nun-sense

The Punching Nun Group Blog

Musings from 75 years of combined marketing (and life) expertise.
After all, marketing is life, right?

Fundamentals of Marketing, Know Thy Audience

Just this week, a major consumer brand experienced the same sort of nosedive as “New Coke.” For those younger than my 57 years, New Coke was a massive error I learned about in depth during graduate school…an error that cost Coke millions in 1985. Fast forward to 2023,  Bud Light selects transgender Dylan Mulvaney as an influencer, a mistake that has cost Anheuser-Busch more than $5 billion in just a few days. Yikes! Clearly Alissa Heinerscheid, President of Marketing for Bud Light, missed the New Coke case study during her tenure at Harvard. Given that I’ve lived in Nashville for nearly 30 years, by default, I call this sort of marketing mistake a real “Dixie Chick.” In 2003 the Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines criticized US President George Bush. Although that seems relatively benign to our 2023 sensibilities, 20 years ago, the country music audience didn’t take kindly to it.

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Heading Into 2023

Like most Americans, I wanted 2022 to end.

The chaos, threats of war, an economy in freefall, distrust of the institutions we once held dear and the schism between right and left have resulted in heightened anxiety in every quarter of our country. One thing we all seem to agree on is that a feeling of heaviness permeates every interaction, and the very soul of America.

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Honors Convocation

Although more than 3 decades have passed, my experience at St. Vincent College continues to impact my life in many ways and my prayer is

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The Legacy of George Floyd

I personally condemn all forms of racism, bigotry, hatred, discrimination, and violence—sins against God and humanity. Like so many other Americans, I am sickened by

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Blog Hero: Living a Brand

Living A Brand

Tonight, I sat at a favorite bar in a brand new boutique hotel in downtown Franklin, Tennessee, named after the same river that meanders east,

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New Year’s 2020

After creating so much content for clients, it can be challenging to stop the presses for a moment to develop our content (the cobbler’s children

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Blog Hero: Fake News and the Death of Journalism

The Death of Journalism

Dearly Departed, We are gathered here today to say farewell to journalism—journalism degrees, journalism as a career, any respect for the news in general. Dead,

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Blog Hero: City of Zombies

City of Zombies

I’ve had the opportunity to visit the West Coast twice in the past few months. Typically, travel is business related but these were both pleasure

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Blog Hero: Econ 101

Econ 101

Just about 32 years ago I graduated from Saint Vincent College (SVC) in Latrobe, PA. I’d transferred from William & Mary—much to my father’s chagrin.

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Blog Hero: Project YOU

Project YOU

A new client joined the ranks of PNG this month and as I typically do—when I see something really interesting that I know they’ll relate

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Blog Hero: Hope for 2013

Hope for 2013

As we near the end of 2012, a difficult twelve months for many Americans both personally and professionally, a Forbes article by Kevin Kruse caught

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