Marketing Campaigns Tell Stories. Training Pushes Content.
One approach works with the human brain. The other works against it. We’ve been studying some of the most effective marketing campaigns of the last decade — Airbnb, Spotify, Dove. Different industries. Different budgets. Wildly different goals. But the same underlying move. None of them push information. They pull people into a narrative. That one […]
IDTX Online 2026
From Zero to Hero: Marketing Techniques for Captivating L&D Content Ready to take your L&D content from zero to hero? In this fast-paced session, you’ll discover how marketing-inspired learner persona thinking—paired with the SURE Principle—can dramatically elevate learner engagement and content effectiveness. We’ll begin by unpacking the purpose and power of learner personas: how understanding […]
Marketing = Memory-Making (And That Changes Everything for L&D)
You already know about the forgetting curve. Hermann Ebbinghaus figured it out back in 1885, and it’s haunted L&D pros ever since. Without any effort to retain it, people can forget 50 to 70 percent of new information within a day. Within a week, that number climbs even higher. If you’ve ever spent weeks building […]
Featured on d’Vinci’s Powered by Learning Podcast
d’Vinci Interactive Podcast Mike and Bianca joined d’Vinci CEO Luke Kempski and Susan Cort to talk about something most L&D teams miss: marketers and trainers have the exact same job. Both fields need to grab attention and change behavior. The difference? Marketers assume people are skeptical and distracted. L&D assumes they’re calm and focused. Guess […]
Featured on Voices of the Learning Network
Infopro Learning & Development Podcast Bianca Baumann on Voices of the Learning NetworkMarketing Your Learning: Hooks, Trust, and Real Impact at Work (Ep. 5) In this must-hear conversation, Bianca Baumann (VP of Learning Solutions & Innovation at Ardent Learning) joins host Bill Banham to flip the usual L&D script. They tackle how to earn attention, […]
Why We See Faces Everywhere—and What That Reveals About Learning Design
Have you ever noticed a face staring back at you from a cloud? Or a car that looks oddly angry? Or an electrical outlet that seems… surprised? You’re not imagining things, and you’re not alone. This phenomenon is called pareidolia—our tendency to see meaningful patterns, especially faces, in random or ambiguous things. Toast. Trees. Clouds. […]
Signaling: A 700-Year Old Lesson for Learning Designers
You know that little pointing hand?The one that shows up in old books and vintage posters? That’s the manicule ☞ And it’s been doing the same job for centuries: It tells your brain where to look—without asking permission. The manicule’s origin story (fast, but vivid) Long before bold text and highlighters, readers marked important lines […]
Featured on Infopro Learning & Development Podcast
Infopro Learning & Development Podcast Mike joined host Nolan Hout to make a simple point: training and marketing have the same job—earn attention and change behavior. The problem? Most training is built like a checklist, not a campaign. We talk about why one-and-done courses don’t work, why emotion isn’t fluff (it’s how the brain decides […]
Featured in AITD’s T&D Magazine
Training & Development (AITD) — December 2025Mike’s article, Stop Drowning in Learner Emails: The Automation Strategy That Actually Changes Behavior, explores how learning teams can use simple, behavior-based automation to reduce administrative overload while keeping learning human. Mike was featured in Training & Development, the official magazine of the Australian Institute of Training & Development […]
The One-Word Upgrade That Makes Your Training Instantly More Persuasive
You’ve probably written a sentence like this: “Employees will learn to recognize phishing attempts.” It sounds fine. Professional. Harmless. It’s also completely forgettable. Change just a few words: “You’ll learn how to spot the phishing tricks attackers use every day.” Now it feels different, right? Closer. Warmer. A little more real. That tiny shift comes […]