# blackroad-marketing

Marketing operations repository for BlackRoad OS. Every framework, template, and blog post in this repo is backed by research from the University of Minnesota's advertising psychology and strategic communications programs.

## Repository Structure

```
blackroad-marketing/
├── ADVERTISING-PSYCHOLOGY-OPS.md    # Psychology of Advertising ops manual (JOUR 4251)
├── STRATEGIC-COMMS-OPS.md           # Strategic Communications ops manual
├── DIGITAL-STRATEGY-OPS.md          # Digital Strategy ops manual (SEO, email, social, paid)
├── CAMPAIGNS-OPS.md                 # Campaign planning ops manual
├── MARKETING-MADLIBS.md             # 14 fill-in-the-blank marketing templates
├── TEMPLATES.md                     # 15 additional templates (video, pitch, PR, ads, etc.)
├── CAMPAIGN-BRIEF-Q2-2026.md        # Live campaign: "Own Your Stack" Q2 2026
├── README.md
└── blog/
    ├── 01-vendor-lock-in.md          # 94% fear vendor lock-in
    ├── 02-advertisements-misunderstood.md  # 80% of ads misunderstood
    ├── 03-raspberry-pi-68-million.md  # 68M Pis sold, 5 run our company
    ├── 04-self-hosted-market.md       # $18.48B self-hosted market
    ├── 05-email-open-rates.md         # 43% open rate is fake
    ├── 06-small-business-ai.md        # 82% SMBs say AI not applicable
    ├── 07-edge-ai-market.md           # $118B edge AI market
    └── 08-psychology-of-pricing.md    # 3 pricing page tricks explained
```

## Operations Manuals

| Manual | Source | What It Covers |
|--------|--------|---------------|
| Advertising Psychology | JOUR 4251 (Fennis & Stroebe) | Processing routes, attention, memory, attitudes, persuasion, compliance, personalization |
| Strategic Communications | SC lectures + assignments | SWOT, STP, brand strategy, crisis communication, segmentation, evaluation |
| Digital Strategy | DS lectures + readings | SEO, paid search, email, mobile, social media, PESO, reputation management |
| Campaigns | Campaign class + assignments | Full campaign planning, execution, measurement with worked examples |

## Mad Libs Templates

29 fill-in-the-blank templates across two files. Each template names the psychological principle it uses and includes a pre-ship checklist.

**MARKETING-MADLIBS.md (14 templates):** Blog headline, landing page, email sequence, social posts, four walls, disrupt-then-reframe, campaign brief, customer journey, crisis response, segment profile, pricing page, A/B test, content calendar, influencer vetting.

**TEMPLATES.md (15 templates):** Video script, pitch deck, press release, product launch, testimonial request, competitive comparison, onboarding emails, tagline generator, paid search ads, social/display ads, webinar invite, partnership pitch, referral program, repo README, job posting.

## Blog Posts

Every blog post follows the stat-hook format:

```
[VERIFIED STAT FROM EXTERNAL SOURCE]. [REFRAME THAT CONNECTS TO BLACKROAD].
```

All stats are sourced and linked. All BlackRoad claims are verified against production systems.

## Academic Sources

- Fennis, B. M., & Stroebe, W. (2010/2016). *The Psychology of Advertising.* Psychology Press.
- JOUR 4251 — Psychology of Advertising, University of Minnesota (Dr. Claire M. Segijn)
- Strategic Communications program, University of Minnesota
- Digital Strategy in Strategic Communications program, University of Minnesota
- Cialdini, R. B. — Principles of Compliance
- Coombs, W. T. — Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT)
- Petty & Cacioppo — Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
- Ajzen — Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)

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*BlackRoad OS — Pave Tomorrow.*