In marketing and advertising lingo…the term Branding carries a lot of weight! But when it comes to the very target Branding is suppose to make its impact on, well they don’t really care about that term because that is not how they refer to a company, product or service and it’s not what gets them to take an action.

Their touch point, frame of reference, what gets their interest…is the ‘human experience’. Period.

Today’s American consumers (whose ever changing life stages must be taken into consideration) start their relationship with your business by examining and experiencing your intent and motivation.…

Just look at these recent numbers!

It doesn’t take a professor to see the immediate future is ripe for beginning to think about how you are going to connect with today’s incredibly connected mobile consumer.

Just looking at this snapshot of numbers you can see why you need to start adding mobile marketing to your strategy.

- 82% of all adults have a cell phone
- 58% of all adults send or receive text messages (7-in-10 of cell phone users)
- 27% of all adults have sent or read a text message while driving (1/3 of…

Eighty-four percent of Americans believe their ideas can help companies create products and services that are a win for consumers, business and society; yet, only half (53%) feel companies are effectively encouraging them to speak up on corporate social and environmental practices and products, according to the 2010 Cone Shared Responsibility Study.

65% of Americans’ Believe Business Should Lead in Social Good

On the eve of celebrating the blessing of our precious independence for our great country I love so dearly…I came across this headline today which announced 7.9 Million U.S. Jobs Lost many forever.

Wow! What a sad situation our country is facing as we prepare to celebrate and enjoy the freedoms that have been purchased and ransomed for us today on the backs of many a fine American. I thought to myself, “Is this our story for 2010 and on?”

The article went on to say “even though we’ve gained about 600,000 private sector jobs back, we’ve got nearly 8…

Interesting question Ad Age posted in a poll this morning. So curious me logged in, cast my vote which was a (NO) then found the results to be exactly what I thought it would be.

This was the poll question…Do you care about Cannes?

Here is what the results were at noon (CST) on June 23rd…

I’m sure I’m going to hear it over this but to me this is a prime example of how out of touch many advertising, marketing, PR agencies and departments are concerning today’s new business era. Close to…

I decided to address this topic because I have begun to hear more and more the advice “your business doesn’t need a website anymore”.

This has stemmed mainly from the fact social media opportunities are powerful marketing options today.

My concern with this is someone in business may think these self proclaimed digital marketing experts preaching this point of view really know what they are talking about. Some do for sure…but I find that loads of them don’t.

To suggest a business does not need to have their own business website real estate clearly indicates to me this person has…

I just read a great article by Jay Deragon on Digital Nashville and he talked about the astonishing fact that so many who are in business today don’t really know what is going on in this “New Business Era”. He posted this very interesting chart that gives you a great snapshot of just how fast things are changing when it come to your customers behavior. Check out Gary Hayes Social Media Count below.

Oh, also bookmark Jay’s website while your at it. He has a great forward thinking mind!

Also, while you are at…

Consumers are more likely to read and act upon online advertising than they were a year ago, according to Opinion Research Corporation.

Every type of online advertising scored better with consumers in 2010 than a year ago.

Consumers say articles that include brand information are the type of online advertising they’re most likely to read and act upon, compared to banner ads, pop-up ads, email offers or sponsored links.

Article-based advertising was preferred by 53% of respondents who said they are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to read and act upon the material.

Coveted demographic groups are even…

Ning the well known free social network service used by 2.3 million businesses and organizations on the web is shutting down its free service and it’s reported they have laid off 40% of their staff.

Sad to see these folks lose their jobs for sure but on the other hand I think this is a great wakeup call for those who depend on using custom social networks in their business strategy.

This is one reason I believe placing your most important digital assets in someone else basket is NOT a wise strategy. If you realize the…

After all the bad PR Toyota has had lately, somebody over there came out swinging with a new ad series all built around life in the “Daddy Like Swagger Wagon”.

This is a great example of how creating and leading with relevant stories built around the lifestyles of your target market can be a hit like the campaign Toyota did with this targeting young, hip families.

They created an entire  “Swagger Wagon” destination to promote the Toyota Sienna. Notice they led with the lifestyle story not pushing boring specs on vehicle MPG’s, safety features, etc. No! They led…