I read an interesting piece of research on user-generated content by, among others, Bobby J. Calder — one of my favorite marketing professors at The Kellogg School of Management. The article, entitled People are tweeting about your products. Will it boost sales?, was insightful and...
At Axiom, we’re frequently approached by companies interested in reviving their brands.Often, they’re vision is a new advertising, public relations or social campaign. Sometimes they’re interested in a new marketing channel or expansion of existing channels. Others are looking to improve their ability to launch...
Recently, I participated in a round-table discussion on developing building products made of agricultural byproducts. The goal of the discussion was to map out strategy for new product research and development initiatives.What struck me about the discussion was how little advance work has been done...
I'm a wine guy. And to celebrate the holiday season, we're taking our colleagues and business partners on a virtual trip to France. As you prepare for the holidays at your home and business, we thought you might be interested in adding a new twist...
You’ve taken the leap and implemented a marketing automation process. Now you’re faced with feeding the tiger and hoping it works for your B2B business. It can and it will, but hope is not a business strategy even though right now strategy is what you...
Election day is here and so is one of the biggest pizza delivery days of the political season. It's predictable and they’ve been gearing up for the onslaught, but what happens when events are not predictable and there is little time to plan. Bad weather,...
This week I spoke to 40+ students from the University of Minnesota’s Ad Club about marketing trends.Before beginning my discussion, I asked for a show of hands on questions like the following:How many know what a call to action is and why it’s important?How many...
On an airplane bound for Silicon Valley, I read an interesting article in The Financial Times about a new book by Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen entitled Competing Against Luck. The book discusses how successful companies know how to grow....
Is a water crisis looming in the U.S. and worldwide? who truly has the rights to water, what should water be worth, how can we affect change in water-use behavior? Each year the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hosts a water conservation conference called WaterSmart...
Over the years, we’ve had the good fortune of serving customers who believed that true innovation most often happens when they take the road less traveled.This almost always involves the following:Questioning the market status quoRecognizing that some competitor or market force has moved the proverbial...