Transformers: Age of Digital

Digital marketers better like change, because it’s coming. According to an April 2014 study by Altimeter Group, digital transformation is now a significant movement. The research found that definitions of “digital transformation” varied greatly among industry professionals, and in the end defined it as “the realignment of, or new investment in, technology and business models to more effectively engage digital customers at every touchpoint in the customer experience lifecycle.”

Norm! What Brands Can Learn From ‘Cheers’

This summer Coca Cola replaced its logo with 250 popular names, and America suddenly became really thirsty.  No product improvement. No big grand prize. Just a touch of personalization, and people couldn’t dig through the convenience store cooler fast enough.

3 Ways To Find The Best Blogger For Your Brand [INSIGHT]

If you are like many mom marketers, you are probably spending this week recovering from BlogHer, the annual blogging conference that just celebrated its 10th anniversary in San Jose. You might be, as blogger Janie Emaus calls it, “BlogHerized”— a mind-boggling state of sorting through the Who, Where, Why and When of What you experienced at the conference. You met some amazing bloggers, but how do you begin finding those blogs that will be the best partners for your brand?

Connecting the Dots: Consumers Mixed over Connected Future

The premise of the internet of things (IoT)—that everything can and will be connected—is by turns enticing and intimidating. Who wouldn’t want the ability to cool a room before returning home or have the oven start to cook the evening meal remotely? What business wouldn’t want to keep closer, more up-to-the-minute tabs on inventory thanks to stock items that can communicate levels and whereabouts?

Big data vs big ideas

By Gonzalo López Martí@LopezMartiMiami

Many people are eagerly awaiting the A day (A as in algorithm).
They are hoping a time will come when algorithms will replace humans in the various functions of the marketing pipeline.
For instance: the Canadian chat app Kik, wildly popular among teens both in Canada and the US, is launching a service that will allow its users to converse with “brand bots”.
This is, software that impersonates a brand.
Line, the Japanese chat service globally known for its “stickers” interface, is also tinkering with bot-driven branded efforts to engage its users.
But don’t let the headlines fool you.

World Cup Advertisers fad Greatest Influence on Car Shoppers

Riding the wave of soccer fever that swept the nation, automotive companies that advertised during the World Cup 2014 experienced twice as much growth in consumer interest on KBB.com compared to automakers that did not advertise during the event, 1 according to Kelley Blue Book. The greatest traffic surge occurred the week the U.S. Men’s National Soccer team competed against Portugal and Germany, as many Americans tuned in to the high-profile games.

“Adiós Rusty. Meet Rufo!” Growth in the Pet Industry Comes with an Upscale Latino Treat [REPORT]

SSG analysis reveals that contrary to the myth that Hispanics are less likely to make pets full members of their families, Upscale Latinos are increasing pet ownership dramatically while other segments are nearly flat or declining.  The pet industry shift towards Hispanic consumers has implications for pet food manufactures, specialty stores, mass discounters, toys, animal hospitals, grooming spas, and other high-end services, etc.

Ready or Not, the Internet of Things Is Coming

Think the net neutrality debate is all about streaming videos? Think again. It’s actually much more than that: It’s about streaming your life. Internet connectivity might seem ubiquitous today, between the use of PCs, mobile devices, and smart TVs, but there are major swaths of daily life that aren’t connected yet that soon will become so, such as homes and cars, according to a new eMarketer report, “Key Digital Trends for Midyear 2014: The Internet of Things, Net Neutrality, and Why Marketers Need to Care.”

CEOS Buoyed By Business Prospects, Profit Outlook; Apprehensive Over Innovation, Regulation, Product Relevance

Chief executives heading U.S. multinational companies are confident about the overall economy and their business prospects in the next three years and anticipate a peak profit period from 2016 to 2017. Yet, in sharp contrast to that optimism, they are also expressing a range of concerns for the same three-year outlook — from questions about maintaining the relevance of their products and services, to their ability to innovate, to the challenges in adapting to government regulation.

“I Choose Cannabis and Business” Workshops Slated for Five Cities

Cannabrand recently teamed up with Todd Mitchem, who has consulted for Colorado-based cannabis businesses including O.penVAPE, as well as well-known corporations such as Starbucks, Purina, Marriott, H&R Block, Pizza Hut, Google and Nestle. Targeting everyone curious about the industry, from entrepreneurs to investors, Mitchem and the Cannabrand team will share insider information on trends, business processes and legal operations.

Social TV Effort Is No Sweat for Clorox Bleach

Following last year’s “Bleachable Moments” social TV effort success with ABC’s “The Bachelorette,” Clorox Bleach went at it again with extensions on Twitter, allowing fans to vote. Molly Steinkrauss, associate director of marketing communications at The Clorox Company, spoke with eMarketer’s Danielle Drolet about the effectiveness of social TV for consumer packaged goods brands.

Overcoming the Barriers to Superior Trade Promotion Effectiveness

Every year, an enormous amount of ink is spilt to greater or lesser effect on advertising: how to make it more effective, how to tie it more clearly to brand and sales lift outcomes, and so on. Much less is devoted to trade spending. And yet trade spending represents more than twice as much of the average consumer packaged goods (CPG) company’s expenditures—19 percent of revenue compared with advertising’s 7.5 percent—and sits second only to cost of goods sold as an expense item in the ledger (advertising is fourth).

Delivering Content To Young Males: Make It Fast, Accessible, And Shareable

The proliferation of digital media via mobile phones, tablets, and apps has understandably affected various consumer groups differently. For any brand or organization with a story to tell, this means new opportunities and new obstacles to reach particular audiences. To keep up with the growth of digital, today’s content needs to be catered to audiences in a much more conscious and holistic way than it has been before.

Despite Time Spent, Mobile Sites Grab More Moola than Apps

eMarketer projects 19.0% of US retail ecommerce sales will stem from mobile devices this year. By 2016, the share will rise to 25.0%. Traditional retailers, ecommerce players and mobile-only businesses are all vying for the money consumers are increasingly spending through their smartphones and tablets, according to a new eMarketer report, “Mobile Commerce Deep Dive: The Products, Channels and Tactics Fueling Growth.”

A Different View Of The Customer Lifecycle

The customer lifecycle is almost as hot a buzzword as “big data” — but what exactly is a customer lifecycle?  Is it really a circular journey?  Is it linear?

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