Anna and I have been at SXSW Interactive for the past few days, and the discussions have been fantastic.  One of the recurring themes we’ve been hearing is the shift to a “digital wallet”–using smartphones to make payments, collect and use tickets and passes, and manage finances–and the implications for retailers, financial services firms, and wireless carriers.

The most interesting tidbits so far: Read More »

The clock is ticking for retail: create a truly multi-channel customer experience or perish.   A recent consumer survey released by ATG reveals:

• 78 percent said they use two or more channels to browse, research and make purchases; 30 percent said they use three channels or more
• 43 percent said they start their research online or through a mobile device, but then need to call a customer service or call center representative to complete the transaction because the necessary product or service information cannot be found online
• 39 percent said they browse via the online or mobile channel and then make purchases in the store because they prefer to touch and feel the product; 36 percent said they do this to compare several brands of the same product

Consumers are embracing the freedom the new multi-channel environment provides them in evaluating products and services to ensure that whatever purchase they make is the right one.  Retailers are starting to follow suit, but they face some significant barriers in doing so: Read More »

We all know the recession has drastically impacted consumer behaviors, but we may often overlook its direct impact on brands themselves.   The recession has changed the way marketers manage their brand portfolios as they try to do more with less.  As such, marketers are taking a closer look at how then can stretch existing brand equity across a greater number of products, often taking a parent brand/sub-brand approach.   

We generally see four different sub-brand approaches, each with their own benefits and risks:  Read More »

Following up on my last post, I wanted to share my key takeaways from the last two days of ANA’s Masters of Marketing conference:

• The importance of authenticity remained a key theme throughout the rest of the presentations.  David Jones of Havas Worldwide talked quite a bit about making sure your brand genuinely connects to real issues consumers care about.  According to Havas research, 86% of consumers expect companies to stand for something other than profits.  (MLC members who are interested in creating these types of connections with consumers should click here to see the Council’s approach.) Read More »

I had the opportunity to attend the ANA’s Masters of Marketing Conference this weekend.  The topic of this year’s conference was “Growth: Defying the Recession.”  I wanted to pass along a few of the great insights from the first day of the conference.

My biggest takeaway was the focus on authenticity I heard from all of the presenters.  “Your brand has to be who it is” was the common refrain. Read More »

I don’t know how many of you follow box office results, but I’d like to point your attention to Paranormal Activity, a horror movie getting a slow rollout from Paramount that just this past weekend grossed $19.6 million from just 760 screens.  That’s a per screen average of $25,813—a number more common for a summer blockbuster than a small, independent, genre film with a budget of $11,000.   So how did this small movie get so big?  Marketing, and more specifically a very smart use of social media. Read More »