Creating the New Man
Chivalry may not be dead, but today’s “modern man” is much different from days of old: he applies moisturizer and even wears makeup. While you may accept this as the norm (or find it shocking that we are even calling attention to it), it’s important to acknowledge it hasn’t always been this way. Sure our fathers applied Brut and Brylcreem, but these were basic items, commodities of sorts. Today it’s much more complicated.
My 5 Most Read Blogs in 2014
One year ago, following a bet with the doctoral students, I started blogging about marketing and consumption topics. This was my first post. Since then, I have spent one hour every week on the subway, on the plane, or wherever else I was, writing something about market creation, brands, or consumer culture. It’s been a good first year. Currently, the blog has almost a million page views and 230,000+ visits per month.
How Silent Night Rose to Fame
The Sociology of Annoying Xmas Songs
McDonald's Marketing Misery
How Disney Has Inspired Loyalty and Love
Why do people insist on Starbucks when Second Cup is right next door? Or buy Apple products instead of Dell even though they make the same technologies? Why do people love Disney? To most, the answer is simply, they “just do.” So how do we justify the irrationality of our choices? The answer lies in the brand itself and how they have effectively moved in to the “lovemark” territory, inspiring action and loyalty beyond reason and coming out as the only choice.
Re-Envisioning Marketing: One Chocolate Bar at a Time
Boutiquification Strategy
Do you remember when the best part of waking up was hearing the sound of the dripping and percolating Mr. Coffee coffeemaker preparing for the blissful moment of Folgers in your cup? For many coffee drinkers today, this is just a faint memory of their parents coffee habits in the 1980’s and 90’s. At that time, coffee was a bipolar product: regular or decaf.
Customer Experience is the New Marketing
Marketing the Moon: Four Strategies
Putting the Magic in CMO
Rich Karlgaard, in his Innovation Rules column in Forbes, suggests that two C-suite roles that are sure to change are the chief information officer (CIO) and chief marketing officer (CMO). “The CMO will spend less time communicating to the outside world and more time shaping the inside story,” writes Karlgaard. “What else can hold a liquid organization together, but purpose, values and story?”
The Power of Objects in Customer Experience Design
Ever thought about why there is a nicely decorated table in every Pottery Barn? Objects have been traditionally marketed through the marketing mix using the four Ps to make products more appealing to consumers. However, objects can be more than something that is leveraged through product, price, promotion and place.
Love (and the Market) Actually
Designing Retail for Women
CX Design: Strategy Beyond Theatrics
How Music Became an Experience (Again)
Once upon a time, the process for creating a record breaking band was very simple: find a talented artist, release an album, get it into heavy radio rotation, reach platinum sales, and stage a world tour. In 2014, however, for the first time in history, only one artist reached platinum sales: Taylor Swift.
'Alex from Target': Can I Do This With My Brand?
How Marketers Made (and Remade) Diamonds a Girl’s Best Friend
Zombie Brands: The Science Behind Undead Market Icons
When companies and products die, their brands often live on. From Napster and Pan Am to Woolworth and Mister Donut - zombie brands abound. They have been resuscitated, redefined, or kept alive by unusual means. However, zombie brands are not all made from the same cloth. Some are brought back as nostalgic fashion icons, others have been sustained by passionate fans. Yet others simply continue exist in other parts of the world or in our imagination.