Anyone who has talked with me in the past few months knows that I am basically a walking evangelist for Michael Pollan's book, The Omnivore's So, stop right now and go buy it or get it from the library (but you will probably have to highlight a few sentences, so...). ... more

If the Web were a film, its plot would be much more like that of Lord of the Rings and much less like , Dirty Harry or Die . It would be much more about a cooperative group of friends striving together to achieve a shared goal. It would disdain ... more

Telling a good story is at the core of good marketing or branding. But what happens when the story is tongue-in-cheek and the audience doesn't "get it?" Has the average audience become When average consumers or business people believe the message and the message or story is bogus -- just ... more

Eric , CEO of search giant , told an investors group this week that the market for targeted advertising is at a very early stage with lots of innovation still to come, according to Internet Discussing the inefficiency of random ads in traditional media, Schmidt noted, "It's a constant barrage ... more

Why is all the travel time, rich food, lack of exercise and not-your-own-bed annoyance of going to conferences worth the effort? For me, it is because the speakers usually bring life to information that, while interesting in its own right, might not otherwise strike me or inspire real Good speakers ... more

For those of you too young to remember or who don't follow baseball, before Yogi Berra, Leo Durocher was known as baseball philosopher. Although the phrase was taken out of context, he is best known for the "Nice guys finish last." Not inspired this blog in a post in which ... more

Anyone else feel a little bemused at the news of ABC ordering a pilot of a TV based on Geico's cavemen First of all, good for - .... it is a case study of marketing done well, and yet another example of blurring line between advertising and entertainment. Geico is ... more

Last week I attended an incredible multi-disciplinary conference on the topic of "community" called The From the perspective of residential community developer John L. Knott, Jr. of the Noisette to that of fiction english tutoring founder Dave ...and that of renowned organizational expert Margaret among many others, we audience participants ... more

Great brands transcend geography. But to build a great global brand, you must understand the vital role that your company's electronic "face" plays in your success, says Marilynn Mobley, Senior Vice President of , the world's largest PR firm, as well as a "People all over the globe turn first ... more

What do get when you do your job well? Not your organization... but ? A raise? A promotion? The employee of the month parking spot? The satisfaction of knowing you did your best and moved the brand forward? All good Recently I had an interesting email volley with Tim Jackson, ... more

Someone has finally come along and done it. It took years, but Business Week has stepped up to the plate with its first-ever ranking of 25 client-pleasing After all of the justifiable griping of consumers as well as multiple contributors to the Daily Fix blog, there may be something positive ... more

Case studies are like condensed action films—full of characters, plot, and conflict—in which, thanks to your help, the clients get what they want. Part of a case study's persuasive power comes from its energy. It should be exciting to tell and hear. Many of us, though, bore with ours. The reason? ... more

If advertising is so effective, why are , airport billboards and business magazines free from ads in which agencies promote themselves to business audiences? I always ask this question "tongue-in-cheek," but lately the cheekiness is waning. Ad-effectiveness is plummeting all-round and both brand owners and consumers are nearing the point ... more

Lately, as my readership grows and as I focus more and more on growing that readership, my attention turns to two questions that seem key to communications success (specifically, Does my content meet my readers' wants and needs and (if so) how? and How do I inspire more comments and ... more

Linking is the foundation of every quality website. Everything starts with the link. You build from the link, not from the Read the following paragraph and try to identify how it should be dealt with in terms of "In the following section you will be provided with a range of ... more

Business writer Reena Jana published a great article recently. The Innovation " is a must-read for business executives and marketers In her article, Ms. Jana cites a rising number of influential business thinkers' books, articles, surveys and podcasts on the subject of innovation, or rather -- the abuse and overuse ... more

Dear The exigencies of rapidly evolving markets often create strange bedfellows. One look no further than the wild west of the entertainment industry to see as many examples as you care to suggests DRM-free music to the major labels, which are desperate to find a way to save themselves from ... more

Rebates can be great incentives, but are they worth the consumer's effort? Are the companies legitimate in these marketing Frankly, I'm not so sure. When we purchased a warranty replacement laptop for my son, they featured a Canon Pixma MP160 for $89.99. The lure of a $50 mail-in rebate and ... more

Hot off the presses, blog site Starbucks Gossip has published a to Monday's Wall Street Journal article just published on February 26th. The WSJ article, "Starbucks Stirred to Refocus on Coffee," centers on a memo that Chairman Howard Schultz sent to executives company-wide on February In the memo, Mr. Schultz ... more

I get a lot of invitations to connect on the networking exchange. It might be because I'm desirable as a key professional contact (ha!), but I sense it's more because my email address is plastered all over . In most cases, I get the typical canned letter suggested by "Hi ... more

This 1993 video segment from CBC news is a fascinating artifact that no doubt gave millions of Canadians their first glimpse of the future of communications. I'm sure that this was quite eye-opening at the Now, it's kinda funny -- although I shudder to think about how we will look ... more

Dear It seems a bit stereotypical for the new CMO to make his or her presence felt by quickly strangling the mascot, changing the tagline and firing the old ad agency. I see over at Spike's place that Bank of America has just shed its tag line because, we're to ... more

When the tool changes, so too should the skill and the technique. More and more, hypertext is replacing text... and the Web is replacing "I really don't know whether we'll be printing the Times in five years, and you know what? I don't care either," Arthur , owner, chairman and ... more

Ever since Ozzy announced it February 6th I've been thinking about--and meaning to blog about--the very interesting format of this summer's Ozzfest. I actually should attribute this innovation to his marketing savvy manager-wife Sharon (leave it to a woman to get it done), as it appears she brainstormed the new ... more

My repetitive stress syndrome is becoming so painful that I went entirely ergonomic this week -- keyboard, mouse and mouse pad -- but not without some The keyboard arrived first but the software for the extra features needed to identify the mouse, and since I hadn't yet received the mouse, ... more