Hippo Blog

In 1676, Isaac Newton penned a letter to a friend and coined one of the most famous metaphors in the English language: “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Andre the Giant.” Well, it might not have been said e...

From 1974 to 1984, “Happy Days” ruled the airwaves as one of the highest-rated shows of the 70s. The show originated in a time when nostalgia for the 1950s was at its peak—hot rods, malt shops, sock hops, drive-ins and the like. Who w...

A toolbox is only as good as the tools inside of it. And in front of you right now is a computer (or tablet or phone or smartwatch)—the only tool out there with all the world’s information on it. Are you using it to the best of your abilities...

I lost my wallet recently. It was a total bummer. And the problem wasn’t so much that I lost my credit cards (I could cancel and replace them) or the cash (only $15), but dang I really liked that wallet. After years of wearing through crummyÂ...

I hated science. I can still remember hitting the snooze button in Mr. Mantle’s science class in middle school. But I did look forward to the rare occasion that he would bust out the LaserDisc and play the latest Bill Nye the Science Guy episode f...

Art direction is incredibly important. Graphics are crucial. But copy sells everything you do. Copywriting is a tricky craft. Distilling what you’re intending to say into a concise statement — and making it catchy enough to catch the eyes of ...

Though you won’t find his name in any history books, Ron Popeil is undoubtedly the best inventor and salesman of the 20th century. Sure, there were some other important inventions in the past 100 years or so: nuclear power, the personal compute...

I’m writing this sentence on a $1,000 iMac computer, and I’m listening to music on some pricy headphones. My smartphone, also spiffy and new, beeps whenever I get an email or instant message. And, with IFTTT, my Fitbit reminds me to get u...

A while back, I was driving to a business meeting to discuss the power of inbound marketing. Driving along that Iowa highway, I passed family farm after family farm — complete with fields of corn and silos for storing the harvest. Silos are a cruci...

Have you ever been set up on a blind date? It’s a complete gamble. You could get the love of your life, or you could net some dopey sloth with ugly hair who talks about Pokemon the whole time. It’s hard to tell until you do it – and you...

While the past couple decades have offered an enormous shift in the way marketing (and business in general, really) is done, they haven’t been too kind to the environment. Between the Great Pacific garbage patch, the Deepwater Horizon debacleÂ...

Snow is on the ground. The wind is cold enough to turn your face into a chapped, dry mess. Your neighbor’s snowblower woke you up an hour early. Winter’s here again. Despite what the endless Christmas commercials might imply, it’s n...