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We are marked each day by the casual collisions that are the artefacts of our existence. There are phone calls, messages and the relative anonymity of online interactions. And in the search for connection, communion or community, we thoughtlessly mistake message for meaning, words for action and interaction for friendship. It’s a confusion of intention – and we are the poorer for it.
You know the end of every calendar year brings a bounty of blog posts and articles carrying business predictions for the New Year?
Year after year for the past several years, pundits have prognosticated the rise of Mobile Marketing. And then year after year, it has failed to live up to its promise. Instead, Mobile seems stuck on the sidelines, perpetually benched.
I had the pleasure of attending the Social Media Business Forum (#smbf) that took place October 23rd in Durham, NC. It’s the first event that was put on by Jeff Cohen, Wayne Sutton, and Ryan Boyles of OurHashtag, and Kipp Bodnar of Howard Merrell & Partners.
A recently published Media Post Marketing Daily piece, “Some Categories May Be Vulnerable at Retail,” points to some serious fall-out at retail after many months of sales declines. The gist: retailers are intent on cutting inventory levels. That doesn’t only mean there will be less back stock in stores. It also means there will be considerable SKU cuts made to reduce costs, optimize assortments and improve profit margins.
In the United States, ZIP +4 assists marketers in targeting customers by city, neighborhood, or street, but geospatial location intelligence can help marketers perform much deeper analysis. And “analysis” is where the real value of geospatial lies.
Most brainstorm meetings start with the meeting lead proclaiming, "Okay guys... think out of the box and remember, there are no bad ideas!"
We say "there are no bad ideas" before we brainstorm the same way we say "bless you" after someone sneezes. No one is sure why anymore, but it is polite.
Transparency and authenticity are what it takes today. Yet, many companies have been slow on the uptake in demonstrating a genuine approach to their customers. I have posted many times about lackluster customer service and messaging, so it's time to balance the score card and share a shining CEO message.
It's a week ago today that I departed Boston for Chicago in order to attend, and blog upon, Marketingprofs' Digital Mixer.
This is a guest post by Gavin Johnston, Chief Anthropologist at Two West, Inc.
Cultural traditions and celebrations represent a very important opportunity for retailers. The tradition of Halloween has become one of the highest revenue producing events in the United States, representing $21 billion dollars each year, with a median of $40 spent per family. However, it is easy to forget that Halloween is a largely American phenomenon and can be off-putting for someone with no cultural context for the holiday. To capture an untapped multicultural market, expand market share and increase revenue, companies must consider how to make Halloween accessible and appealing for all cultures.
“Most people know this feeling instinctively. When anything—a brand, a rock band, a style of clothing—becomes popular with a huge mass market, the cool people increasingly find it uncool, and look for something new.” –Kevin Maney
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