In Part 1, I wrote about a Harris Interactive study that showed consumer enthusiasm for “green” was on the wane.  My suggestion was to not take such findings to mean that the sustainability movement is a lost cause, but instead to use those findings to spur … Read on >

What we should all be learning from recent events, whether that be the Australian floods, the unprecedented 49 state U.S. snow coverage, or the recent shooting tragedy in Arizona, is that the answer to “why” will not come from studying … Read on >

Since it published in 2005, I’ve made it my mission to highly recommend the Daniel Pink book, A Whole New Mind, to pretty much everyone I come into contact with (and perhaps especially to reporters writing about gender in marketing).  I’d like to, but, alas, I can’t buy 4500 … Read on >

Here and on a lot of other marketing blogs these days, you’ve been reading about the importance of storytelling  or “brand narrative.”  Of course, it is especially important for connecting with your consumer’s more feminine brain traits – and that’s why I return to the topic pretty often.

I got … Read on >

Does this “green” or sustainable thing really matter to today’s consumers?  I think it does, and recently came across a great article by Leslie Carothers in Furniture Today that is a must-read for any marketer still wrestling with the question.  In it, she takes the reader from the misperceptions … Read on >

Satire isn’t only for Jon Stewart and politics (though he surely reigns eternal).  It is also a great mechanism for consumers or the pop-culture media to raise up the disconnections in a brand’s understanding of their markets.  One (with … Read on >

Need an example of values-based buying appeal?  Then, think about that which goes above, beyond and around price, and truly resonates with the lifestyle and core beliefs of your customers.  The comparison is akin to how simple facts and figures (such as price) are made more resonant through storytelling (an … Read on >

The American automobile industry situation is indeed tragic, and at this point there is not much more to say. Still, I had always held out hope for the original Saturn “way.” That GM brand’s initial concept and launch is a great example of serving car customers “in a woman’s … Read on >

The same old ways of segmenting consumer markets have not worked for a while, but many a marketer has continued to default to the easy way out (and then wondered why the effort didn’t quite connect with consumers). But, maybe – just maybe – this economic downturn has forced … Read on >

1) The U.S. Census Bureau projects a minority majority (as it were) by 2042. Much is said/written these days about gender stereotypes, but for marketers the cultural stereotypes may be an even greater challenge. Check out N.C. Aizenman’s article in the Washington Post for more information, and just … Read on >