The cover story of the July issue of Wired, “The End of Theory” by Chris Anderson, forecasts a new age of science, the Petabyte Age—an age where data becomes more important than the frameworks we use to understand the data. The supposition is that with...
If you stop and talk to MINI owners about their car, you’ll see their eyes light up with child-like abandon. They’ll tell you driving a MINI is like driving a go-kart on a raceway course. The pick up is quick, the mileage is great, and...
Amazing customer experiences will start conversations ORLANDO, Fla. – Last summer, in an article titled, “I Sold it Through the Grapevine,” Business Week reported that marketing powerhouse companies like Procter & Gable were using legions of moms to help promote their products. In behind-the-scenes word-of-mouth campaigns,...
The weekend is finally here. After weeks of hearing co-workers talk about the latest blockbuster hit, you can finally head to your favorite movie rental store and grab the movie you just missed in theatres. You get excited as you enter the store and run...
When the iPhone first released on June 29, 2007 there were lines of people in Mac stores across America waiting to be the first to pay $599—to touch its magical screen and make a phone call to a friend and scream “I got an iPhone!” And...
Ads proclaim, “The iPhone killer is here!” People are lining up,, eagerly waiting to be the first with the coolest new phone in the world. It sounds like déjà vu. This time, however, it’s not just happening in the US; it’s happening all around the...
I first started using eBay when I was in graduate school. Being a hopelessly price-conscious student, I was always looking for the best deal. Alas, I found my way to eBay. After winning my first auction, I was hooked. The thrill of winning an auction is...
Leander Kahney’s latest book Inside Steve’s Brain, a look at what makes Steve Jobs tick, made me stop, jump out of my seat, and shout, “Are you serious?” It wasn’t caused by a sudden revelation or a scandal; it came from a passage clipped from...
Beware of Word-of-Mouth Marketing ORLANDO, Fla. – From water-cooler conversations about American Idol to once-popular-but-quickly-forgotten products like Beanie Babies, what makes consumers talk about some brands and not others? One study by the Keller Fay Group, a word-of-mouth market research company, revealed that over 32 million...
Understanding how branding influences decisions (ORLANDO, Fla.) What attracts people to a particular brand? What motivates their loyalty to a product, or to the brands their parents bought? Why do Oprah, Apple, Jimmy Buffet, WWE, and Star Trek have such a huge following? Marketing consultant and...