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by: David Armano
Chris Gokiert is the COO for Critical Mass (the company I work for). Though Chris started his career as a working archaeologist, he eventually found his way into the ever changing world of digital media and has never left it.
Continue reading "Q+A With Chris Gokiert: COO of Critical Mass, Chief Guitar Hero + Karaoke Coach" »
by: Roger Dooley
Is Scratch 'n Sniff Starbucks in our future?
No industry focuses as much on olfactory marketing as the coffee business. Starbucks recently dumped its breakfast eggs because their smell didn't pair well with the coffee aroma. Nestlé unit Nespresso has not only modified its home brewing equipment to release more enticing smells, they have even launched a chain of coffee shops after finding that more than half of the coffee drinking experience came from the shop environment (see Sensory Marketing to Jolt Espresso Sales). Now, those clever coffee fanatics at Nestlé have found way to analyze the components of coffee aromas that lets them predict how real human noses will respond to those smells.
by: Idris Mootee
There is so much hype around innovation, (including customer inspired innovation) and ethnography these days almost every research firm is telling you that they do ethnography and every design firm is an innovation firm.
Continue reading "Since When Has Everyone Become an Ethnographic Expert!" »
by: Scott Goodson
Fred Wilson points out in his blog that Facebook is not experiencing a decline but rather it has reached a plateau in the USA. Look a few feet outside the US border and we see a very different picture.
by: Ilya Vedrashko
Gamespot's Dubious Honors Awards for despicable use of in-game advertising:
2004 (Need for Speed Underground)
2005 (SWAT 4, where the dynamic in-game ads made one of the first appearances)
2006 (Fight Night Round 3, a boxing game with the Burger King's King in it)
2007 (Need for Speed ProStreet):
by: Eliane Alhadeff
Dr. Ernie Medina and his partners launched their first XRtainment Zone in California last year. The mission of XRtainment Zone is to provide families and kids of all ages a fitness club of their own "where working out is all play."
Continue reading "G4H 2008: XRtainment Zone - Beyond Serious Games For Workouts " »
by: John Caddell
The Stall Points Initiative is an effort by the Corporate Executive Board, a business research group, to pinpoint why companies suddenly stop growing, then stagnate or decline for years thereafter.
Continue reading "Companies Stall Because They Don't Listen to Customers" »
by: Roger Dooley
by: Christian Smagg
There are risks associated with adopting any new technology, and Enterprise 2.0 is no different. Enterprise 2.0 holds the promise of dramatically increasing business productivity, stimulating greater innovation, and creating tighter connections between employees, as well as with partners, suppliers and customers.
Continue reading "Enterprise 2.0 Fear Factor: Overcoming Risks, Uncertainties and Doubts" »
by: John Caddell
Every CEO these days wants to reinvent her business. One problem is thinking big enough. Being part of an industry, a market, a sector tends to limit a company's peripheral vision. How do companies break out of their comfort zone and find strategies that take advantage of their unique strengths while opening up new markets?
Continue reading ""Big Think Strategy" Is a Fun, Inspiring Read on Reinventing Business" »
Continue reading "The Communist Manifesto of Chris Anderson" »
by: Dominic Basulto
During times of both economic boom and bust, business innovation tends to flourish. During a boom, flush pockets and rosy visions of the future lead to generous spending on innovation projects. During a bust, the need to hunker down and deal with everyday business reality leads companies to innovative solutions.
Continue reading "The Strange Birth of the Banana Box Retailer" »
by: Guy Kawasaki
Avenue A Razorfish released the 2008 Digital Outlook Report yesterday. The purpose of the report is to help Avenue A's clients understand consumer behavior in the digital space.
Continue reading "Avenue A Razorfish 2008 Digital Outlook Report" »
by: Christian Smagg
There are risks associated with adopting any new technology, and Enterprise 2.0 is no different. Enterprise 2.0 holds the promise of dramatically increasing business productivity, stimulating greater innovation, and creating tighter connections between employees, as well as with partners, suppliers and customers.
Continue reading "Enterprise 2.0 Fear Factor: Overcoming Risks, Uncertainties and Doubts" »
Continue reading "Building an Innovative Culture - What Does It Mean?" »
by: David Armano
I'm updating some thinking on the "3 U's". The word and idea of "Unity" doesn't quite work even though there is some overlap in my thinking. So here's another take swapping the idea of "ubiquity" for "unity". Seems more appropriate. Let me know what you think.
by: Roger Dooley
Evidence continues to pile up demonstrating that our brains process information without our conscious awareness, and that our behavior can be affected by these stimuli.
by: David Armano
BusinessWeek's Bruce Nussbaum recently wrote a terrific post in which he dissects the effects of social media in the business world. In part of his write up, he analyzes the My Vegas effort. While of course I think that's great--what he says here really stuck with me:
Continue reading "The 3 U's: A Model for "Advertising" in the App Economy" »
When
I was last in DC, I had lunch with Daniel Solove and we were talking
about book publishing. He had been thinking of making his book
downloadable under Creative Commons and I was like DO IT DO IT! This is
the kind of book that is sooo relevant so many different audiences who
would never hear about it through traditional advertising. My thought
is that if it were available online, it could whet folks appetite
before buying it
(cuz printing it out is painful and reading it online is not wonderful
either and your Kindle doesn't support PDFs). Introducing...
Continue reading "The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet" »
Continue reading "Russian Gmail Ad: Killer Paper Prototyping" »
Continue reading "Does Your Business Strategy Have a Purpose?" »
by: danah boyd
Lots of folks are unaware that multiple brands are owned by the same company (e.g., the same company owns Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy). Consumer activists often complain that this practice is deceptive because it tricks consumers into believing that there are big distinctions between brands when, often, the differences are minimal. Personally, while I'd love to see more consumer brand awareness, but I think that brand distinctions play an important role. I just wish that the tech industry would figure this out.
Continue reading "one company, ten brands: lessons from retail for tech companies" »
by: Eliane Alhadeff
In malls, theaters and other spaces, Reactrix creates highly entertaining branding displays that respond to the physical movements of the audience.
The resulting "brand play" makes Reactrix the highest engagement advertising available today and reaches top-market venues with monthly traffic exceeding 100 million.
Continue reading "Serious Games Creating Entertaining Branding Experiences" »
by: Scott Goodson
Here is my second interview in a series of interesting and wonderful personalities who are shaping the marketing landscape.
Continue reading "Kerri Martin. Goodson Does The People - Lunchtime Chats" »
by: David Armano
I've described tightly knit online communities as "clusters" and manifestations of social media such as blogs (or widgets) as "connectors". In recent weeks I've read a couple of perspectives that emphasize preferences for one over the other. Some of us like forums:
by: Roger Dooley
One of the most annoying series of commercials is for HeadOn, an analgesic which one rubs on one's forehead to (supposedly) cure headaches. Does HeadOn work? I have no idea, but it seems doubtful.
by: Idris Mootee
I was often asked the question of what "design thinking" has to do with business strategy. When talked about "design thinking" people refer to aesthetics (mainly high stlye design or usability) and generally they cannot relate to strategy (strategy means spreadsheet).
Continue reading "10 Design Thinking Principles for Strategic Business Innovation" »
by: Guy Kawasaki
by: Scott Goodson
I want to do a confrere-to-confrere interview series on this blog. Nothing too serious, just chats with the those people out there who are the most interesting and wonderful minds in the advertising and culture business. Sounds like fun, no? Not necessarily the media darlings or the most famous names, but just people I like and admire and learn from.
by: Joel Makower
I've spent the past few weeks on the road talking about the State of Green Business, listening to the questions and concerns of audiences at the companies and conferences I've addressed. There's one constant query: In a world gone green, how does a company make itself heard, credibly and authentically? And how does it do this in a way that minimizes the risks of being charged with greenwash, or worse?
Continue reading "Green Corporate Communications: The Unstoppable Urge to Talk the Talk" »
by: Michael Hoexter
The events of December when the US Congress dropped an extension of the existing tax credits for renewable energy from the 2007 energy bill have highlighted the need for the renewable energy industry to take a different tack in the area of policy support and marketing strategy.
Continue reading "The Renewable Electron Economy XIII: Valuing Energy and Energy Services" »
by: Eliane Alhadeff
Passively Multiplayer Online Games! We're already playing them; especially as we increasingly hang out with other people on the internets. And as the internets move into our pockets, our cities, our cars and our social lives!
Continue reading "GDC08: Serious Games As Passively Multiplayer Online Games" »
Continue reading "Marc Laperrouza on Mobile Telephony in China (LIFT'08)" »
Continue reading "Who clicks on ads? (Revisited with data)" »
