Marketing

Finding ways to grow sales has never been tougher. Despite obstacles like robust competition, a fragmented media environment and growing piles of data, a handful of companies are still finding growth opportunities within their existing customer bases. In fact, by identifying a category’s ‘Super Consumers’ – those consumers that spend a lot and engage a lot, companies are tailoring their marketing and sales efforts to boost incremental sales—even when category sales are flat.

In 1993, Vernor Vinge, a retired professor of mathematics, computer scientist and award-winning science fiction author, argued that the creation of superhuman artificial intelligence would mark the point at which “the human era will be ended.” This idea, associated in popular thinking with the futurist Ray Kurzweil of 2005’s The Singularity is Near, posits a moment when computing advances to the point that computers become self-directing, direct their activities to making themselves ever more intelligent, and surpass human comprehension or understanding.

Teradata Corp. and Forbes Insights released a new research study for CMOs and other senior marketing decision makers worldwide titled, “Breaking Down Marketing Silos: The Key to Consistently Achieving Customer Satisfaction and Improving Your Bottom Line.”

CoreBrand released its second annual report on the most and least respected corporate brands – Brand Respect: The Most and Least Respected Corporate Brands.

Marketers are feeling the heat when it comes to measuring their efforts. According to a study conducted by VisionEdge Marketing and ITSMA in April 2014, 85% of marketers worldwide said the pressure to measure marketing’s business value and contribution had increased. Just 14% said the level of pressure had stayed the same, and 1% thought it had decreased.

Change is the dominant fact of life in every business today. And the ability to master and exploit change has become one of the most sought-after management skills. This is particularly true in marketing, where the very tempo of change is constantly quickening.

We at Univision found this question of language of particular importance for our partners, and joined Nielsen and Starcom Mediavest Group’s Multicultural division to find some concrete answers.  By Roberto Ruiz / Univision Communications Inc.

Some rules in soccer, as in other sports, are based on absolutes: if the ball crosses the touchline it’s out of bounds. The offside rule is different; it’s based on the relative position of players from both teams.  Culture has the same effect on language; it makes the meaning of words relative. There is no better example of this than an event that captures the attention of all Hispanics from different places: the World Cup.

If you’ve had sporadic communication with some of your South Florida-based peers and clients since June 12, you’re likely not alone.  By Adam R Jacobson

With more people saying they’re willing to pay more for products and services from socially responsible companies, how can companies communicate that they’re on the same page? The most direct option may be how you’ve been communicating with them for years—at the point of sale. Making your social commitment clearly visible on your product packaging is not only a good way to tout your product’s benefits, but it can also be the difference between a purchase and a pass for many consumers.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup is, to date, the most-streamed event ever. Obviously, the fact that technology today is a lot more “stream-friendly” than during World Cup 2010 helps a lot, with a far larger global audience living online with access to higher speeds and better devices. But we should also recognize that this high online streaming rate is not just a matter of better technology, but reflects a need that is being met.

When I hear someone say, “we want to target men for our marketing campaign” or “we want men’s publications for our PR campaign,” that raises an immediate red flag to me as a marketer and an analyst.

The so called “American Exceptionalism” is still alive and well. The United States continues to live to the beat of its own and unique drumbeat. The belief in the “American Dream” and its meritocracy continues to be strong. Millions of people around the world still desperately want to come to “the land of opportunity,” the country that continuously advocates and supports democracy, freedom and liberty around the world.  By Carlos G Giron

Our latest trend report outlines the alternative model that’s taking shape and how brands across categories are becoming more circular, rethinking everything from product design to relationships with their customers.

We have a sign on the wall of our office in L.A. that reads: “Creative without strategy is called art. Creative with strategy is called advertising.” It’s a quotation from ad industry thinker Jef I. Richards, and while a lot of maxims about advertising are basically meaningless slogans, I think this one is really important for all of us in the business to know and understand.

Chatting and posting on social—especially on Facebook—has proven to be a common trend during this year’s FIFA World Cup, so it comes as no surprise that social platforms are helping brands extend their reach and get their ads in front of more followers.

The World Cup is one of the best, real-time and global brand sponsorship opportunities, but it seems a brand doesn’t need to shell out hefty sponsorship fees to FIFA to get the benefit of it. More than a third of consumers identified MasterCard as a sponsor of the 2014 futbol games, even though MasterCard has not been an official sponsor since 2006.

Last week I attended a fantastic event in Chicago called  “The League of Leaders,” an initiative run by the Path to Purchase Institute. Heard of them? Of course you haven’t.

Hispanics and Millennials are two of the fastest growing and increasingly important consumer groups in the U.S. So it’s no surprise that marketers are eager to understand how to connect with these populations. But to engage with those who fall in both groups, Hispanic Millennials, it is imperative to understand the impact of language in order to optimize messaging for this demographic that increasingly identifies as bilingual.

Week two of the global FIFA World Cup party. So far the event is delivering great entertainment, except when you are Brazil. Brazil’s team is struggling to live up to its unrealistic lofty fan expectations, and there are still daily protests in Brazil against the enormous expense at which this festival comes. The Brazilians love football, but hate FIFA and their own government.