Dissatisfaction with Customer Satisfaction: Why Consumers Unwittingly Deceive Researchers (and What We Can Do About It)

January 16, 2009

To do our jobs properly, marketers need to predict future consumer behavior. But how? The problem is this… as an industry, we’ve got a lousy track record of accurately predicting consumer behavior. Even though we have all these research tools and methodologies (focus groups, mall intercepts, attitudinal questionnaires, Likert scales, multivariate cluster analyses, perceptual maps, [...]

Read the full article →

Book Review – The New Rules of Marketing and PR

January 15, 2009

Here’s a “must read” book that in my opinion, does a great job of presenting how the web has changed things in a big way for us marketers. The full title is The New Rules of Marketing and PR, How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly. [...]

Read the full article →

Where’s Your Video?

December 22, 2008

With the advancements of Universal Search becoming more and more prevalent, all site owners need to be sure that they are making their sites as sticky as possible. Google wants sites that are the “total package” in their index and if you’re missing a piece of the pie you might find your rankings dropping as [...]

Read the full article →

Back in my day…

December 16, 2008

Advertising, in all its forms, has been around for a long, long time. And if you look hard enough, you’ll always find remnants of old ideas in today’s new concepts. The trick is to avoid using a library of knowledge to shoot down good ideas. And it doesn’t take long to find someone in an [...]

Read the full article →

Clipping Coupons and Paying Cash – Is that what’s in store for 2009?

December 9, 2008

As each new year approaches, Nielsen analysts examine market trends and make projections about what will be popular (and unpopular) with the American consumer in the coming year.  Some of their predictions affect the marketing industry directly (e.g., ad spending and coupon redemption) while others could greatly affect clients’ businesses.  It’s worth five minutes of [...]

Read the full article →

Pitfalls of Out-of-Touch Branding in a 2.0 World

November 25, 2008

In this rapidly changing age of Web 2.0 we all have experienced in some way, the amazing power of social media and its influence on consumer attitudes and behavior regarding the purchase and usage of products and services. The most recent “case study” that has gotten a lot of attention is Johnson & Johnson’s advertising [...]

Read the full article →

How Well Does Green Really Sell?

November 11, 2008

Finding a way to market a product or service as environmentally friendly seems to be a requirement of late.  It appears no category of products is off limits – a green appeal for an electric toothbrush is likely already under development.  There is growing evidence, however, that the actual impact of green appeals and green [...]

Read the full article →

Is It Time for a Branding Bailout?

October 24, 2008

Is Madison Avenue Guilty of the Same Hubris as Wall Street? The Fall of 2008. Generations from now will remember it as the fall of the financial markets and a crucial turning point in global economics. So many slick, opportunistic decisions made by very clever financiers over the past decade are coming back to bite [...]

Read the full article →

Are Your Smarter Because You Search Online?

October 20, 2008

Have you ever thought that because you search online that you’re smarter than the next guy? According to a new study from UCLA, searching the Internet may help to stimulate and possibly improve brain functions. Traditionally, taking part in activities like crossword puzzles have helped keep the mind sharp and preserve brain health and cognitive [...]

Read the full article →

Does PR Accreditation Matter?

October 8, 2008

Remember when the word “marketing” used to mean advertising, public relations, sales, research and all other forms of communications? It still does to some people, but most, especially Fortune 500 companies, understand the difference amongst communications disciplines. That understanding is also trickling down to the grassroots levels thanks to integrated marketing communications agencies and our [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →