One has only to scan news reports from the beginning and the end of the past decade to see how much our language has changed in the interim. The usual suspects—technology, consumer culture, politics—were joined by new agents of lexical change: think terrorism, economic instability, and social networking. Here are ... more

Big insight: Content creation, pumped exclusively and relentlessly out by You, Inc., isn't the only way to leverage the power of social media. These days, you don't have to go it alone! Sometimes a strategic partnership with a site with a built-in, enthusiastic user base can take half the legwork out ... more

How can you articulate your ideas, qualities, and capabilities in ways that connect to, and engage, your communities? Messaging, or communicating with a rigorous focus on a system of key ideas, is a fundamental activity of strategic brand development and management. Disciplined messaging helps organizations engage in productive dialogues, especially ... more

MarketingProfs blogger Tim McAtee shares his thoughts about the ARF's 56th annual conference about rethinking normal. more

Age-old marketing How do you take a heritage brand and make it fresh, new and relevant for new generations of Campbell’s Soup Co. was founded in 1869. Few consumer brands have a longer heritage than Campbell’s condensed soups. Given its long history, Campbell’s has obviously done many things from developing ... more

The recent recalls of Toyota automobiles have undermined the carmakers' reputation: Consumers who have a positive perception of Toyota's commitment to building quality cars fell to 21.8% in March 2010, down 58.2 percentage points from the 80.0% recorded in 2008, according to America's Research Group. more

More companies seem to be realizing these days that they can use their power in the marketplace to aim for goals bigger than just bottom-line-related ones. That may be because more consumers, when buying similar products, are opting to choose ones that "give back" to a charitable cause. It's an easy way to ... more

Think of your brand as a mosaic where you can select and place most, but not all, of the tiles: You can control the communications you make, your offerings, and how your organization behaves. But some of the tiles in your brand mosaic are placed by others––the media, bloggers, tweets, ... more

I you are a marketing vendor, agency rep, or consultant, here's a Bill of Rights just for you. And if you hire vendors, agencies or consultants, read this with your own brand in mind. Negative word-of-mouth works both ways. more

If your unique brand attributes aren't all bubbling to the surface vying to be the No. 1 attribute, then you don't have a branding problem, you have a business problem. In other words, it's your business—not the brand—that isn't offering anything of unique value. more

Much more than just "your customers" or "your audience," your constituents are all the people for whom your work is meaningful—the internal and external populations whose interest, participation, and advocacy are important to your stability, growth, and long-term success. How do you connect with them? more

You've heard about recent well-publicized PR nightmares for two major brands (Heinz and Southwest). How could those situations have been handled differently? Here are some ways. more

MarketingProfs blogger Helena Bouchez shares tips for a successful and dynamic presentation. more

MarketingProfs blogger Paul Barsch share how the author of "The Shack" marketed his work into a best-selling novel. more

Point of fact: One of the most alluring things about Facebook is its infinite capacity to find us a new distraction—be it Farmville, virtual gift-giving or browsing through an old flame's recent family photo shoot (major creepiness factor, BTW). Second point of fact: Some companies know this about Facebook, and are already ... more

…and branding is from Venus. Right? That's what quite a few B2B marketers still believe, says Ben Hanna in a post at Business.com's B2B Online Marketing blog. "Many diehard pros specializing in one or the other of these areas still struggle to understand, find value in, or even imagine, using ... more

Do you have a clear picture of your organization's strengths and weaknesses, and of the opportunities and threats in the marketplace? Is your position vis-à-vis your competitors clear and compelling? Does anyone else in this vast universe know or care? What brand signals echo back from the noise in the ... more

Social media is an essential marketing tool that most companies are embracing in 2010: 70% of senior marketing executives surveyed are planning new social media initiatives during the year, according to a new survey from Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG) and Anderson Analytics. more

MarketingProfs blogger, Jeanne Bliss, tells how Toyota missed its "Tylenol Moment" to exude customer service and care during its recall. more

Dudes: Are you ready to give off some fresh new surfer vibes? Search engines are constantly looking for new signals they can use to improve the quality of the results they provide to Internet surfers, says Eric Enge in a recent post at Search Engine Watch. "Search engines continue to ... more

MarketingProfs Daily Fix blogger, Beth Harte, shares questions that marketers should ask of social media monitoring companies. more

Let's face it: If your marketing approach consists of sporadically touting your company's greatness via the overpopulated social mediaverse, you're about to get absolutely nowhere—except ignored. Or hated. Blacklisted, even.  Frustrated with today's confusing social-media etiquette? Well, don't be! There are sassy methods for making your outreach simply ooze old-fashioned Southern ... more

Combining your product with top brands is an incredible way to escalate growth. If you are looking to drive revenue, enter new markets, or reposition your product, brand licensing can lead to dramatic results. As with any new endeavor, however, pitfalls abound. more

MarketingProfs Daily Fix blogger, Ted Mininni discusses Kashi's branding and marketing. more

We like to emphasize that mobile is probably the most personalized technology available so far in the 21st century. And these days, finding ways to incorporate yourself into users' daily rituals is crucial to maximizing brand exposure on their up-close-and-personal handhelds. That's one reason for taking a look at GM's new ... more