I’ve posted previously on the power of the ‘5th P‘ of Marketing, Public Input. I’m genuinely surprised at the rate at which that power is growing. Recently, Rush Limbaugh advertisers dropped faster than RIM share’s price, after his Sandra Fluke ‘slut’ insult generated immediate, furious consumer reaction. Backlash over ‘Pink Slime’ caused Safeway & Fred [...]

Optics are getting more important. Optics can be advantageous; Optics can create faux careers – the Karkashians famous for being famous; the cast of an unscripted Reality Show are no-talents, but the Optics benefit of exposure brings fame & opportunity. Optics can also bring down a firm- BP’s fall from respect and grace after the [...]

I don’t use this column to push products, but I do want to push an idea- visit Buffalo. Yes, Buffalo. Shuffle off to a ‘once-proud’ city, too-often seen as a kindly casual backwater. The city where Jim Carrey suffered invisibility in Bruce Almighty, where Scott Norwood found too much visibility after the Wide Right in [...]

Even as brands go global and, at their best, are ever more valuable, some recent trends point to brands being more vulnerable if mis-handled. I won’t call brands today ‘fragile’, but I might say that sins can now hurt a brand faster than ever. Especially given the growing power of ‘The Fifth P’ of Marketing [...]

Next week, the college course I teach in Entrepreneurship, which has been focused from the start on BUILDING a business, will shed light on BUYING a business, or buying a FRANCHISE. Those 3 choices are all very distinct; they force one to really reassess what one wants & who one is: Building a business is [...]

3 big Japanese electronics firms- Sharp, Sony & Panasonic- all just posted dreadful losses. All had undergone big strategic changes that failed to yield positive results (yet). Funny thing was – each of the 3 took a different path to change. But they DID make changes. Sharp embraced Vertical Integration & Scale; they built their [...]

This nation is: #7 economy (sheer size ie GDP) in the world. #5 in land area. Home to the 4th largest aerospace firm in the world. Got it yet? Has a space agency that has successfully launched several satellites from home soil. Home to the world’s second longest river. What if I say that this [...]

Received some fine feedback today from students, concerning Mission & Vision Statements. Now is a great time to discuss the hardcore relevance of a Vision – something that is so long term & ‘soft’ sounding. I owe RIM a thank you for falling into the abyss after I ripped that company for so long for [...]

Have you made all your 2012 Resolutions? I have 1 more to suggest- whether you’re a Retailer, Wholesaler, Service Business, may I suggest you take 2012 to align your offline & online businesses? For example, if you’re like most businesses in Retail, the online site was created by, and is managed by, a completely separate [...]

This afternoon I visited a *$ (Starbucks) – not my usual cup of tea, if you will, but they do serve hot drinks and, hey, the temperature outside is -14 degrees C or 6 degrees F (WITHOUT wind chill). While waiting for my drink I checked what’s at Point-Of-Sale. You retailers know that space is [...]