Influx

IBM just published its latest global study on Chief Marketing Officers and the findings make for interesting reading. This is clearly a discipline that is under a lot of pressure and trying to cope with a ton of challenges that are being thrown its way. Here are some of the study’s most...

Starbucks is a strange brand; hated by many for its ubiquity, but loved for the simple indulgent pleasure it brings. When it went down in 2008- there were cheers from various quarters, the company had gotten too big too fast and those on the sidelines wanted to see if suffer. In the tough months...

Take a read of Paul Donovan’s post on FT’s Alphaville and he will introduce you to a new concept- The “Environmental Credit Crunch”- which defines a new world of scarce resources and significant constraint. While most economies are no strangers to rising prices and the...

One thing you need if you are going to take creativity to the next level is a great client. Stella Artois has always done great creative work in the UK and won it’s fair share of awards, but rarely gets mentioned when experts talk about iconic brands that push the communications envelope. In...

Alex Steer’s great post on The Futures Company blog about the future of advertising can be used to establish a clear set of deliverables that define what advertising now has to do. 1. Interact with your audience: It has to be interactive-the best stuff always was and still is. It allow the...

Here's a brief element of some nice research done by IBM, who went out last year and explored global consumer expectations of social media and contrasted those with the reasons executives believed consumers followed them on social sites.  The results are startling...Consumers want...To buyTo...

In Adweek July 18th- Warren Berger wrote an interesting piece about the potential mid-life crisis of the ad biz."There are lots of tough questions companies must confront in dealing with a consumer who's more engaged, more informed and more concerned with social issues than ever before. Among...

The idea of producing less stuff, but better stuff is a hard one to grasp, but something that makes sense to people outside the marketing world.Nicholas Nova discovered this interview with legendary designer Dieter Rams, who lays the blame on marketing for pushing more stuff out there."no one wants...

There's a recent article in Ad Age that talks about the ANA meeting where CMOs vented their frustration with ad agencies over their responsiveness and the increasing opportunity they believe exists with media companies. "Agencies and ad networks came in for some rough treatment at a CMO roundtable...

Homogeneity and it's close relative, consistency are cited as critical components of brand success. Many analysts tell us that brands have to deliver consistent experiences if they want succeed and that homogeneity is what consumers want and desire.It's therefore interesting to read about the...

Innocent Drinks has always thought differently about the relationship it has with its customers. It's constantly looking to level the playing field, which can be something of a challenge as the company grows. However, they are continuing to innovate in this area of outreach, as witnessed by its...

Please share your top 5 predictions for marketing and brands in 2008. Post your thoughts in the comments section and we will publish them in a forthcoming series of blog posts. Posted by Ed Cotton

Via Fresh CreationPosted by Ed Cotton

Dopplr, the social networky travel site has done something very clever, they've associated themselves with some of the smartest, most creative companies around by launching the Dopplr 100. While you may not have heard of Dopplr, you've certainly heard of many of the companies on the 100- including...

A few months back, I found myself included on an author list for the Age of Conversation. It's a brilliant concept hatched by Gavin Heaton and Drew McLelllan; 100 blogger authors each writing a chapter about conversation. At the time,  I wasn't sure what to think and what would become of it....