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by: Lynette Webb
Hindsight is an amazing thing. :-)
I like this quote a lot, it’s a nice companion to the classic William Gibson quote “The future is already here, it’s just unevenly distributed” (which is still on my ToDo list to turn into a slide).
Continue reading "fan sites are like dungeons and dragons 30 years ago" »
by: Guy Kawasaki
Here’s a compilation of silly and stupid ways companies are hindering adoption of their products and services. I must admit, some of the companies that I’ve invested in have made these mistakes—in fact, that’s why I know these mistakes are (a) silly; (b) stupid; and (c) hinder adoption.
Continue reading "The Top Ten Stupid Ways to Hinder Market Adoption" »
By: Ilya Vedrashko
A number of interesting Second Life developments happening all at once:
by: Iqbal Mohammed
Was looking through my notes recently and came across the Phoenix Checklist - a set of questions developed by the CIA to enable their agents and operatives to think about a problem thoroughly. It should come in handy for us planners and strategists.
By: David Armano
A funny thing happened on the way to the World Economic Forum. OK, actually it didn’t happen until the end.
by: Lynette Webb
I'd imagine this is obvious to anyone who is actively engaged in blogs, but there are still an awful lot of people who aren't.
Continue reading "Blogs Are Not Important Individually but in Aggregate Are Powerful" »
By: Ilya Vedrashko
This is part 2 of 3 of the keynote address on the future of television delivered by Gary Carter of FreemantleMedia at the National Association of Television Program Executives in Las Vegas in January 2007. (See part 1 and background.) All emphasis mine.
by: David Wigder
An interview with Pete Blackshaw, CMO, Nielsen BuzzMetrics
The creation and distribution of consumer-generated media (CGM) online is rapidly changing the marketing landscape. Consumers are actively participating online, providing opinions, perspective and feedback on the products and brands they like and dislike through a variety of channels including message boards, social networking sites, corporate sites, online communities and blogs.
Continue reading "Consumer Generated Media as Driver of Green Marketing" »
By: Ilya Vedrashko
Gary Carter, president of creative networks at FremantleMedia that brought us American Idol and other blockbuster shows, delivered a very inspiring keynote at NATPE (more notes: part 1, part 2).
by: Karl Long
The decision Nintendo made to innovate around the control of video games and bow out of the 3d arms race continues to pay dividend, generating interest, and encouraging creativity.
Continue reading "Wiibot - Controlling a Robot Arm With A Wiimote" »
Why do we hold on to things long after they have 'expired'?
This question is the central theme in an art project called Best Before, which explores the relationship that people have with objects they no longer use.
NOW UPDATED FOR2007 - Click here
A few months ago the guys at Interbrand compiled their list of the 100 most valuable brands, and now 2007 has come we're turning it upside down again, by looking at the online relevance of the brands listed. As last year, the methodology is - in our own opinion - still open for improvement, yet while we wait for decent and reliable metrics, the results remain interesting to say the least.
by: John Caddell
In the Wall Street Journal, columnist David Wessel highlights the role prizes have played, and continue to play, in fostering innovation.
Continue reading "Want answers to a tough problem? Offer a prize" »
By: Ilya Vedrashko
Retailers, beware. The Big Customer is watching you! And takes pictures. And blogs.
By: David Armano
I keep thinking about the "blogging killing planning" discussion.
Continue reading "Does Social Media Participation Affect What You Do?" »
by: Nancy Baym
The New York Times has an interesting article today about being a black fan of indie rock (they do have the cultural memory to point out that the whole darn genre of rock was invented by black people), that includes this interesting paragraph:
by: David Wigder
Joel Makower’s recent blog entitled “Is ‘Carbon Neutral’ Good Enough?” speaks to the growing trend to offset carbon emissions generated from personal or business activities.
Continue reading "Green Consumer Behavior - Part II: Evolving Social Norms toward the Environment" »
Ever wondered what are the best techniques or visualization tools you can use to help solve your design and business problems?
Continue reading "What to Use to Visualise Your Work and Data?" »
by: Alain Thys
Today I had a lunch meeting in which the topics of conversation included Net Promoter Score, delighting customers and making sure consumers care enough to carry your brand's message into the world. Yet when you put all the buzzwords aside, I think this video of an Apple fan and her dream says it all.
Continue reading "One for the Weekend: Apple ... You're Beautiful" »
by: Karl Long
The simplest way to describe the Robin Hood Fund is it’s kind of like Digg for wishes. You post a wish, and estimate how much it would cost to fulfill your wish, post it, and let the community vote on it and even contribute money toward the wish fund.
By: Ilya Vedrashko
For the record: Blogs today are widely broadcasting a rumor "from an academic who heard through the PhD grapevine" and passed on by a VC that Google is putting together pieces to create a SL-like virtual world based on Google Earth.
by: Guy Kawasaki
Donald J. Trump is a graduate of the Wharton School of Finance and started his business career in an office he shared with his father. In August of 2006, Mr. Trump was voted by BusinessWeek magazine as “the world’s most competitive businessperson.”
by: John Caddell
Wal-Mart recently announced a marketing push to encourage consumers to install energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs ("CFs") to replace old-fashioned incandescents. Wal-Mart's sales target for 2007 is 100 million bulbs, compared to 40 million sold in the twelve months through August 2006. And we're gonna need the help, because the profit incentive for the lighting companies is to keep CFs a niche product and continue to sell large volumes of incandescents.
Continue reading "Lighting companies have a negative incentive to sell compact fluorescents" »
by: Roger Dooley
Duke neuroscientist Scott Huettel, whose neuroeconomics work we described in Decision Making, Risk, and Ambiguity, is back in the news with some interesting work on the neuroscience of altruism.
Continue reading "Social Perceptions and Altruism Research" »
by: David Wigder
An Interview with Dave Morgan, Founder and Chairman of Tacoda
With diverse demographics and evolving attitudes toward eco-friendly products, green consumers are an elusive segment to characterize, let alone target.
Continue reading "Green Marketing through Behavioral Targeting" »
by: Lynette Webb
I recently had to do some research into the status of IPTV in Western Europe. One of the more credible estimates for IPTV penetration I came across was provided by Dittberner, a specialist telecoms research house.
Continue reading "one third of IPTV global subs are in France" »
by: Joel Makower
The bar on climate change keeps rising, at least among a handful of companies seeking to be leaders in this arena. The announcements have been steady of late, with more and more companies claiming some kind of carbon neutrality.
By: John Caddell
Harvard Business School's Working Knowledge site has just republished a fascinating piece from 2004 in which HBS marketing professor John Gourville tells us something we should already know, but don't:
Continue reading "The sneaky price increase - should you use it for business purposes?" »
By: Ilya Vedrashko
Someone who figures out how to spray stores with this thing will move a lot of merchandise:
by: Dick Stroud
Newsweek has an article about the way the 50-plus have miraculously discovered the joys of social networking.
By: John Caddell
The Wall Street Journal yesterday published an article by Alessandra Galloni featuring a fascinating interview with Miuccia Prada, head of the fashion company bearing her name.
Continue reading "Why do people love fashion but hate to admit it?" »
By: Ilya Vedrashko
Welcome Social Retailing (TM) - a technology developed and trademarked by IconNicholson and demoed at the National Retail Federation conference's Store of the Future exhibition.
by: David Polinchock
Had some quick thoughts this morning while in the shower and I thought that I would share them with you.
by: Jon Miller
I recently received this email from a colleague who runs marketing for a security software company:
I’m getting some pushback from my CFO on the size of my proposed total marketing budget as % of forecasted revenue… Do you have any sources with basic credibility with this info that I can cite?
Continue reading "How To Sell Your Marketing Budget To Your CFO" »
by: David Wigder
Understanding consumer behavior is critical for any marketer, and is especially important in regard to environmental products and services.
Continue reading "Green Consumer Behavior– Part I: Information Paradox" »
by: Gary Hayes
OK yet another post on Virtual Worlds, I know, but I will get round to Joost and YouTube TV channels and so on soon. Being involved as designer/developer in several Australian launches into Second Life in the next couple of months I am sensitized to entertainment or service brands entering virtual spaces and in the last couple of days MTV and NBC have shown more faith in MUVE and their inherent social network by launching some phase two type initiatives. Then there is Sears and Phillips design who are going a completely different route. First though:
Continue reading "Phase Two - TV & Design Brands and Virtual Worlds " »
by: George Silverman
Either you’re supporting the customer’s decision making, or you’re creating clutter and obstructing it.
Prospects make dozens of little decisions as they move through the decision process:
Continue reading "Are You Making Decisions Easier for Your Customers?" »
by: Joseph Mann
Does your business have a mobile version of its client-facing web site? If not, are you ready to go mobile in 2007? You'd better be, if a survey and article by Information Week late last year is any measure:
by: Guy Kawasaki
Here’s a collection of podcasts about marketing from Marketing Voices, a weekly podcast that discusses how social media is affecting marketing strategy and practices, by my buddy Jennifer Jones. There’s lots of great information for entrepreneurs and small-business owners in these podcasts.
I was amazed to find out, how extensive the Cult of Mac’s influences over the many products they cover. Even though the Apple Newton PDA was killed by Steve Jobs shortly after he re-joined Apple in 1998, the Newton community continues to defy all odds by keeping this product alive and current by updating it with technologies such as WiFi, Bluetooth, memory cards and even an MP3 Player!
Continue reading "Forget the Apple Phone, Give Me a Newton Anytime!" »
by: John Caddell
I am an advocate of robust and well-maintained personal networks. Too often, though, the business press has viewed networks as the property of salespeople. Even "Never Eat Alone," the best single guide to building networks, primarily focuses on their benefits for deal-making
By: David Armano
Handy little article on Marketing Profs today regarding who influencers are, and how you can start a dialogue with one. Here are some of my favorite thoughts:
by: Sigurd Rinde
If the janitor tell us to use the blue door, not the red one, followed by a clear and compelling reason (no stairs, a four floor drop behind the red door), we'll follow the advice without a second thought.
Continue reading "What's The Emerging Global Soul Anyway?" »
In their 2001 book “The Strategy-Focused Organization” (SFO), the authors, Kaplan and Norton, refer to a survey made by management consultants which reports that fewer than 10% of effectively formulated strategies were successfully implemented. In a 1999 Fortune cover story they specify: “In the majority of the cases -we estimate 70%- the real problem [isn’t bad strategy], […] but bad execution.”
by: Roger Dooley
The last few days have brought some neuromarketing coverage in the mainstream press. If Only I Had a Brain Scan in BusinessWeek describes some recent ad testing:
by: Joel Makower
Two thousand seven is barely a fortnight old, but it's already shaping up to be the year that climate change action reaches a tipping point. The signs seem to be everywhere.
Continue reading "Can the World's Biggest Companies 'Combat Climate Change'?" »
by: Karl Long
Companies like AT&T and Microsoft are sinking Billions (4+ billion each) into IPTV (internet protocol television), enabling them to deliver TV over the internet. And what exactly are these companies trying to do with those billions… replicate “cable” over the internet.
Continue reading "Reinventing Television Might Be Easier Than We Think" »
by: Jon Miller
Modern B2B marketing requires a new set of "left-brained" skills, including:
by: David Polinchock
People like to critique you and today have no problem sharing their critiques with the whole world.
By: Ilya Vedrashko
"Behavioural research consultancy, Bunnyfoot, has conducted an independent study that reveals a lack of engagement between video game players and in-game advertising in sports titles. Overall, SFI [Sponsor Fixation Index] scores were comparatively low, especially when contrasted with the prevalence of brand placements.
by: David Polinchock
Well, I'm very excited to say that based on this list, the Brand Experience Lab has been named "Agency of the Year!" Well, not really, but we should be. It was based on these criteria that we started the Brand Experience Lab in the first place, four years ago this month. Don't believe me? Take a look at what we were saying back in 2001, long before the industry was talking about the importance of creating great experiences.
Continue reading "MediaPost Publications - 2006 Agency Of The Year: Nobody" »
by: David Polinchock
If I can do it on your web site, I should be able to do it in your store.
Continue reading "Prediction 7: You need to E-tail Your Retail" »
by: George Silverman
I found the WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association) conference in Washington last month both exhilarating and disturbing. I’ve been worrying about the current state of word-of-mouth marketing ever since.
Continue reading "Warning: Is Word-of-Mouth Marketing Losing Its Way?" »
By: Ilya Vedrashko
"Stamps released in China to celebrate the Year of the Pig taste of sweet and sour pork.
by: David Polinchock
I’ll write much more about this later, but I did want to ask the question. If everyone in the advertising industry believes that 2007 is the year of the consumer, why do we still get all excited about new advertising vehicles that the consumer can’t turn off? Either they’re in control folks or they’re not!
Original Post: http://blog.brandexperiencelab.org/experience_manifesto/2007/01/a_conundrum.html
by: David Polinchock
What happens when the social elements of things like myspace leave cyberspace and enter the physical world? Can and should brands use their physical space to help facilitate social interaction in the real world?
Continue reading "Prediction 6: The Socialization of Place Continues" »
by: Jennifer Rice
I've been writing about companies who are committed to making a difference. I think the issue boils down to a very simple question: "Who else can win?"
By: Ilya Vedrashko
Burger King "announced that its trio of games for the Xbox and Xbox 360 had broken the 2 million mark in just four weeks" (GameSpot).
Continue reading "Burger King Sells 2 Million Game Copies in 4 Weeks" »
by: Guy Kawasaki
My prediction for Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
Continue reading "The Stickiness Aptitude Test (SAT) and Ten Questions with Chip and Dan Heath" »
by: Sigurd Rinde
Hat tip to Thomas who pointed me to this article at accountingweb.
It's based on a talk at the 2006 CFO conference in London by Bjarte Bogens of Statoil, another Norwegian I might add.
by: David Polinchock
Retail spaces will become even more important as a connection point between the consumer and the brand.
Continue reading "Prediction 5: Retail Grows in Importance" »
Recently there has been a flood of articles about serving sports stars in private banking. The magazine “Schweizer Bank” writes about it here (subscription required), “Private” published an article about it, WealthBriefing.com points it out in “Getting the Best Out of Dealing with Sports Stars” (subscription required). In his book “Global Private Banking and Wealth Management” author David Maude highlights that several banks focus on wealthy sports stars.
By: John Caddell
Counter-intuitive, right? Sure was to me. We marketers are brainwashed to believe that "better" means more features. But creating value by doing less is the new horizon in product innovation. Just ask Clayton Christensen of Harvard Business School, or Mark Hart, who wrote about the phenomenon in the latest PDMA Visions magazine.
Continue reading "If you want to create a great new product, do less" »
By: Ilya Vedrashko
Two seemingly unrelated pieces of news that showed up next to each other on my clogged RSS reader and made me jump:
Continue reading "Sears Carries Cheap Fabricator, Enters Second Life" »
By: David Armano
Now that some of us have woken up after a full day of product lust drunkenness (very understandable)—Bruce Nussbaum makes some excellent points asking if the iPhone is an "ecosystem" or an ultra cool, innovative product.
by: David Polinchock
As the consumer becomes more empowered, expect to see additional litigation and regulation as people strike out against advertising and its continued encroachment into every aspect of our lives.
Continue reading "Prediction 4: The Advertising Backlash Grows" »
By: Ilya Vedrashko
A few thoughts on where new Apple products can take interactive advertising:
By: John Caddell
The business plan is an entrepreneur's lifeline. It has near-mythic qualities--the ability to distill an entire business into one short (or long) document, the ability to attract investors, the ability, even, to predict the future. (Want to know what a startup's EBITDA will be in 2010? Check Exhibit K.)
by: David Polinchock
The use of emerging technologies will continue to accelerate in 2007 as we scramble to find new ways to communicate to our audiences.
Continue reading "Prediction 3: Technology Continues to Engage" »
by: Alain Thys
By now you should be close to having all of your top-line budgets approved and be heavily into the detail of spending the marketing funds you've just been entrusted with. Yet before you rush off to fill the pockets of agency wizards and media-moguls, I'd like to stir things up a bit. For this post, I have come up with 7 budget recommendations against which to benchmark your decisions.
Continue reading "The 7 Secrets of a Good Marketing Budget" »
by: danah boyd
This afternoon, i did an interview with MTV. Although the clip will be only 3 minutes in length, they interviewed Zadi Diaz and i for almost two hours. The core of our conversation concerned the story of a teenage boy who wrote a suicidal message on his MySpace.
by: Karl Long
If Time magazine’s proclamation of “person of the year” being plain old you wasn’t enough, then Ad Week’s ad “Agency of the Year” being The Consumer should hammer home the point. The point being that the internet (and most significantly in 2006, youtube) enables massive distribution potential to anyone with an internet connection.
by: David Polinchock
Learn about and use the new tools, but always remember the cycle of media.
Continue reading "Prediction 2: The Media Cycle Continues" »
by: Sigurd Rinde
In these day of New Year Resolutions, Five Things You Do Not Know About Me and Hugh’s rapidly increasing list of Manifests I crumbled under pressure (thanks Hugh!).
by: David Polinchock
Companies not acting in an authentic and honest way will be subject to the wrath of the newfound consumer voice.
What do you get if you combine Guerrilla Gardening with Culture Jamming?
by: danah boyd
PEW has just released the overview of their latest study on teens' usage of social network sites. Most of the data is not surprising, but it sure is interesting. Here are some of the key findings:
by: Dick Stroud
Eons has been analysing it web stats and published some interesting insights into how people used their web site during 2006. You can download the press release from here.
Continue reading "Eons 50 Plus Boomer Online Trends For 2006" »
by: David Polinchock
I'm in the process of updating all of our 2007 predictions and thought that I would do one posting with just the headlines. Look for detailed posts sometime over the weekend. And please feel free to post your thoughts as well!
As many of you know, the video gaming market is a multi-billion dollar business. Video consoles, which is a big chunk of that market, are currently dominated by two giants: Sony with its Playstation (PS1&2 and soon PS3) and Microsoft with its Xbox (Xbox and Xbox360). Nintendo, however, a distant third actor is raising eyebrows with its recent introduction of the Wii.
by: Roger Dooley
Only a day ago, in our post Neuro-Hype, we lamented the abundance of brain scan hype and the dearth of research that examines real purchase behavior. As if on cue, Carnegie Mellon University released Researchers Use Brain Scans To Predict When People Will Buy. While we haven’t perused the full study details, which appear in Neuronin Neural Predictors of Purchases, the work seems to be some of the most useful and exciting neuromarketing and neuroeconomics research published to date:
by: Alain Thys
Imagine the following situation. A man sees an attractive woman at a party. They talk and decide to have a few dates. After giving all the right signals for being a loyal, caring, trustworthy and relationship-oriented guy, he convinces her to spend the night. The next day he is gone and when she calls it is clear he doesn't want to speak to her....
By: John Caddell
When people in business say they want to be your partner, they usually mean this:
I want you to sell my stuff.
Continue reading "What's a "strategic alliance" or a "partnership" anyway?" »
by: danah boyd
I love the idea of "social network fatigue." I can see the Prozac ad now:
Are you tired of your friends? Does reciprocity get you down? Do you dream of blockmodels? Are you afraid of the big bad structural holes? Don't worry... we can help!
Continue reading "some thoughts on 2007 (advertising, bullying, and mobile)" »
by: danah boyd
Sara created a MySpace using an email address that she made specifically for that purpose. After vacation, she couldn't remember her MySpace password (or her email password). She created a new MySpace page using a new throwaway email address. When i asked her if she was irritated that she had to do this after investing time in the previous profile, she said, "nah.. I had too many Friends that I didn't know anyways."
Continue reading "ephemeral profiles (cuz losing passwords is common amongst teens)" »
