Category Archives: Beer, Wine, and Spirits

What will it take for YOU to go CASH-LESS?

I know I’m not the only one who struggles when getting ready to pay for a cab with my credit card and the cabbie asks, “What, no cash?” It’s not that there aren’t ample amounts of banks for us to … Continue reading

Visual Bookmarking, That’s Pinterest-ing!

It’s always kind of exciting to get an invitation. And lately the most coveted invites are those to beta sites (e.g., Spotify). For the visually driven internet obsessed people (like myself), there’s Pinterest, the latest in bookmarking and inspiration boards—all … Continue reading

Is a Website Crashing Good or Bad For a Promotion?

Yesterday, the Missoni line launch at Target sent their site down for most of the day. And the Whole Foods offer from LivingSocial sent their site into overload. While the situations must have sent both marketing and IT folks into … Continue reading

OMG! Your Klout is Showing!

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and more—oh my! Social media is hyperactive word of mouth, only there are so many mouths talking you need a way to know how your brand is influencing and who it is reaching. It’s not new … Continue reading

Word-of-Mouth: Who’s Talking and What Are They Talking About?

The true magic of word-of mouth marketing lies in the social currency that a simple, creative, portable idea can give a consumer. The devil’s in the details. Subtleties and nuances make the difference between programs that create engaged consumers versus … Continue reading

B2B Marketing Has an Image Problem.

For the most part, B2B marketing has a bad reputation as a strategic and creative wasteland for good reasons. It is. When marketing folk think of B2B, they think of badly art directed clichés and smiling business people projecting blatant, … Continue reading

POTTY POSTING – Twitterphobics Anonymous

[Be sure to check out our accompanying 15-minute Smartshot video! It's live at j.mp/twitterphobics!] Twitterphobia affects over 83.72% of marketers* in the US every year. We’ve seen the devastation it causes. We’ve heard your cries for a cure. And, we’ve … Continue reading

Upshot Smartshot #6: A Message to You Foodie (2011)

As promised in our most recent Potty Posting, we’ve got 15 minutes of nutrient-dense goodness in our latest Smartshot Webinar: A Message to You Foodie. While the Potty Posting tackled the theme of Progress & Pragmatism, the video above is … Continue reading

Patronage That’s Focused on the Details

Once marketers buy into Brand Patronage, there’s an understandable temptation to go after the biggest stars on the biggest stages. From a PR perspective, you’re pretty much guaranteed a big splash if you grab yourself a Lady Gaga or Black … Continue reading

Can We Find A Place for Check-Ins? (And Should We?)

The check-in is dead. Long live the check-in. Is it a little bold to equate the check-in with being the “king” of emerging marketing trends? Perhaps. But now that the tweet has gained a (perhaps reluctant) legitimacy, that leaves the … Continue reading