Right before our break, we took a deeper look into how corporate social responsibility looks in the world of the Reputation Economy, where a brand’s (or a house of brands’) seemingly disparate actions are judged by consumers as a single experience. In the post, we pointed out that Pepsi’s notable efforts as part of their [...]

We all knew that Pepsi’s Refresh project was a risky proposition. Their decision to ditch their million-dollar Superbowl ads opened the door for their rivals at Coke to advertise essentially unopposed during the country’s biggest broadcast. Furthermore, while many have commended Pepsi’s authentic, interactive approach to corporate social responsibility, there’s still no guarantee that this [...]

When we introduced the idea of Down-to-Earth-ism in our 10 Trends for 2010, we described this trend as an evolution of the New Austerity. We argued that consumers were stressed, strained, and suspicious, and that pie-in-the-sky promises seemed inconsistent with what consumers really wanted: real, reliable solutions from brands. We weren’t being literal about the [...]

In our 10 Trends for 2010, we cautioned brands to be wary of the rise of Consumer Controlled Conversations. Now that consumers had become comfortable “expressing themselves” online, we felt they would increasingly use their (digital) voices to demand accountability, immediate assistance, flawless customer service, and other perks from brands and retailers. So, it’s not [...]

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 [...]

We’ve had plenty to say about “viral marketing” here at The Awesome Blog. Heck, we even dedicated a whole Potty Posting to the topic (or, at least the “dude” side of it). In that posting, we mentioned the “Was that real?” genre of these campaigns, where the point of the effort is to create a [...]

Not so long ago, we touched upon the idea (in posts here and here) that cause marketing efforts are heading in both bigger and smaller directions. Each tactic has its strengths: the big stuff grabs headlines and can drastically impact a particular cause, but the small stuff can be less daunting for consumers and more [...]

While we all hope that brands continue to think about the environmental implications of their packaging, let’s be honest here – it’s generally not a very sexy topic. Conversations about reduced carbon footprints are often communicated as stuffy PR pieces which, while commendable, are hardly worth sharing. That’s what makes the above video from Puma [...]

As we’ve tracked the Hometown’s Hero trend (#3 on our 10 Trends for 2010) over the course of the year, we’ve mentioned the unprecedented opportunity for marketers to fill the holes left by budget crunches at state and local levels. (You may remember KFC interpreting this literally.) As mobility continues to decline and folks are [...]

A quick programming note: We will be covering the upcoming SXSW Interactive Festival via Upshot’s Twitter profile. Please follow @upshot_agency to get up-to-the-minute updates from Austin! A couple lingering points from our Here and Now (with Foursquare) Potty Posting, before we get back to your regularly scheduled awesomeness. One caveat that we didn’t get to [...]