I can’t say I wasn’t warned. When I was 21 years old, starting the Adverting Graduate Program at Northwestern University, I was told by people from business and academia that advertising was a "young man's game." (Despite the fact that my class was half-female.) While I...
I’ve been thinking a lot about QAnon lately. To use the most scholarly, professional terms possible, it’s a bat shit crazy conspiracy theory has moved to the mainstream, punctuated by the nomination of an active QAnon supporter for a seat the United States House of...
Grey Goose has been on the decline in recent years, a victim of life-cycle, an ultra-competitive category, and possibly, the realization of many that it just might not matter what vodka you order if it’s an ingredient in a mixed drink and you can’t taste...
How do you make decisions on who to hire? Do you look for a specific skill set? Or do you look for the best people – those who may not yet be well versed in a narrow discipline but who display compelling intelligence, personality, people...
Marketing inspiration is more likely to be found in arts and literature than business books, classrooms and the mind-numbing “how to” listicles found on LinkedIn. And I say this as a marketing professor who opines on marketing in blogs and has contributed a few (but...
Marketing Strategy in a Post-Truth Society I got off the freeway and drove straight to the car wash. My car is always covered with a fine layer of sand on it when I get back from visiting my parents in Palm Desert, not to mention...
This week I had the pleasure of sitting on the capstone projects of graduate students for the Communications Management program @USCAnnenberg , where I am an Adjunct Professor teaching Branding and Integrated Marketing. What a privilege to be invited to share my feedback and offer advice...
New Reality Or Silly Fad? Our attitudes and behaviors evolve from the time we are born with each new phase of life. The 8-year-old looks back on her “baby days” and feels so grown up. The 12-year-old can’t believe there was a time when he...
I want to be a non-conformist like everyone else. That, combined with a large dose of creepiness, is where society seems to be heading. Thanks to Big Data, companies are now racing to “personalize” the experiences of each and every one of us. When I’m in...
My goal as a marketing researcher and strategist is always to tell my clients something they don’t already know. The insight, for example, that a key benefit of business software is reduced workload as a result of automation isn’t exactly groundbreaking. But now I am purposefully...