Sweeeeeet Caroline… oh, sorry, got carried away for a second there.
As we alluded to in yesterday’s post, today we’re going to talk a bit about touch. Specifically, where touch is at, where it’s going, and why it’s finally relevant in-store at the point-of-purchase.
Oh, and why it may be inherently obsolete.
In one panel, hosted by some [...]

While we brace for the onslaught of location-based news at SXSWi, an unrelated press release from Telenav (maker of GPS devices) has already shaken things up.
The press release, available here, breaks down the most searched-for destinations on Telenav’s various devices. The list covers everything from top retail locations (WalMart tops the list) to most searched-for [...]

Okay, that’s a bit of a stretch. The economy’s not that bad.
Nonetheless, we’re seeing a lot of bartering examples popping up in unexpected places. While we’re not suggesting that marketers give up cash payments for beaver pelts, we do think there’s a lesson here for how to better incentivize consumers.
Consider the Dust Jacket Project from [...]

A: Um, everything. Duh.
eMarketer (via Cone) recently considered this question across a number of different categories (including many of our clients’ industries), and the results are unanimously un-unanimous. The data suggests that consumers want information and entertainment, and incentives, and a forum for feedback, and even marketing in these “new media” spaces. (Demanding, aren’t they?)
While [...]

Brands, are you really confident about the quality of your products and services? Are you certain that you could send your customers into your competitors’ arms, and they’d still come running back to you?
You’d better be. Welcome to the world of Ubiquitous Connoisseurship.
See, there’s a reason we made this trend #1 in our 10 Trends [...]

If you haven’t already heard, our 10 Trends for 2010 are making their way around the interwebs at a blistering pace. (You can catch our press release here.) Click here to request a copy of your own by email, and be sure to share it with your clients, coworkers, friends, and pets. What? Maybe Mr. [...]

Sure,  this romp through the 2000s is entertaining in its own right (even if many of the referenced events were decidedly not entertaining), but Phillip Niemeyer’s NY Times pictograph does an excellent summing up a decade in simple images and phrases.
(In order to really appreciate the piece, click here or on the image to the [...]

As we get ready to wind down 2009 and look forward to a fresh new decade, we know you’ve got a lot on your mind. In particular, you have a nagging suspicion that no one will ever buy anything ever again thanks to trends like the new austerity, the new frugality, and the new unemployedity. [...]

Continuing our recap of the GasPedal Word of Mouth Supergenius conference, we’d like to share a selection of our favorite one liners from the day. Of course, these are just tidbits – if you’d like more in-depth information about any of the presenters, please contact us and we’ll happily share our notes.
Now, onto the smart [...]

I spent yesterday at GasPedal’s Word of Mouth Supergenius conference, and admittedly, I went in with my guard up. These types of conferences have the potential to slide into self-promoting, cliche-laden babbling, but fortunately, GasPedal put together a truly impressive collection of speakers who shared applicable insights.
The most eye-opening presentation of the day was Spike [...]