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When Companies Should Step on the Gas June 15, 2010

Corporate earnings are up. Manufacturing is up. Looks like we may be finally coming out of the long, hard recession. Not so fast. Retail spending is still down. A ...

The Case for Sustainable Differentiation May 14, 2010

Traveling is hard. Being away from home, eating out, sleeping in an unfamiliar bed—not to mention the nightmares of airports and airlines—make even the ...

Social Media Is Nothing New February 09, 2010

Social media has always been with us. Who hasn't recommended a product to a neighbor, received a tip from a colleague, or asked for a referral from a friend? From ...

Essential Reading for Marketers January 15, 2010

I began my career in advertising as a field marketing manager on the Pizza Hut (YUM) account, which basically meant I got to travel from restaurant to restaurant, work...

Don't Neglect Internal Branding December 11, 2009

Starbucks (SBUX) got a lot of press last February for shutting down each and every one of its 7,100 company-owned U.S. stores for two hours to conduct a "partner" ...

How to Not Go Out of Business November 13, 2009

Have you ever thought about how banking has evolved over the past 20 years? The other day, as I maneuvered my car past the drive-up ATM, I was telling my kids about ...

Make Smarter Marketing Bets in 2010 October 13, 2009

Things have been going so poorly for so long that any of us could be forgiven for thinking recession is the new normal. The economy has been in decline for 22 months, ...

Why Your Advertising Isn't Working September 11, 2009

Recently, an AdweekMedia poll of LinkedIn members posed this question: "Of the ads you see in a typical day, how many engage your attention?" A remarkable two-thirds ...

How to Discount (If You Insist) August 14, 2009

Discounting stinks. As a marketer whose job is to create preference and profitability for my clients, I don't like discounting. In fact, I hate it. I call it the ...

The Pros and Cons of Co-Branding July 10, 2009

The moment Roger Penske announced his planned acquisition of the Saturn brand from GM, Saturn dealerships around the country initiated a spontaneous and organic ...

Customers Your Company Doesn't Want June 12, 2009

Do a quick exercise: Take a minute and jot down three types of customers your company doesn't want. Oh, and this is important: You can't choose people like shoplifters...

In Advertising, Consistency Pays Off May 15, 2009

I recently purchased a new digital TV. Normally, Circuit City (CC) would have been on my list as one store in which to shop, but the struggles the company was facing ...

Why PR Is the Prescription April 10, 2009

Times are tough. It can be difficult to keep your focus on driving the top line when the bottom line is bleeding red. A lot of us can identify with John Krafcik, ...

Four Keys to Warding Off Challengers March 13, 2009

Competition is a fact of life in business. But that doesn't mean you have to make it easy for other companies to take what's yours. In fact, you should make it as ...

Who's to Blame When Growth Stalls? March 10, 2009

This excerpt from "When Growth Stalls," a new book by BusinessWeek.com columnist Steve McKee, highlights the importance of maintaining a healthy state of mind when ...

Why Social Media Is Worth Small Business Owners' Time January 16, 2009

YouTube (GOOG). Flickr (YHOO). Digg. Metacafe. Stumbleupon. Technorati. Del.icio.us. Kaboodle. Fark. Furl. Swik. Mixx. Are social media tools like these the future or ...

A Bailout For My Business? No Thanks December 09, 2008

Ford (F), General Motors (GM), and Chrysler have been pleading to Congress that one, two, or all three companies could collapse unless they get a multibillion-dollar ...

The Trouble with Celebrity Endorsements November 14, 2008

Tiger Woods is one of the greatest athletes of all time. He's also a product-endorsement gold mine. I have no trouble believing that Tiger actually prefers to use most...

Don't Let Hard Times Derail Your Advertising October 07, 2008

Life is not a zero-sum game. O.K., maybe in politics it is. If your candidate wins, the other guy loses. That's one reason why political advertising tends to get ...

The Case for Brand Accretion September 12, 2008

Marketing is an investment, not an expense. You've heard that before, of course. But it's one thing to invest in marketing when times are good, and quite another to ...