Author: Ryan McElhany

Ryan McElhany uses his expertise in marketing and public relations to help drive enrollment in higher education. During more than a decade as Director of Marketing & Public Relations, Ryan implemented campaigns to boost awareness for businesses and universities. He also served in management for public entertainment, promotion, and business-to-business marketing. Ryan also teaches business, marketing, management information systems and website design. But, beyond the professional 9-5 is a guy who loves the outdoors. Pop-up camping, hiking and exploring are great ways to find clarity and inspiration. MacBeTrippin is a blog that documents those adventures and shares helpful tips with aspiring campers.

What I learned from angry bees in the Valley of Fire.

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It was the tail end of a 26-day camping trip that took us from Texas, to New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada and Home again. It was at the peak of the 2017 Phoenix heat wave — 117 degrees outside — and we were journeying toward a place known as the Valley of Fire.

I opened the car door at a gas pump 15 miles from camp. The wind blew the door wide — as if it might rip it from its hinges. I stepped out into what felt like a giant hair dryer. I might have looked like Beaker from the muppets if not for my shaved head.
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past and ethics

Are marketers evil?

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We have all endured them — jingle-ridden radio commercials, intrusive television ads, billboards, logos, product placements in movies. We are exposed to hundreds of commercial messages each day. Estimations range from 247 (Consumer Reports ) to 3,000 (Union of Concerned Scientists ). By the most common estimate of 600 per day, we are exposed to more than 200,000 messages per year.

Behind each campaign, each piece of copy, and each painstaking photo, is a mad marketer who consumes research about why we buy. They read white papers exposing how tweens influence the purchases of their parents. They use color to influence behaviors. They create new car smells in a laboratory so that they can make sure that car triggers the right feelings of newness, or pipe aromas into the lobbies of bakeries to increase our hunger and our impulses to buy more than we should.Read More »

It’s ok to be better, not best

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Do you have any goals that have been sitting on your to-do list for far too long? Staring at you, like that creepy dude in the background of all of your selfies.

All of us have those things. The things we overthink. The things we can always find good excuses not to do, because we can’t do them as perfectly as they should be done.

An Italian proverb reads, Il meglio è nemico del bene. From that origin through time we get the contemporary phrase perfect is the enemy of good.Read More »

Ugly design, great personality

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Let’s face an unfortunate truth — American culture is fixated on beauty.

That obsession carries into marketing and design. Some privileged souls work in organizations steeped in a planning culture where a project never begins without a clearly defined creative brief. Others wander a busy highway of squirrel-chasers.

You may relate to the idea of a GMOOT. It’s that moment when your supervisor leaves for a conference or has lunch with a colleague, and you know to expect an urgent email or text message telling you to get me one of those (GMOOT). They are convinced that impressive new feature or innovative design style will translate into higher sales.Read More »

conversion rate is desire minus friction

Use this formula to persuade people to take action

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There we were — looking at the form and thinking, “Ugh, it’s terrible.” The lead form was 22 questions long. Far from the simple name + email forms you see elsewhere on the interwebs. That was before the drip — the additional 6 questions we wanted them to provide after the information they provided on the first form.

I wouldn’t fill that out, I said aloud. What do the numbers look like?

The data wasn’t reassuring. Only 20% of people were completing the form. Four out of every five people who saw it decided they had better things to do. I couldn’t blame them.Read More »

Do you know the secret formula for prioritizing all the things?

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It’s a plague. A communicable disease. You walk into a meeting with a full schedule, and you walk out with an additional buffet of projects.

Everybody wants all the things.

How do you prioritize all the things?

What if I told you there was a secret formula passed down from mystic monks long ago? Monks who scaled the side of a mountain, contemplated the limitations of time, scribed an inspired formula, and crossed the crystal sea to share it with the world.Read More »

Creating a culture of curiosity and inquiry

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“I want everyone to speak freely. There are no sacred cows. Question everything.”

Imagine if that was your company mantra. Your culture was designed for inquiry — beginning at the top, with leaders who are as interested in asking questions as they are in providing answers or direction. Not the basic questions of cost, time, and who is responsible for implementing the plan. Rather, asking exploratory questions – the kind that move the company forward or in a new direction.Read More »

The superpower of praising others

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How does it feel when someone praises your accomplishments? Do you suddenly feel inspired, sharp and ready to take on new challenges? Science shows that there are many psychological effects of praise. Used correctly, praise can boost self-esteem, increase performance and supercharge productivity. Used incorrectly or not at all, it can tear down and render the most high-powered team impotent.

So, why do so many managers have a hard time mastering one of the most essential responsibilities of leadership?
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