We now live in an era of Big Data, and like most strategists and marketers, I welcome more data and information regarding the market, customers, and consumers. But those data on their own are not enough to drive sustainable growth in a business – and neither are the high-level summary findings that typically come from […]
Category: Business Fundamentals
Consider On-Demand to Remain in Demand
As technology unlocks the ability to enable consumers to access many real-world services in the digital realm, companies are clamoring to become the new “Uber for X” – to deliver services to consumers demanding instant gratification. Venture capital investment in these start-ups has increased from $0.2B in 2009 to $2B in 2013, while on-demand economy […]
Strategy Essentials: Enterprise, Brand, and Marketing
It is not uncommon in business to hear, “We need a strategy” or “We need to update our strategy.” And by “strategy,” people are usually referring to a clear, over-arching statement of the choices a company is making regarding why, how, and where to use its limited resources. That strategy is what should be guiding […]
Are you doing marketing communications or strategic marketing?
In many companies today, marketing seems to have two meanings. Marketing means advertising, digital communications, social media, sponsorships – in short, communication to and engagement with the target consumer. This is often how sales sees marketing, as support to generating sales. I get worried, however, when this is how marketing sees marketing. I get especially […]
Going Dark Can Take You Out of the Black at the Flip of Switch
The decision of how to allocate media spend in a particular market can be a tricky one, as too little spend can have negative consequences for a brand — such as market share loss — while too much spend can lead to inefficiency and waste. Research by Millward Brown and ThinkVine has shown that while […]
Why “Connected Cars” Matter to Marketers
The “Connected Car” is a widely discussed and buzzworthy topic – however, it also happens to be a widely misunderstood and unclearly defined topic. Ask one person, and his definition of “Connected Car” might reference headline-grabbing stories about Google’s self-driving vehicles. Ask another person, and her definition might reference playing music from Pandora on her […]
Is the traditional health club/gym model at risk?
For years, the traditional health club/gym has been the only option for those seeking in-door health and fitness activities. The traditional health club model consists of attracting as many members as possible by offering everything to everyone, a “one stop shop” for all types of fitness activities, including cardio equipment, weight training, fitness classes, and […]
Wooing Millennials
Lately, it seems everything I read about brands is at least in part related to how they are rethinking their approach in order to better appeal to Millennials. Brand positioning, marketing plans, media buys, product design – there is almost no part of the business that is not up for a refresh. Making sure your […]
A Healthier Strategy for CVS
In February 2014, CVS Caremark announced its decision to stop selling tobacco products at all of its 7,700 locations nationwide in an effort to better align with their corporate purpose – to help people on their path to better health. By forgoing roughly $2 billion in retail cigarette sales per year according to CVS, CVS […]
Four Ways to Make Keurig Kold a Success
For more than a year, excitement has been building around Keurig Green Mountain’s upcoming cold beverage platform, Keurig Kold. The new appliance promises “fresh-made” cold servings of favorite brands or “new discoveries.” The expectations have been high for two reasons: first, Keurig’s success in revolutionizing hot beverage brewing; and second, Keurig’s strategic partnerships with cold […]
