Poor marketing practices negate achievement of favorable business results and undermine the role of marketing. This article deals with two errors that go hand-in-hand, overstating your brand and organization’s capabilities and underestimating the competition. This is the second installment in a series dealing with how to avoid these errors. Prepare for Failure Back in […]
Read More
“It is fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure”.– Bill Gates A dear friend, and former CMO, sent me a note, following my musing on Sears’ failure, regarding a fruitful interview conducted by WBEZ with a University of Chicago professor as to causes behind that failure. […]
Read More
Last week I mused about the closings of Treasure Island Foods and Dominick’s in the Chicago area. But a mighty giant of yore is seeking bankruptcy, Sears. This would have been unimaginable in its hey-day (it’s been around for 132-years surviving WW I & II, and the Great Depression) as it would be […]
Read More
My wife is saddened that Treasure Island Foods is shutting its doors on Friday, 12 October 2018. Treasure Island Foods, has been a staple in the Chicago area, owned and operated for 55-years by the Kamberos family. Julia Child described Treasure Island Foods as “America’s most European supermarket”, but that was a long time […]
Read More
Marketing is losing its relevance. This results from failing to provide a clear line of sight in creating customers and driving business outcomes. Consequently, most corporations view marketing as a cost center as opposed to producer of results. Poor marketing practices negate achievement of favorable business results and undermine the role of marketing. This […]
Read More
The interview process can be quite trying. There are those interviewers whose questions are directed to find out what is wrong with the candidate. These are the half-empty managers. They have limited vision and poor managerial skills. Then there are those managers who want to find out what the candidate has going for her/him and […]
Read More
Imagine for a moment that you are a candidate for a senior marketing position with another company. You submit your resume expecting that you’ll receive an invitation to interview. After all your credentials are impeccable. You’ve attended some the best schools, served as an officer in a marketing club or sorority/fraternity, graduated in the top […]
Read More
“I have learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” –Maya Angelou “Everything we do in marketing is a stimulus to get a behavior.” –Richard Czerniawski That brand-building principle of making an emotional connection with customers—in […]
Read More
There is a belief among many marketers and agency account managers that the creative brief needs to inspire the creative team. Poppycock (a much more reserved expression than how I really feel about it)! The creative team should be inspired by the challenge of the work and the leadership of the client. The client’s job […]
Read More
By now nearly every marketer and sports enthusiast is familiar with the new Nike ad featuring Colin Kaepernick, former San Francisco Quarterback who is, perhaps, better known for starting a movement to protest racial injustice by taking a knee during the American National Anthem than he is for his exploits on the NFL gridiron. It’s […]
Read More