Michael Kraabel

    Branding - Marketing - CMO - Creative Direction - Minneapolis

    Jaguar: What Was the Brief?!

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    As a creative director—and a long-time Jaguar owner—I can’t help but ask: What was the brief that led to this campaign? Seriously, I’m baffled. Automobile marketing is supposed to do one thing above all else: put the audience in the driver’s seat. It’s meant to let them feel the leather, hear the engine purr, imagine…

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    The Power of “We” in Presenting Creative Work

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    Presenting creative work is a collaborative team effort. Presenting from the “We” approach not only ensures that clients understand the breadth and depth of contributions from the entire team, but also fosters an environment where all members of the team share responsibility, be it for success or failure. Over the years, running agencies and leading…

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    My Mind-Blowing Experience with ChatGPT’s New Voice Model

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    I’ve always been intrigued by AI, especially the growing capabilities of language models like ChatGPT. They’ve been fun to play around with, helpful at times, but more often a source of curiosity than anything world-changing. But recently, I encountered something that took me from being entertained to being downright stunned—the new ChatGPT voice model. This…

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    Can ChatGPT and Large Language Models Really Think?

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    It’s an exciting time to witness how fast artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing, particularly with the rise of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. These models have revolutionized everything from customer service to content creation, but there’s a critical question that lingers in the background: Can AI actually think? At first glance, it might seem…

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    The Power of Voting

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    From a young age, politics has been in my blood. I remember being that curious kid, sitting around the dinner table, eagerly listening to the grown-ups talk about elections, policies, and the future of our country. I didn’t always understand everything they said, but I knew that these conversations mattered. They were the building blocks…

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    A Prescription for Marketing Success

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    When you think about your health, you probably envision your local hospital—a place that’s equipped to handle every kind of ailment, from a minor scrape to complex surgeries. Yet, despite all those services available, you usually only visit the hospital for one specific reason. Maybe it’s a cold that won’t go away or a pesky…

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    The Future Might Be Code-Free

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    As someone who has been developing on WordPress for 20 years, I’ve always prided myself on my ability to tinker. I’ve dabbled in code here and there in my younger years, but I wouldn’t call myself a developer. Most of my skills came from necessity rather than formal training, and I’ve always found ways to…

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    The Relaunch of Zubaz

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    In the late 1980s, two friends with a passion for fitness and bold fashion launched a brand that would become an icon in the world of sports and fashion: Zubaz. Created by Dan Stock and Bob Truax, Zubaz began as a simple idea to make comfortable workout pants for bodybuilders. But what started as a…

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    Your Meetings Suck. Use the 20/50 Rule To Make Them Awesome.

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    I’ve always wondered how many people out there have ever argued that meetings are the key to their personal and professional productivity. I suspect there are very few. Don’t get me wrong, I actually value face-to-face meetings more than anything else in the world when it comes to knowledge transfer and getting alignment on important…

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    The Manifesto Poster Series

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    At Brand Voyagers, I’m diving headfirst into a unique blend of science, creativity, and, well, a few passion projects that I probably shouldn’t be spending too much time on—but they’re just too fun to resist. This work has become a fascinating journey, one that’s pushing the boundaries of traditional branding and marketing in ways I…

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