The most successful marketers strip out all the pomp and circumstance too often built up around our trade, and boil what we do down to its essence – inspiring and mobilizing an audience. When you start with a basic premise of product meets consumer, the right solutions (message, channel, ...

A core part of Bud Light’s new positioning – present everywhere from billboards to their recent Super Bowl ads – is “superior drinkability.”The idea behind this positioning is strong, that Bud Light is an easy-to-drink beer (relative to more complex, hoppy beers that may not be as smooth or easy ...

While working through a particularly gnarly problem with our company’s virtual helpdesk, I was told that my email usage (measured largely by the size of my deleted items folders) is in the top 5 percent of users they see across their various clients. This actually surprised ...

Andy's right. The short-term napkin math on those extra baggage charges by United Airlines will pale in comparison to the customers who will simply seek another airline for their traveling needs.This doesn't even count the soft cost of the scene about to unfold at airports across the country - ...

What would happen if you spent less than 10% of your work time next week in quadrant III?What if you could spend 80% of your time in quadrants I and II?I bet your productivity, job satisfaction, work/life balance and peace of mind would improve significantly.

I've tried for more than a year to figure out Facebook's value in my life, and am finally ready to throw in the towel.For many, Facebook is an obsession and a major part of their lives. It's a source of incredible entertainment and social interactivity. I take nothing ...

I hold the team at 1-800-Got-Junk in very high esteem, and their fantastic write-up in today's Wall Street Journal is a further validation of their success.Said Jane Hodges, the "Cranky Consumer" columnist for the Journal, 1-800-Got-Junk's performance when she tested them:"Online booking was easy; calling customer service to tweak the ...

Hard-working doesn't always translate to productive & successful. Sometimes, laziness is the best path to progress and achievement.Sound contradictory? For years, productivity and executive impact experts have encouraged us to focus on what's important, not just what's urgent. No less than Peter Drucker, in The Effective Executive, ...

Today Howard took on the idea, as well as the pros and cons, of free syndicated content. If a publisher offers to promote your white paper for free online, for example, there must be a catch. That publisher may want to sell you the leads generated from that white ...

Innovation is inherently based on taking risks. It typically requires stepping out from what's known, what's comfortable, and instead trying something that very likely could (or will) fail.The most innovative companies in the world - 3M and Google among others - fail a LOT. They foster an environment ...