earliest days of merchandising book characters, to the true beginning of movi...
S5E06 - Words Invented By Marketers
12 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we explore words invented by marketers. Many of those words found their way into the dictionary and have become part of our daily language,...
S5E05 - Small Move, Big Gain
05 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This episode explores how small moves can result in huge business gains. While much of the business world spends its time looking for the big idea, ma...
S5E04 - When Marketers Lie
29 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we look at the consequences when marketing companies lie. From the Volkswagen scandal, to a promotion that brought Hoover to its knees...
S5E03 - Zombie Brands
22 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the topic is Zombie Brands - products and companies that had a long run of success, then ran into difficulties, and were either shut down o...
S5E02 - Promise Less, Profit More
15 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Most products offer customers as many features and benefits as possible in order to lure shoppers toward a purchase. But then there are some companies...
S5E01 - How Marketing Created Rituals
08 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
In our first episode of 2016, we look at how the marketing industry created many of our everyday rituals. We don't think twice about having bacon &...
S4E25 - Ask Terry 2015
21 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
This is the final episode of our 10th season on CBC. And to celebrate, we turn the show over to you. That means Terry will be answering listener quest...
S4E24 - Selling Yourself: The Art of Personal Branding
14 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we take the marketing lessons from big brands and apply them… to you. If you have to sell yourself, sell your services, if you want more ...
S4E22 - The Internet of (Marketing) Things
31 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we look at the impact of the Internet of Things on the world of marketing. Soon, most of the devices in our lives will be given a digital v...
S4E21 - Bookmarks 2015
24 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
This is our annual episode dedicated to great stories from our Under The Influence research books that didn’t make our regular season. We’ll tell ...
S4E20 - Sue Me, Sue You Blues: Famous Advertising Lawsuits
17 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we look at Famous Advertising Lawsuits. Because the stakes are so high in the world of marketing, it leads to some interesting - and odd - ...
S4E19 - Even In The Dark: How Packaging Persuades You To Buy
10 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we explore how Product Packaging influences what you buy. We'll tell the story of how the famous Coke bottle was born, how the psychol...
S4E17 - Show Me The Money: The World of Product Placement
26 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we explore the world of product placement. From the first product placement in a movie in 1927, to E.T., to the latest movies and TV shows,...
S4E16 - Brand Envy 2015
19 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
This week, it’s Terry's annual look at his favourite brands. They may not be the coolest brands, or the newest or the biggest - they are just fascin...
S4E15 - Tourism Marketing
12 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we look at the world of Tourism Marketing. Every country and city competes for lucrative tourism dollars, and the resulting marketing is of...
S4E14 - Limited Edition Brands
05 Apr 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Many marketers often release special-edition products of their mainstream brands. It may be a special limited-time flavour, or colour, or it may be a ...
S4E13 - The Marketing Innovations Episode
29 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
This episode takes a look at the most recent - and interesting - marketing innovations from around the world. From an edible pizza box, to a glove tha...
S4E11 - Giftvertising
15 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
This week on Under The Influence, we look at one of the newest trends in marketing, called Giftvertising. Where marketers surprise their cus...
S4E10 - The Sharing Economy
08 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
One of the biggest factors fuelling the sharing economy is the mindset of the Millennial generation. A demographic bigger than the Baby Boomers, Mille...
S4E09 - Geography As Branding
01 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The issue of geography is a subject the marketing world subscribes to. Many companies, and even entire industries, attach their brands to geograp...
S4E08 - For Your Consideration: The Hollywood Oscar Campaigns The Public Never Sees
22 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The Academy Awards are coming up soon - and the wins and losses on that night change the fortunes of actors, directors and films. But what the public ...
S4E06 - Marketing Hit Songs
08 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Just in time for the Grammy Awards, we look at how hit songs are marketed. With music sales in decline, recording artists are turning to inventive mar...
S4E05 - Selling The Moon, Part II
01 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
In Part Two of “Selling The Moon,” we pick up the story with the success of the Gemini program, which leads NASA to believe they might reach the m...
S4E04 - Selling The Moon, Part I
25 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Across the two episodes, we’ll trace the way NASA marketed the expensive moon landing to both the American public, and to Congress. In this first pa...
S4E03 - Selling Ugly
18 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Not all products are beautiful. While it’s easy to sell a gorgeous item, the degree of difficulty ratchets up when the item is butt-ugly. Some ugly ...
S4E02 - Controversy Advertising
11 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we tackle the topic of Controversy Advertising. The number one job of all advertising is to get attention, and many brands choose to use co...
S4E01 - Strange Brands
04 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we look at some of the strangest brands that exist in the world. Some are the result of odd licensing deals - like WikiLeaks, which is now ...
S3E25 - Dear Terry 2014
22 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Well, this is the final episode of Under The Influence for the 2014 season. As as we do every year, we turn this show over to our listeners. Terry ans...
S3E24 - When Brands Mock Other Brands
15 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
This week on Under The Influence, we look at brands that mock other brands. It’s a risky strategy, as one company has to ridicule another brand to m...
S3E23 - Satisfaction Guaranteed
08 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we search for companies that offer 100%, no questions-asked, no fine print lifetime guarantees. They're hard to find, as not many companie...
S3E21 - 21st Century Brands
25 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we look at 21st Century Brands. Only 14 years into a new era, and it's astounding to look at all the new brands and categories that have ch...
S3E20 - Selling Death
18 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we look at how companies sell death. While death is usually a forbidden word in advertising, the subject of death is slowly becoming more m...
S3E19 - When Founders Are The Face of The Company
11 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we discuss what happens when founders are the face of a company. No one can relay the passion of a company like the founder - but while th...
S3E17 - Nudge: The Persuasive Power of Whispers
27 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we look at the subtle art of "nudging." Schools, marketers and even governments are now using small nudges to gently steer people toward ma...
S3E16 - Brand Envy 2014
20 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
This week on Under The Influence, it's Terry O'Reilly's annual episode where he features four brands he admires. It might be because the brand broke n...
S3E15 - Terry's Bookshelf
13 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
This week we air our annual book show. The research for Under The Influence requires a lot of reading, and listeners always ask for more information a...
S3E14 - Elevator Pitches
06 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
The marketing industry is a business of short, concise messages. Be it the confines of 30 seconds, the space in a print ad or the restrictions of twit...
S3E12 - Sunny With a Chance of Mousetraps: How Weather Affects Marketing
23 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we explore how the weather affects marketing. With 75 years of climate data cross-referenced with reams of shopping research, marketers can...
S3E11 - Advertising Alumni
16 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we look at famous people who began their careers in advertising. Many of the people who have gone on to shape popular culture cut the...
S3E10 - Viral Videos
09 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we look at the wild and crazy world of Viral Videos. Some brands spend big money on videos and nobody watches, meanwhile a cat video ...
S3E09 - Have It Your Way: How Mass Customization Is Changing Marketing
02 Mar 2014
Contributed by Lukas
After a 100 years of Mass Production - where one size fit all - 21st century marketing is moving to Mass Customization - letting you custom-desig...
S3E07 - Ambush Marketing
16 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we look at Ambush Marketing. It's a form of marketing where a brand tried to connect itself with an event like the FIFA World Cup - but WIT...
S3E06 - Marketing The Olympics
09 Feb 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Just in time for the Sochi Olympics, we take the opportunity to look at the big-money world of Olympic advertising. From the very first Olympic s...
S3E03 - Cause Marketing
19 Jan 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Unlike public service announcements or corporate philanthropy, Cause Marketing is when a Not-For-Profit organization teams up with a For-Profit compan...
S3E02 - The Psychology of Price
12 Jan 2014
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we explore how we're all influenced by pricing. Like how the price of a bottle of wine has an enormous affect on how much you enjoy t...
S3E01 - Looking Out For Number One
05 Jan 2014
Contributed by Lukas
In our first episode of Season 3, we explore #1 Brands. We'll look at popular categories and identify the runaway best-selling brands and analyze why ...
S2E25 - Dear Terry
22 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
It's our last episode of the season. And every year, we turn our annual season finale over to listeners and answer their questions about advertising. ...
S2E24 - This I Know
15 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
This penultimate show of the season features the various lessons I've learned over the course of my 30-year advertising career. From the fact small br...
S2E21 - Nobody's Dead Anymore: Marketing Deceased Celebrities
25 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
It’s become a $2 billion dollar industry. And the marketing of dead celebrities not only attracts lots of big brands, but lots of con...
S2E20 - Real Time Advertising
18 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
This episode explores the arrival of real-time advertising. Over the past 100 years, advertisers could never respond to an event or opportunity in min...
S2E19 - Nothing In Common: How Hollywood Portrays Ad People
11 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Most pilots, lawyers and doctors roll their eyes at the way Hollywood depicts them, and ad people are no exception. From the 1947 movie The Hucks...
S2E17 - Brand Envy 2013
27 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
This is my annual look at the brands I envy.They may not be the hippest, or the latest, or even the coolest brands. They could be a product, a service...
S2E16 - Loss Leaders: How Companies Profit By Losing Money
20 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
This is the very interesting selling strategy where one product is given away for free, or at a high discount, in order to attract people to buy anoth...
S2E15 - Game Shows As Marketing
13 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
They’ve been around for almost 80 years, and entertain millions. But game shows are also powerful marketing vehicles. We’ll trace their history fr...
S2E14 - Famous Marketing Blunders
06 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Along with the most famous marketing blunder of all time - the Edsel - we’ll look at what caused Coke to make the mistake of changing their fa...
S2E12 - Selling Danger
23 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
In the history of the advertising industry, the full force of persuasion has been put behind many products turned out to be incredibly unsafe. Ev...
S2E11 - Tales of Customer Service
16 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
We’re on the hunt for great companies that went out of their way to treat their customers well. From an amusement park that delivered such superior ...
S2E10 - Billion Dollar Brands
10 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
There are millions of successful brands in the world, but very few of them are in the exclusive billion dollar club. We'll test your ability to guess ...
S2E09 - Marketing Stunts
03 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
This week we look at Marketing Stunts.Many brands try to get into the Guinness Book Of World Records as a marketing strategy. With that in mind, we’...
S2E08 - Coming Soon: The Art of the Movie Trailer
24 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
This week, just in time for the Oscars - we take our annual look at creative movie trailers. We’ll see how Walt Disney convinced the public to watc...
S2E05 - Buy Less: How Some Companies Profit By Asking You to Spend Less
03 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
This week on Under The Influence, we look at the companies that actually profit by asking you to BUY LESS.We’ll explore a burger...
S2E04 - Radio Is Dead: Long Live Radio
27 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
This week on Under The Influence, we look at the incredible creativity happening in radio advertising today.Many advertisers think radio is yesterday'...
S2E03 - Timing Is Everything
20 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we look at the critical importance of timing in marketing.It’s one thing to put the right message in front of the right person, but it’...
S2E02 - A Prize In Every Box: Box-Tops, Toys and Free Prizes
13 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
Remember when you were growing up, and you’d find a prize inside your cereal box? Prizes, premiums and box-top offers have been a staple of modern m...
S2E01 - Shame: The Secret Tool of Marketing
06 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
To kick off the 2013 season, we explore one of the most effective marketing strategies ever devised: The use of “Shame” as a marketing tool.First ...
S1E25 - Ask Terry 2012
23 Jun 2012
Contributed by Lukas
In this final episode of the season, Terry answers listener questions about the advertising industry. Some of the very insightful questions include: W...
S1E24 - Striking Images: Matchbook Advertising
16 Jun 2012
Contributed by Lukas
There was a time when the humble matchbook was the top advertising medium in North America. They were handy, colourful, cheap and even a moderate smok...
S1E23 - It's The Little Things
09 Jun 2012
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we look at companies that go above and beyond the call. Companies that add smart, little touches that make all the difference. Like hotels ...
S1E22 - LGBTQ Advertising: Chasing The Pink Dollar
02 Jun 2012
Contributed by Lukas
The gay community will spend over $800 billion dollars this year. A large percentage are affluent, hip and trendsetting, yet the advertising industry ...
S1E21 - Books, Books, Books
26 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
This is my annual look at some of my favourite books. We'll look at a new book, titled, "Mad Women," written by an original Mad Woman from the 60s era...
S1E20 - Sorry Seems To Be The Smartest Word: When Brands Apologize
19 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Over the lifetime of a company, mistakes happen. When those mistakes cause damage, it's appropriate for a brand to apologize. Yet, it rarely happens. ...
S1E19 - Brand Envy 2012
12 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
This is my annual celebration of the brands I envy. They aren't necessarily the most hip or most current, or even the number one brand in their catego...
S1E18 - Colour Schemes: How Colours Make You Buy
05 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
In the world of marketing, the use of colour is a studied science. As a result, colours play a bigger role in your purchasing decisions than you may t...
S1E17 - Hypertargeting
28 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
"Hypertargeting" is the next frontier in 21st century marketing. Marketers are gleaning and buying more and more personal information about consumers ...
S1E16 - Sex In Advertising
21 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
The advertising industry has a long history of using sex to sell products. Woodbury's used sex to sell soap as far back the 1920's - and the campaign ...
S1E15 - Charlie Bit My Ad: When Advertising Works Too Well
14 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Back in 2007, a cute video of two kids was uploaded by their father. In it, one kid bites the finger of the other. That video, called "Charlie Bit My ...
S1E14 - Mascots
07 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is about how major brands in our lives simply vanish. One of magician Harry Houdini's most famous tricks was to make a 5-ton elephant dis...
S1E13 - When Brands Houdini
31 Mar 2012
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is about how major brands in our lives simply vanish. One of magician Harry Houdini's most famous tricks was to make a 5-ton elephant dis...
S1E12 - Handcuffed By Brand Image
24 Mar 2012
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we explore a very interesting marketing predicament: When brands get trapped by their own image. Every once in a while, expensive brand ima...