Category Archives: Sociocultural Trends

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

Projection Cleans Up, Fills In, and Trips Out

A bright and shiny Friday deserves an equally bright and shiny post, right? And nothing shines quite as bright in our eyes as some sleek projection mapping. In the video above, we saw P&G’s Ariel detergent brand wreck, then deep … Continue reading

Want to build some brand street cred? Just start a record label.

Brands dabbling in the music publishing arena is nothing new. Starbucks has been playing in the space for over a decade with their Hear Music label, and countless brand promotions have backed artists, tours, and exclusive releases. Where back in … Continue reading

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Google+

“This is it?” I couldn’t help but feel a bit underwhelmed with the all-but-blank screen that greeted me upon my long-awaited first look at Google+. I really wanted to love it, but there was very little to react to at … Continue reading

Someone at K-Swiss Has ENORMOUS Cahones

When evaluating a potential spokesperson, marketers generally ensure that the candidate embodies the values of the brand and isn’t associated with anything scandalous. Unless you’re K-Swiss, apparently. The brand is taking a “different” approach, opting instead for a foul-mouthed, egotistical, … Continue reading

Upshot Smartshot #7: Twitterphobics Anonymous

Have no fear, help is here! No longer shall there be marketers who fear Twitter! The video above is the latest installment in our Upshot Smartshot webinar series, and complements our recent Potty Posting that introduced the concept of marketers … Continue reading

Progressions in Projections

Oy, rough morning here in Chicago. Thankfully, there are always awesome projection mapping executions to keep us distracted! And while we’ve seen our fair share of projections ’round these parts, we can convincingly say that we’ve never seen one with … Continue reading

Finding Opportunities in the Hidden Costs

It’s a good thing that our industry puts such a premium on creativity, since marketers are facing a pretty hefty creative challenge at the moment: how do we accommodate and acknowledge consumers’ Future Fear without succumbing to cynicism, hopelessness, anger, … Continue reading

Thees Mispelings Ar Fore Chairity

When we introduced the concept of Cause with Effect, we predicted that many smart marketers would focus their cause marketing efforts on educational problems. Admittedly, some of these solutions require some pretty complicated thinking, but there’s always room in this … Continue reading