Jack Trout is the co-author of “Positioning,” one of the most important marketing and branding books ever written.  In a more recent work, “A Genie’s Wisdom,” he warns of the danger of placing growth above your mission.  If growth is the goal, he cautions, then a business will do whatever it takes to grow, adding…

Americans work more of their waking hours today than ever before.  So if you want to reach them, work may be the best place.  But how?  Every employee opens their payroll envelope, even if they have direct deposit.  Why not work to place a coupon or special offer in the pay envelopes of employees who…

Most people still spend hours more watching television each week than they do on the internet.  And when they do go online, their surfing habits mirror their TV viewing: regardless of the millions of choices available to them, most people still frequent a relatively small number of websites.  This begs the question: why would someone…

Do consumers expect great service?  Do your customers?  One wireless company places a poster next to the customer service counter, spelling out in detail what you should expect during your visit.  Instead of “quality service,” they’ve articulated their vision – then shared it so you can hold them to that standard.  Can your company do…

When was the last time you (or your marketing person, or your marketing team) sat down and talked to customers?  Companies spend a lot of time trying to imagine what customers or clients are thinking about, but they rarely ask. Why not set aside one day a month to invite a few customers or clients…

As marketers scramble to ride the latest technology, outdoor advertising (including billboards, transit shelters and buses, among others) is quietly becoming perhaps the last truly effective mass medium.  One national company recently tried an experiment.  As they launched a new addition to their product line, they confined their advertising in some markets to outdoor media…

It’s remarkable how many great ideas, marketing or otherwise, never see the light of day because someone in the approval chain worries that someone might be offended.  There has never been an effective marketing effort that didn’t offend someone.  Ever.  Great ideas are, by definition, new and untested, and someone will always find fault with…

Businesses often survey what their competitors are doing, then try to emulate them, pulling elements from various sources to create a new, if unremarkable, whole.  There are entire consulting practices based on gathering successful businesses together to share and replicate their marketing approaches.  This is the polar opposite of branding.  While there’s value in understanding…

Apple and Nike have teamed up to offer the Nike + iPod Sport Kit.  The in-shoe sensor (for Nike+ model shoes) and a receiver that plugs into an iPod nano can track a runner’s time, distance, speed and calorie consumption.  You can even upload everything to a website that keeps track of your progress.  A…

Advertising is getting closer to tracking you down wherever you are.  Vinyl strip ads placed in parking lots can now deliver audio messages when you get out of your car.  But a little more intrusive is urinal advertising.  A product called Wizmark (you couldn’t make this stuff up)  recognizes when a prospect steps up, and…