Who would’ve thought all this talk of buns and thighs would turn so ugly? Yes, there appears to be a bit of a battle going on about toning shoes, the sneakers that claim to – among other things – help you shape up your abs, thighs, and glutes just by altering the way you walk. [...]

Well, it looks like someone took the words right out of our mouths. Or, more accurately, right out of our 10 Trends for 2010. Yes, a recent study assessed over 3,000 brands to see how they measure up on down-to-earth-ism. Not surprisingly, many brands at the top of this list are dependable, traditional, long-running staples [...]

Here’s a little catnip for our creatives; after all, it is a Monday. As a follow-up to designer Dieter Rams’ 10 principles of good design, inksie has tapped a group of ten writers and illustrators to come up with essays and designs that bring these principles to life. The entries are appropriately concise and well [...]

Among our 10 Trends for 2010, Delighting Consumers with Hidden Surprises was, admittedly, the longshot. It seemed reasonable to predict that many brands and retailers would tire of going bigger and brighter in order to break through marketing clutter, and would instead look to deliver small happiness in unexpected ways. However, we recognized that this [...]

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, [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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.) You can get your own copy of our 10 Trends by clicking here. Be sure to share it with your clients, coworkers, friends, and pets. What? Maybe [...]