Michael Kraabel

    Branding - Marketing - CMO - Creative Direction - Minneapolis

    Navigating the Uncanny Valley in Brand Marketing

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    The concept of the uncanny valley isn't new, but it's never been more relevant. First coined by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970, the uncanny valley describes the unsettling feeling we experience when something, usually a robot or digital representation, becomes almost lifelike but not quite. The more human-like something appears, the more comfortable we…

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    Stop Calling It ‘Storytelling’ If There’s No Story

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    You know exactly the scenario I'm talking about. You're sitting in a marketing meeting, eyes glazing over, while someone proudly declares their new strategy revolves around "storytelling." Great. Except there's one tiny problem: there's no actual story.   Brand Noise Lecture Series Stop Calling It 'Storytelling' If There's No Story Brand Noise Lecture SeriesStop Calling…

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    Why Most Brand Mission Statements Fail

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    I have seen too many companies waste time crafting mission statements that sound impressive but mean nothing. Words like innovation, integrity, and customer-centricity get polished, debated, and approved, then promptly ignored. A mission statement is supposed to define a company’s purpose, yet most are so generic they could belong to any brand in any industry.…

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    Your AI Content Sucks – Reverse Engineering Prompts in 2025

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    For decades, I managed creative and marketing teams, and the hardest part of the job was never the creative work itself. It was getting useful feedback. Clients, executives, and even internal teams struggled to articulate what they wanted. Most people do not know how to critique. https://www.kraabel.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/KRAABEL_REVERSEPROMPTS_000002.mp3 They assume it means pointing out what they…

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    Perfect Films (Part 1)

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    Everyone has a favorite movie. Or at least that’s what they say. “This is my top five,” “That’s my all-time favorite,” “This one changed my life.” But me? I can’t narrow it down like that. There are too many. Some films hit me with perfect cinematography, others with unforgettable characters, and some just have a…

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    8D Audio Experiment

    Crafting Immersive Storytelling for Relaxation

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    Binaural and 8D audio aren’t new. They’ve been floating around in the ASMR and lo-fi music worlds for years, usually with labels like “brain-tingling” or “mind-melting.” But I’m not here for gimmicks. I’m here to see if immersive audio can take storytelling beyond words—beyond just listening—to something that surrounds you. Why Mess With This? Because…

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    Make Those Five Seconds Count

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    I’ve written brand strategy documents that no one reads. Detailed creative briefs that get skimmed at best, ignored at worst. Spent hours crafting messaging frameworks, only to have someone ask, “So… what’s the takeaway here?” after flipping past 30 pages. It’s not that people don’t want information—they do. They just don’t have the patience to…

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    Controversial Takes on Brand Marketing in 2025

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    Marketing is always evolving, but not every shift is a step forward. Some trends are driven by data, some by fear, and others by industry groupthink. Looking ahead to 2025, here are a few marketing shifts I see happening—whether they’re good for business or not. Many Brands Will Pull Back from DEI Initiatives For the…

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    Marketing Trends Coming in 2025

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    Marketing keeps shifting, and 2025 looks like a year where the gaps between companies that adapt and those that don’t will grow even wider. I’ve been watching a few trends closely—some exciting, some concerning. Here’s where my head’s at right now. Every January, I put together a trend report—not just as a way to track…

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    DeepSeek vs. ChatGPT – From Their Perspectives

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    What happens when you ask two AI platforms to analyze each other? Curiosity got the best of me, so I decided to see how ChatGPT and DeepSeek would describe one another. The results were fascinating. The Experiment I asked ChatGPT about DeepSeek and DeepSeek about ChatGPT. The goal was simple: to compare how these tools…

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