Ask any business professional in business for more than 20 years, the story is sure to include a part about surviving an economic recession.  Just as well established as business growth cycles, these periods of economic famine, panic, shake-out and even demise are a natural occurring event in commercial economic history.  However, if you ask that same confident, practiced business professional about the great recession and financial crisis of the current half decade, the response is sure to bewilderment, uncertainty and an outwardly, unspoken aura of “what’s next!”

Not limited to just micro and macro-economics, Americas businesses are facing challenges  arising from international economic calamity, geo political upheaval, increased global competition, a technological revolution, an ever more savvy consumer, an evolution in consumer buying habits, regulation, healthcare legislation and an unprecedented increase in the severity and frequency of natural disasters.  Simply said, the last 5 years has tested the resilience of every business across industry.

In a turbulent business environment, companies need resilience—the ability to bounce back when faced with adversity. One important part of this is operational resilience—recovering from threats to your day-to-day operations—by having the ability to respond quickly, and by building duplication and redundancy into your operations.

The solutions for resolving any of these challenges are numerous and vary depending upon the cause, effect and the businesses life cycle, but for many the best solution may lie in the challenge itself, like the technology revolution.  While many traditional and well established business models are in decline due to new products and processes brought on by the technology revolution, many of these same models have found solutions by embracing and incorporating innovation and change.  Not change for change sake, but change that will bring about growth and increased profitability.  The recent initiation of the make over at Nokia is an example of massive change, necessary to survive in an ever increasing competitive technology devise-driven world.  Once and still, as a percentage of phones shipped, the leading handset manufacturer, Nokia lost it way in the revolution of smart phone technology and had become “clogged with bureaucracy” making it impossible to affect change quickly enough to respond to a rapidly changing market and increasingly tech-driven consumer.  Jo Harlow, head of smart devices at Nokia, says, “Our ability to change from being device-led to being software-led as the industry changed hasn’t been fast enough. A lot of anger has come from the fact that we could have been in a different position if we had been able to make the transition more quickly.”

With the economy causing huge twists and turns in a consumer’s budget and spending power, major companies are trying to keep their brands inside the shopping carts of many families. Some companies have found success in on-line sales to boost their bottom line and keep their brand right in front of the nose of the buyer.  Home Improvement stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot have great websites that sell everything normally found in their in the stores and offer online tutorials on how to utilize their products in do yourself projects.  Supermarkets have tapped into in the on-line arena by offering weekly circulars, menu and recipe planning ideas and a way to shop from home.  Department stores like Macy’s and Kohl’s keep the customers happy with great coupon deals and free on-line shipping.

Here are a few rules of engagement that will help a business recast its fundamental business model to better respond in this new challenging business environment:

Evaluate and eliminate excessive debt.

It has often been coined, “Cash is King”, if true in good times, than in a challenging economy, “Cash is an all-powerful Emperor”.  As revenues drop, debt service must relative to revenues. Resiliency requires more cash to effectively respond to necessary change.

Resize operations to reflect the new reality.

Adjust the size of staff and work to cross train remaining employees.  Smoother production, greater productivity and happier customers mean a better bottom line.

Track, measure and control finances.

Install a key indicator system to track the business and have daily, weekly and monthly financial reports.  Use these indicators to focus on the most profitable products or services. Make nothing that does not bring in a profit.  Track and analyzing key indicators, financial reports and productivity. Get smaller first and more profitable; then grow slowly and carefully.

Reduce inventories and overhead.

Look for costly items that do not contribute to income and profitability.  Closely monitor and aggressively collect accounts receivables.  Too much cash invested in materials, labor, and receivables can be a real drain on an otherwise healthy business.

Develop an effective marketing strategy.

Review the marketing spend on traditional media and develop a marketing strategy that effectively utilizes the full menu of marketing collateral including digital, social, traditional and mobile media.

Avoid the impulse to give away the farm.

Resist profit-eating sales and discounting.  Don’t give away your product; instead, compete with service, quality and uniqueness. Create a niche and have a competitive advantage.  Look to the recognized leading competitor and implement a strategy to meet their performance and defeat them by exceeding your markets expectations.  Expand geographically and be willing to gravitate towards opportunity and create unique core competencies.

Focus on brand quality.

That’s what wins in the long run. Never forsake this principle. Never cheapen the product to increase profitability.  That will prove to be a real losing tactic.

A recent report from Boston Consulting Group indicates that large companies may have something to learn from smaller and family owned businesses when it comes to being resilient.  The conclusion reached in the report is that smaller or family owned businesses focus on resilience more than performance. They forgo the excess returns available during good times in order to increase their odds of survival during bad times. Executives of family businesses often invest with a 10 or 20-year horizon, concentrating on what they can do now to benefit the next generation. They also tend to manage their downside more than their upside.

The researchers also noted that executives at family-controlled firms realize they are missing opportunities by being overly prudent, but they hope to generate superior returns over time as business cycles turn from good to bad. It is evident that those cycles are speeding up. In an environment that seems to shift from crisis to crisis with alarming frequency, accepting a lower return in good times to ensure survival in bad times may be a trade-off that owners of all size businesses will be thrilled to make.

The history of economics will prove to be tale that the next generation of business leaders will learn about.  The real lessons learned will not be from text books but from those resilient business leaders who have weathered the storm.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a strategy that a marketer uses to facilitate customer interaction with their company.  One of the most common CRM strategies is customer service cards, where customers are offered special purchase discounts or cumulative purchase points which can be exchanged for rewards and special benefits.   However, with the increased use and popularity of social media, companies are expanding their CRM programs in an effort to retain current customers, attract new prospects and to better understand customers buying patterns, wants and needs.  With each new advance in technology — especially the proliferation of self-service channels like the Web and smartphones — customer relationships is being managed electronically.   Armed with all the data, businesses can now offer its customers targeted coupons and other programs that will motivate them to buy more products and services.

Many aspects of CRM relies heavily on technology; however the strategies and processes of a good CRM system will collect, manage and link information about the customer with the goal of letting a business  market and sell services more effectively.  With the user explosion of social media and the mobile new communication technologies developing and managing marketing factors like social media and new marketing opportunities for mobile devises, it is vital for today’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) to fully understand why customers are interested in using social media to interact with a particular brand or company.

The IBM Institute for Business Value recently surveyed 1,000 customers from all over the world, as well as 350 key marketing executives and discovered significant discrepancies in what CMO’s believe customers want from a social media experience and what customers really want.  The illuminating results from the study are unveiled in the two-part “From social media to Social Customer Relationship Management (CRM)” white paper indicate that customers are far more pragmatic than many CMO’s believe, and therefore need to design experiences that deliver tangible value in return for customers’ time, attention and data.  The role of the business is to facilitate collaborative experiences and dialogue that customer’s value.  Social media is ultimately about interacting with others with an expectation of getting something in return.  Users are joining networking sites such as Facebook because this is where conversations are taking shape and circles of influence reside.

Consumers also say “getting tangible value’ is the reason they interact with a company and list “getting discounts or coupons” and “purchasing products and services” as the top two activities, respectively.  The survey results indicate a significant disconnect with business marketing executives who cite getting discounts and purchasing products or services as the two things customers were least interested in doing – the direct opposite of the consumers’ rankings.  Businesses are also three times more likely to think consumers are interested in interacting with them to feel part of a community. Marketers also overestimate consumers’ desire to engage with them in order to feel connected to their brand.  In fact, these two activities are among the least interesting from a consumer’s perspective.

The chasm between what customers want from their social media experience and what management thinks they want is concerning because the power of the social community’s endorsement and influence can be felt each time someone “likes” a company on Facebook or re-tweets a company’s message on Twitter.  For many companies, social media will become the gateway, if not the primary, communications channel to connect with customers so getting it right, for the right reasons, is vital to the success of a social media marketing strategy.

An effective CRM strategy is based on the understanding that the customer is now in control and that there are differences in social media and other channels of customer interaction with a company and its brand.  The customer experience must be seamless, across social media and other channels and the social solution should not be devised as an isolated standalone program, but needs to be thoughtfully integrated with other customer initiatives.  It is time marketing professionals begin to think like customers, ask customers why they choose to interact with a company in a social environment and ask them what they want from the relationship.   Listen, analyze, engage, evolve; organizations can optimize their social media programs to continually enhance their business only if they abandon the “build it and they will come” approach to social media.

The consumer findings in this study should be a wake-up call for marketing executives and professionals, that much more must be done if they want to attract more than the most devoted brand advocates.

Businesses share core principles of business that are common and integral regardless of product, service and industry. These same principles when adjusted for variation in size, logistics, and offerings become essential to the overall success of a business whether delivering a load of stone or a pair of designer jeans.  Considerations for supply and demand, cost to price, solutions to needs, and delivering on customer’s expectations are found across business and industry vertical.

However, in this fractured marketing environment, identifying customers and defining their wants, needs and expectations in product and service is anything but the same.  It is critical to develop a customized strategy to support effective customer experience consistent across multiple communication channels that is cost efficient and designed to consistently communicate and interact at every touch point.  An effective customer experience strategy will include key elements such as:

Consolidation

With consumers being deluged with communications through every channel, targeting only those customers for whom a message is relevant and important, brands will communicate more effectively and enjoy higher returns on the efforts.

Personalization

Few consumers look forward to receiving messages that are obviously mass produced and designed to reach broad segments of a market.  Because of the new delivery methods, businesses are able to personalize the experiences of each individual customer, identify patterns and pinpoint preferences.

Optimize In-Store

A recent study by Venuelabs reveals major brands are missing as much as 86 percent of local consumer sentiment about their in-store experiences and even when brands are employing best-of-breed social media and brand monitoring technologies and strategies, local consumer activity will be lost because of what the study calls “the missing link of location.”  “Fundamentally, location is the new keyword,” said Venuelabs CEO Neil Crist. “The gap of current monitoring technologies is being felt today by brands large and small.”  Consumers are using mobile devices to interact with brands in new ways, sharing in-store experiences beyond social to include mobile- and location-based services like Foursquare and Instagram, according to the findings. Pete Mannix, co-founder and CTO of Venuelabs, said that mobile Internet usage has skyrocketed.  “Considering that nearly 40 percent of Internet usage is from a mobile device, implied user context, particularly location has become far more critical to understanding the customer,” he said.  E-commerce, expected to rise by 13% this coming year, already accounts for about 8 percent of total retail sales in the U.S. and is expected to outpace sales growth at bricks-and-mortar stores over the next five years, according to a Mashable post on the research, reaching $370 billion in sales by 2017 — or a full tenth of all retail sales in the United States.  Establishing a successful customer experience is imperative to achieving success and sustaining market share.

Internal Focus

A great customer experience starts with treating your employees well.  Employee’s attitudes will transfer through to the customer.  Jonathan Clarkson, Director of Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards loyalty program recently commented, “We put a very high premium on how we treat our people,” said Clarkson. “It’s all predicated on the belief that when you make your employees happy, they will transfer that attitude to the customers. It’s one of the reasons we think our customers keep coming back.”  “You want to communicate to your employees the general sense of trying to follow the golden rule,” said Clarkson. “At the end of the day, our people have multiple jobs so we don’t want to load them up with details and minutia. Instead, we just want to make sure they help our customers. When it comes to delayed flights, there’s a big difference between an airline employee telling a customer ‘There’s nothing I can do,” vs. “I’ll do what I can.”  Empower your employee’s with the tools and the authority to solve problems and complaints that endanger desirable consumer interactions at all touch points.  Passing the decision up the ladder only slows the solution process and frustrates the consumer. Positive employee attitude and responsiveness to customer concerns go a long way toward creating a positive customer experience.

Monitor and Measure

Consistently monitor your customer experience strategy to measure and verify its effectiveness.  Tracking customer feedback allows managers to monitor how their teams are performing on a day to day basis and keep a pulse on what customers are saying and thinking about the company.

Communication

With many operations scattered over large geographic areas, it is important to communicate the strategy internally, and empower employees to take action in achieving customer satisfaction.  An aggressive email system and internal communication pipeline will advance the strategic process and ensure its implementation across the organization.

Commitment

Establishing an effective customer experience requires commitment of capital, human resources and targeted actions now and extended over time.

Although the core principles are valuable for every business, every customer experience is different.  In this new economy, it’s not apples to apples.  After all, there is more than one way to make an apple pie.

The most experienced and effective marketing professionals will usually agree that keeping the client in the press and on the public’s mind is beneficial to promoting brand identity, especially in an institutional fashion.  Frequent articles and stories can help grow a brands identity across marketing segments and expose the brand to new potential customers who may be inspired by the information and may be motivated to test, what is to them, an unfamiliar brand.  In the case of good news, it can create excitement and motivation, after all we all love being part of a good success story.  But when it comes to polishing the brand, attracting new converts and growing a business; too much bad news can be really, really bad news for a struggling business!

News continues to trickle out of the troubled retailer, J.C. Penney.  It’s bad news for its business partners and investors, bad news for thousands of its associates, and particularly bad news for its loyal customers.

We all look to our business leaders, the CEO’s, the Presidents, the Board Directors and the COO’s for lessons and inspiration, unfortunately as is the case in life’s many best learned lessons,  we often learn the most profound lessons from our failures.  The leadership at J.C. Penny has contributed more than its fair share of lessons over the past two years.

The Board of Directors of J.C. Penney Company, Inc. [NYSE: JCP], recently announced that Myron E. (Mike) Ullman, III has rejoined the Company as  Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.  He has also been elected to the Board of Directors.  Mr. Ullman is a highly accomplished retail industry executive, who served as CEO of J.C. Penney until late 2011.  He succeeds Ron Johnson, who is stepping down and leaving the Company.

This most recent departure of leadership makes J.C. Penny America’s most cautionary tale and follows a plot line of mass exodus of loyal customers and a 25% reduction in company revenues.  Penney lost almost a billion dollars, half a billion of it in the final quarter alone. The company’s stock price, which jumped twenty-four percent after Johnson announced his plans, has since fallen almost sixty percent and twenty-one thousand jobs have been lost.

Upon his departure, Johnson has become the target of unrelenting criticism. “There is nothing good to say about what he’s done,” Mark Cohen, a former C.E.O. of Sears Canada, who is now a professor at Columbia, “Penney had been run into a ditch when he took it over. But, rather than getting it back on the road, he’s essentially set it on fire.  Johnson, and his previous compatriots in failed leadership, seemed determined on implementing wide sweeping, revolutionary marketing strategies that appeared to be destined from the outset to miss the target when it came to the largest segment of its customer base.  The new revolutionary strategy’s only success was to frustrate and confuse the company’s loyal fans and left everyone to ponder three questions.   Where did their familiar retailer go?  Who were they trying to become?  And where were they going?

Turning a major company away from its past identity and moving it forward with a strategy that brings a sleepy and complacent giant into the new business market reality is difficult, really difficult.  But large brand remodeling and revolutionary, untested marketing strategies most often bring about decline and failure not success.  Michael Roberto, a management professor at Bryant University, put it this way. “Small wins help you build support both internally and externally, and they make it easier for people to buy in.”

Penney’s board no doubt believed that Johnson’s record with former employers, Target and Apple, all but guaranteed that he’d succeed at J.C. Penney.  But this perception probably reflects what psychologists call “the fundamental attribution error”, our tendency to ignore context and attribute an individual’s success or failure solely to inherent qualities.   Ron Johnson has become an example of what Warren Buffet believes, “When a manager with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for poor fundamental economics, it is the reputation of the business that remains intact.” At the onset, Johnson brought an Apple-minded focus on reinventing business innovations whilst losing site of the core fundamentals of the business.  Perhaps the most profound lesson from Ron Johnson’s missteps can be attributed solely to J.C. Penny’s Board for its decision to select Johnson for the leadership role to begin with.

While Penney can’t erase the last 14-months, there is inherent value in the lessons learned.  Vision is not always a recipe for success.  As marketers, we keep our thumb on the pulse of what is trending in all social, local, and mobile.  Our ideas are fueled by advancements in technology.   However, success is a result of systematically assessing the wants, needs, motivations, and expectations of those we serve not those that lead.  Penney needs to get back to the fundamentals of its core business and the customers it serves.

Atlanta-based Junction Creative Solutions (Junction) was recognized as the recipient of three Horizon Interactive Awards for its work in three different categories: Video, Advertisement, and Brochure.

The Horizon Interactive Awards are an international awards competition acknowledging outstanding achievement among interactive media producers. The 2012 installment drew thousands of entries from top developers, designers, and online advertisers from all over the world, including 20 countries and more than 40 states. This marked the second year Junction had submitted entries representing its work for evaluation in the prestigious annual tradition.   In last year’s competition, Junction was awarded dual honors for integrated online/offline marketing campaigns.

“We are very excited to have won 3 awards in three new categories,” commented Julie Gareleck, CEO & Managing Partner, Junction. “We strive to be a valuable agency partner, providing solutions that encompass all things tra-digi-com (traditional-digital- comprehensive).  It’s an honor to compete against the biggest and brightest agencies in the marketplace and win.  Three for three isn’t bad.”

Judged by a panel composed of industry peers and end users, each entry is measured by its creativity and originality, technical merit, communication effectiveness, and overall design and user experience.

One of the awards was for Guardian Watch™’s Bullying Video which is designed to educate how to prepare and respond to bullying. “Guardian Watch™ is passionate about empowering citizens and offices to take charge of their safety and security to foster a better, safer environment.  We hope that this award increases awareness for the many initiatives Guardian Watch™ is focused on,” commented Gareleck.

For more information about Junction and its award-winning portfolio, visit www.junction-creative.com.

We’re beginning to hear of a new phase in the electronic video universe, “Zero-TV” households.  It may sound familiar, like the new lower calorie sodas or sport drinks which tout less calories, sweeteners and sugar, and while there is a great deal of difference in their meanings, the effect on the television viewing public may hold some similar results;  less traditional television viewing. The term Zero-TV households, refers to those households who no longer watch traditional television offered by cable or satellite providers but who tend to stream video online, via computers, smartphones or tablets.

Nielsen’s Cross-Platform report provides informative data on the changes in the American consumer’s media behaviors. Their latest update to the report features new insights on Zero-TV households and indicate that more than 95% of Americans get their information and entertainment by watching TV in their living rooms through traditional cable or satellite channels.  While just relatively small five percent of viewers fall outside that traditional mold, the group is growing, from two million households in 2007 to five million today.

Some people have had it with TV and the 100-plus channel universe. They have begun to tire of the $100.00 per month bills and have begun to cut the ties with cable and satellite companies and most do not even access free television signals via an antenna, opting to watch shows and movies on the internet or their cellphone connections.  Is the traditional television delivery model facing major changes or is this new trend likely to be just another viewing option, reserved for a fragment of the total consumer audience?

Show creators and networks make money from Zero-TV households through deals with online video providers and from advertising on their own websites and apps, but broadcasters only get paid when they relay such programming in traditional ways.  Unless broadcasters can adapt to modern platforms, their revenue from Zero TV viewers will be zero.  “Getting broadcast programing on all the gizmos and gadgets like tablets, the backseats of a car, and laptops, is hugely important,” says Dennis Wharton, a spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB).  The Zero TV segment is increasingly important, because the number of people signing up for traditional TV service has slowed to a standstill in the U.S.  Last year, the cable, satellite and telecoms providers added just 46,000 video customers collectively, according to research firm SNL Kagan. That is tiny when compared to the 974,000 new households created the year before.

Zero TVers tend to be younger, single and without children but the industry is monitoring the progress to determine if the targeted demographic will change their viewing ways as they grow older and into the more traditional households with children.  Even the Zero-TV market is fragmenting with a host of new buzz words to describe these non-traditionalist viewers. There are “cordcutters,”  those who stop paying for TV completely, and make do with online video and sometimes an antenna.  There are “cord-shavers,” who reduce the number of channels they subscribe to, or the number of rooms pay TV is in, to save money.  Then there are the “cordnevers,” young people who move out on their own and never set up a landline phone connection or a TV subscription. They usually make do with a broadband Internet connection, a computer, a cellphone and possibly a TV set that is not hooked up the traditional way.

The new market segments may be the equivalent of an infant lion in a room with an elephant, but cable and satellite providers should be aware that an infant carnivore, over-looked and under-estimated, can grow and nibble away at the heels of the larger more dominant mammal and eventually drop the behemoth.  As the wireless, mobile phenomenon continues to blaze across the technology landscape, changing forever the methods the public utilizes to communicate, shop, pay their bills and interact with one another socially, traditional television viewing providers of programming should be careful to modify their marketing strategy and viewing delivery products, lest they fall victim to this new consumer trend.

Could television consumers, long-accustomed to being enslaved by the service policies and arbitrary costs of traditional, deeply entrenched cable and satellite providers, be on the brink of perpetuating payback? We’d love to hear from our readers. Are you a cordcutter, cordshaver, or cordnever?

Junction Creative Solutions (Junction) client Saffire Vapor, seller and distributor of premium-quality ‘high powered’ electronic cigarettes and accessories, is opening the doors of its second retail location in Franklin, TN, just over a year after launching its business in February of 2012.

Saffire Vapor has grown quickly but sustainably through steady eCommerce sales, successful distribution relationships with third-party vendors, and a brick-and-mortar store in Murfreesboro, TN. The success of the first retail location, spurred by increased consumer demand for Saffire Vapor’s premium product offerings, prompted Founder and CEO Robert Arnold to open a retail location in Franklin, TN.

Arnold’s vision as an entrepreneur and dedication as a business owner have been instrumental in creating a strong brand that has become best-in-breed in this thriving industry. With Saffire Vapor’s expansion, existing customers can continue to expect a superior shopping experience. The company implements management tools and practices which not only make operations more efficient, but also benefit consumers in terms of product availability, pricing, and the superior level of service Saffire Vapor has become known for. New customers, whether looking to reduce smoking habits or seeking alternatives, will welcome Saffire Vapor’s expanded range of high quality products

In addition to supporting the development of his business, Arnold is eager to create new jobs and stimulate the local economy, overcoming the challenges of a still-recovering economic climate. “I am extremely proud to extend the Saffire Vapor brand into the greater community to offer locals the best products and service possible,” says Arnold. “The growth of our company in its first year has been exciting, and our commitment to our customers will continue to serve us we move forward strategically in 2013 and beyond.”

“Saffire Vapor is an emerging brand that has gained affinity with its clients.  Robert (Arnold) has effectively differentiated his brand in a developing and increasingly more competitive industry. The quality of his products coupled with outstanding customer service and knowledgeable staff has positioned Saffire Vapor well. This is not only a brand to contend with but an entrepreneur to watch!” comments Julie Gareleck, CEO, Junction.

Visit Saffire Vapor at www.saffireecigs.com.  Come in to the retail locations at 425 N. Thompson Lane, Murfreesboro, TN or 9200 Carothers Parkway Suite 102, Franklin, TN.

In an effort to be more competitive in the face of increased competition, mainly from their “dollar store” competitors, Wal-Mart has been minding its costs as U.S. sales growth slows.  U.S. locations declined for nine straight quarters before snapping the streak with a 1.3 percent gain for the quarter ending last October.  It is understandable that keeping a tight focus on costs during poor economic times is a necessary function of doing business today, but how far is too far before one of the most successful brands in history is significantly damaged?

Founder Sam Walton, built a strong foundation for the future success of his company by featuring wide unobstructed aisles, neatly and plentifully stocked shelves and motivated and friendly staff along with the low process.  In 1980 to make his giant low-price stores even more friendly he added greeters to the entrance of the stores.  The world’s largest retailer has recently removed greeters from the overnight shift at its U.S. supercenters, chipping away at a 30-year tradition of making sure all shoppers are welcomed to the store.  Cutting back, even during the early morning hours, shows Wal-Mart is rethinking long held traditions to boost profit margins and guarantee low prices.

“The greeter is part of the Wal-Mart experience and, in stores not always known for killer customer service, sometimes the friendliest face a customer might encounter,” wrote Ryan Mathews, founder, CEO of Black Monk Consulting.  ”It never made economic sense to have a greeter, but that wasn’t the point. If Wal-Mart’s economics are so fragile that they are worried about changing such a signature part of their operation, they have much bigger issues.”

The most recent effects of trimming the brand is having wide spread effect and is garnishing customer complaints from all across the country.  More than 1000 complaints were registered recently regarding the lack of adequate stock being on the shelves to meet the consumer demands.  Many were from previously loyal Wal-Mart customers confused by what has happened to service at a company they’d once admired for its low prices and wide assortment.   Many said they were paying more and driving farther to avoid the local Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart’s restocking challenges stem from a thinly spread labor force struggling to keep up with all the work that needs to be done, said Colin McGranahan, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in New York.  “Stuff gets backed up, and they’re forced to respond as best they can,” said McGranahan, “The result is an increasing amount of customer-encountered out-of-stocks.”

One loyal Wal-Mart customer recently responded to the bare shelves at his local store saying “As much as I need to take advantage of the low prices that Wal-Mart has to offer, the money I would save is spent on gas to drive to other stores to buy the items that the retailer doesn’t have on its shelves, he said. “So it is easier to just shop elsewhere.”

And how is the company responding to the latest criticisms?

Responding to the report in Bloomberg News, Wal-Mart said the customers complaining to Bloomberg aren’t a sufficient sample size and don’t represent shoppers’ impressions of its stores nationwide.  The spokeswoman said, “The premise of this story, which is based on the comments of a handful of people, is inaccurate and not representative of what is happening in our stores across the country.”  Not the kind of response shoppers expect from a major retailer in a highly competitive, economically depressed environment.

Customer service is also driving some customers away.  One frustrated customer tried to get a watch battery changed. “No one could find the batteries and a worker didn’t know how to change it anyway”, he said.  “The lady told me to go to a pawn shop to have it changed.  Michael Young, a 63-year-old accountant in Oklahoma City, goes to Wal-Mart “only when I need things I know I can usually get for less money.” He has to prepare himself for what he knows will be an unpleasant shopping experience.

It is not uncommon for businesses to encounter operational challenges which result in scattered, poor customer relations resulting in some tarnish to the brand, even the world’s largest and most prestigious performers will struggle to consistently maintain quality service and performance levels.  Even if it is an isolated problem or one of localized perception, and the evidence suggests neither is true, perception regardless of whether it has basis in fact, is reality in the eyes of the consumer.

Could Wal-Mart, once the discounter consumers could rely upon for more than just low prices, be so focused on trimming the budget that they damage what many long-standing, loyal customers believe is one of the most endearing brands?

Anyone who has been in the position of turning around a failing company will readily admit that the weapons of public criticism, pent-up institutional frustration and anger quickly become squarely focused on virtually every decision you make.  And no matter how deep the chasm, progress out of the depths of failure cannot come fast enough to critics and detractors, most of whom could not artfully orchestrate their own turnaround in the driveway.

Most recently, Mayer has been charged with failing to make significant progress in hiring much needed human resource talent that is necessary to bring about institutional changes and discipline to Yahoo.  Some say that her insistence on interviewing every new recruit and instituting high standards and practices in hiring are hampering the effort to fill Yahoo’s 900 vacancies, nearly 8 percent of its 11,500 member workforce.  To make Yahoo a more attractive place to work, Mayer has borrowed from the Google playbook and provides employees with free food and the latest smartphones.

But the recent decision to eliminate the practice of employees working from home for Yahoo employees has spawned the most attention from the media outlets, social engineering pun dents and even other chief executives.  “From the time she got there, she was kind of shocked by the Culture, by the fact that so many people were working from home that you couldn’t even have a Friday staff meeting,” said a person familiar with Mayer’s thinking.   In announcing the decision Mayer commented, “To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side,” the memo said. “That is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices.”  Observers say that the new CEO has more than a dozen ideas to make the organization more efficient and orderly, some of which will be controversial and unpopular.

In this case, Mayer consulted logs from Yahoo!’s Virtual Private Network (VPN), which employees use to remotely access the company’s network.   Since workers weren’t logging in from home often enough…. they will soon do so from the office.

Working from home has its advantages and disadvantages, and under certain circumstances, it might be necessary for organizations to reel in their remote workers.  They may be concerned about communications, team cohesion or personal accountability, or they may need all hands on deck to meet strategic goals in a turnaround situation.

Many business leaders feel organizations should not offer telecommuting as an option simply because it is part of the employee engagement model that has come into fashion in the past 10 or 15 years. Yahoo and other Silicon Valley companies virtually invented this employee engagement model, one that emphasizes employee perks like workday flexibility to attract top talent and encourage creativity. In many cases, it works. However engagement without personal accountability is a recipe for disaster.

The challenge is striking the right balance to make telecommuting work for an organization and its employees.  Working from home may be convenient for some but it represents a huge opportunity cost to a company that’s trying to turn things around.  The effort is about Mayer getting to problems created by Yahoo’s huge, bloated infrastructure and a company that got fat and lazy over the past 15 years. The most immediate step in any rescue attempt is to stop the bleeding. Only after the patient is stabilized can you get to work in repairing the damage.

The first visual change to Yahoo involves a refreshed home page.  Features include bigger photos, a newsfeed with increased personalization and more prominent weather and financial apps along the right rail.  Yahoo’s mobile websites also were modernized.  So what was Ms. Mayer’s role in the process? First, “she challenged the team to expand the breadth of content that we were recommending,” said Yahoo VP Mike Kerns.  “She didn’t want more links, but more diversity of stories both from Yahoo properties and from external media properties that have partnerships with Yahoo.”

The ball is at least moving forward now. While the home page and mobile redesigns won’t “save” Yahoo, it is likely give it some necessary breathing room while it bets big elsewhere.  Mayer has said her top priority is to create a coherent mobile strategy for Yahoo and that she intends for at least half of the company’s technical workforce to be working on mobile products.  Towards meeting this goal, the company acquired mobile app developers, Stamped and OnTheAir, during the quarter, but turning development talent into revenue is the challenge the new CEO must address.

It is largely agreed that six months into her tenure, Marissa Mayer has arrested the decline of the Internet portal and has won favor on Wall Street with stock buybacks, but a longer-term turnaround remains uncertain.  Her promise of a modest revenue uptick in the coming year paled in comparison with the growth of its Internet peers. And Yahoo shares, which have gained roughly 30 percent since Mayer took the reins last July, fell nearly 3 percent to $19.77.  Q4 2012 was Yahoo’s second full quarter with Marissa Mayer at the helm as CEO.  The results Yahoo reported thus far should be some encouragement that things are indeed on the right track.

In a press release accompanying the earnings figures, Mayer had the following to say about Yahoo’s performance:  “I’m proud of Yahoo!’s 2012 and fourth quarter results. In 2012, Yahoo! exhibited revenue growth for the first time in 4 years, with revenue up 2 percent year-over-year. During the quarter we made progress by growing our executive team, signing key partnerships including those with NBC Sports and CBS Television, and launching terrific mobile experiences for Yahoo! Mail and Flickr. At the same time, we achieved tremendous internal transformation in the culture, energy and execution of the Company.”

When a new CEO comes to the rescue, they usually have one or two quarters before they have to start showing something positive, and time is clearly one factor that must be on Marissa Myer’s mind as the CEO of an injured giant.  With each day will come new challenges, opportunities and expectations of greater success, and who doesn’t like a good turn around story?

As more and more people discover the convenience of mobile technology, it is critical that marketers form a clear digital strategy to take advantage of the explosion in mobile applications.  With mobile subscriptions set to surpass the world population by the end of this year, the opportunity to reach out to potential customers through some mobile devise is virtually unlimited, and with adults spending more media time on mobile than on newspapers and magazines combined, it is vital that businesses make mobile a more significant portion of their marketing spend.

Mobile’s potential is huge according to The Mobile Marketing Association.  In its “2012: The Year of the Mobile Imperative” study estimated that there are currently more than 5.3 billion mobile devices in use in the world.

The global mobile ad market is expected to grow from $3.4 billion in 2010 to $22.0 billion in 2016, with the top marketing objective being to increase customer engagement.  Online social media, while the smallest sector of mobile and social media, has been growing at a very strong 42.1% year over year. Within the online social media category, social networking is the largest and fastest-growing segment by far.

Whether marking through smart phones or tablets, utilizing mobile web or mobile aps, social media, QR Codes or location-based proximity, marketers and consumers are obviously mad about mobile.  Not sure if you agree?  Look about, no matter where you are, observe those around you and watch as they interface with the world through their electronic devices.  Researching a prospective purchase, buying an event ticket, planning travel, reserving a night’s accommodations, securing dinner reservations or paying a bill, everyone everywhere is mad about mobile.

Even in the normally fast paced world of electronics and communication technology, the growth in business utilization and consumer acceptance of marketing by mobile technology is comparative to Star Trek’s Enterprise at warp speed, and given the results of resent studies and predictions, it is not about to abate anytime soon.

The biggest challenge for marketers is to keep up with the explosion of various digital channels and how they interact with consumers, particularly mobile.  In order to thrive amidst all the madness, businesses will need to understand what is unique about how a consumer uses their mobile devise; identify when mobile is most likely to  lead a consumer to make a purchase; and create a user experience that encourages continued mobile engagement.

Effectively, targeted strategy formulated and implemented, insanity conquered.

When the new Walt Disney World opened in Florida in the 1970’s, it offered a new and creative way to make  waiting in line a better and more tolerable experience for visitors.  The once familiar long lines that ran for hundreds of feet around the corner and away from the attraction were replaced by lines that moved back and forth, under protective cover from the elements and never extending out of sight of the popular attraction.

Carefully channeled visitors were able to visit and converse with other “waiters” as they meandered towards their turn to have fun.  Strategically placed, “Time Remaining” signs kept line pedestrians apprised of the amount of wait estimated to be left, before their “turn” to participate in the fun, appeared to appease the usual impatience commonly witnessed in more traditional waits; it was so successful that waiting in line nearly became fashionable.  For decades little has changed and Disney visitors were left to create their own strategies and tactics to shorten the misery of waiting in line to their favorite attractions.

Now Disney is envisioning a theme park where lines for rides and cash for treats are unnecessary things of the past.  The new technology of smart phones and more options for paying for purchases is providing an revolutionary way of shortening waiting times and paying for “on the run” amenities and purchases.  Worn on park visitor’s wrist, the envisioned, “MyMagic +, bracelet will change the way park enthusiast experience the world’s busiest theme park.

The device will keep track of itinerary, alert guests when their favorite rides are ready, without standing in line, and allow them to pay for Mouse Ears and other merchandise without their wallets. The band keeps credit card information using NextGen technology and the bands will also serve as the guest’s admission ticket.  Photo identification cards will double as room keys for those staying in Disney hotels and resorts and all the data will be secured with full encryption.  A new innovation, dubbed “My Disney Experience,” will allow guests to plan and keep track of their entire stay at the parks.  The family orientated theme parks have long been recognized for their creative leadership in developing imagination into reality entertainment.

The Disney’s Imagineers, famous for using the latest technology to give life and motion to still animation and robotics, are now poised to apply the latest advances in communication and mobile technology to enhance the motions of real life.  Disney is expected to roll out the new wristbands sometime this year, first to guests staying at the parks and then to everyone.  What’s next for Disney…Will Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck send personalized message through the wristband? It really has become the Magic Kingdom.

Quick Response Codes

Leading the way towards obsolescence is Quick Response Codes, or QR Codes. The invention of founder Garrett Gee, in the beginning QR codes quickly found their way onto stationary, print advertising, giveaways, brochures, vehicles and marketing collateral of all shapes, sizes, and colors but recently have earned a reputation for being a flawed technology. Miss-use and saturation is leading consumers to ignore the square label with the squiggly lines and patterns.  More importantly, newer technologies may offer better solutions in 2013.

Keyword SEO

As Google matures, they are relying less on keyword placements and more on content, requiring marketers to spend more time and effort on content and contextual analysis.  With the trend towards searches being encrypted with HTTPS, it has caused a 171 percent increase in “not provided” results in keyword data.

Content for Content’s Sake

Creating interesting and compelling content is challenging and can be expensive but is essential to effective content marketing.  Content subject matter, poor writing and missing the message can damage a company’s brand and confuse the targeted audience.  Marketers in the coming year must focus on having something interesting and compelling to say and move towards quality over quantity.

Retargeting

Remarketing is a technique that permits you to follow visitors to your website via a third-party website. The practice of using standardized ads is creating confusion and is missing the intended customer or market segment altogether.  Marketers should consider segmenting audiences, create personalized ads, and use frequency capping.

Avid Landing Page Testing

Not maximizing conversions through consistent landing page testing program is quickly dying out as a trend.  In a digital world, a lack of ability to convert website visitors into customers can crush a business. Rather than invest in driving more traffic to a website, money is better spent maximizing the value of existing visitors through conversion optimization.  In 2013, companies are leveraging intuitive and affordable landing page and conversion optimization platforms, like LiveBall, to refine page design and messaging in an effort to maximize conversions.

Ignoring Personalization

Marketers in the coming year must target website visitors in real-time with personalized messaging or offers based on behavior and demographic data. The increased availability of GPS location mobile applications is changing the dynamics of timely messaging.  Using the same website content or messaging as a one-size-fits-all solution for a diverse audience is fast becoming an ineffective strategy.

Underestimating the Power of Video

Research shows internet users are conducting informational searches in YouTube, providing an opportunity for effective strategies that utilize creative audio and video presentations that offer greater message retention and better recall from consumers.  Video and audio, once expensive and thought to be unreliable, is proving to be the next creative frontier for attracting complacent and bored consumers.

Faking Reviews

Customer reviews are the number one influencer for making a purchase, but creating false reviews may result in costly penalties to companies who try to trick the system.  Consumers are getting smarter about sniffing out fake or paid reviews and such dishonest strategies risk turning consumers off and pushing them away. Honesty is the best policy and will be rewarded with customer loyalty.

Making Decisions Based on Wrong Metrics

The most common mistake marketers make in regard to social media measurement is relying on absolute numbers instead of relative ratios.  According to Kent Lewis, “The most important metrics are relative: engagement or conversions as a percentage of total “likes,” followers, or fans. Maintaining or improving the ratio will result in a more informed social strategy.”

Effective digital strategies are as fickle and fleeting as today’s sophisticated consumers.  Staying on top of the changing technology and utilizing the many innovative digital marketing tools will be essential to forming tomorrow’s creative and successful strategies.

The once great industry leader Kodak was built on a culture of innovation and change.  It’s the type of culture that’s full of passionate innovators, already naturally in tune to the urgency surrounding changes in the market and technology, the kind of people that keep a company on the cutting edge of innovation and change, developing one new remarkable success after another and always keeping the door of opportunity tightly locked against the competitors entry.  If anyone was destined to become the master of digital imagery, it was Kodak, but of course it was not.

Some look to poor strategy for the failure of Kodak, but others to manager complacency, or the arrogance of entitlement.  The organizations leadership shifted the focus from creating new innovating opportunities to establishing an achievable financial benchmark as the desired organizational target, thus transferring the organizations objective from the innovations to calculations.

Geoffrey Moore, author of Escape Velocity: Free Your Company’s Future from the Pull of the Past, speaks of the phenomena in this way, “In large enterprises typically the annual planning process begins with the CFO circulating last year’s plan, circling the numbers in Q4, with the suggestion that managers multiply these by 4 to get a revenue target for next year, and then put together a plan to reach that number.  By so doing management teams confer an entitlement upon existing lines of business to get “first dibs” at all the scarce resources.  By the time the new business opportunities get to the table, the pickings are slim, and the critical resources for developing new markets are gone entirely.  This makes the enterprise captive to its past, and is at the core of established enterprises’ recurrent failures to achieve breakout growth, even when next-generation categories are booming all around them.

As new technologies threaten to disrupt a company’s traditional product and its market position, the strategy must shift form maintaining the status quo and preserving the time tested products to one of reinventing the company and embracing the new threatening technology.  According to Mr. Moore, there are three “pivot points” to the new strategy; Technology, where the company divests itself of the traditional product and wholly embraces the new technology; pivoting on the customer by maintaining their business and brand relationship while changing to the new product technology, or altering  their management expertise entirely and embark on a new course all together.

According to Geoffrey Moore, “What you cannot do is to stand pat”, the tendency of many iconic companies, resulting in a strategy of assured destruction.

The Journal of Financial Advertising and Marketing (JFAM) hosted back to back events in its JFAM:Live! series of financial marketer’s conferences in New York City, attracting leaders from the world’s largest financial brands to engage in sharing ideas and insights about their marketing efforts in 2013.

Bill Wreaks, CEO of The Gramercy Institute, publishers of JFAM, led attendees through the two day’s events; first a private reception at Le Cirque on the evening of March 13^th featuring a panel discussion on building strategic connections with customers in the financial services industry, followed by a half-day conference at Pricewaterhouse Coopers’ US headquarters during which 5 addition panels addressed best practices for implementing a variety of new marketing technologies and techniques.

The day was focused on ‘Transformative Marketing,’ a major trend suggested and reinforced by the findings of a extensive study conducted by the Gramercy Institute, which was first reported earlier this year at the JFAM:FORUM-NYC event.

Junction Creative Solutions (Junction) CEO Julie Gareleck represented her firm on a panel focused on crafting better customer experiences. She joined SVPs and Marketing Directors from major financial firms including TD Ameritrade, Citi, Prudential, and PWC, adding an agency’s unique perspective to the conversation about customer needs and wants. “Consumer trust in big bank brands hasn’t yet been completely restored, but has vastly improved since the significant damage of the economic downturn,” said Gareleck. “Financial brands must prioritize initiatives geared towards first rebuilding this trust, such as delivering honesty along with tangible rewards and benefits; these are crucial steps towards making marketing communications more effective in the aftermath of this difficult period.”

“Junction is extremely pleased to joining in an open dialogue about how to maximize the impact of these large financial brands while being mindful of available resources and delicate reputations,” added Gareleck. “We have learned a great deal from the influential individuals sharing the stage, and it is our hope that sharing our philosophy of adopting the ‘big idea’ only if it is the ‘right idea’ helps them take away a better understanding of marketing that is plugged-in and powerful.”

Read more about Junction’s involvement with JFAM at www.junction-creative.com.

The new Manhattan Reade’s, which replaces the World Trade Center store destroyed on September 11, 2001, encompasses 22,000 square feet of space and is the 254^th store under the Duane Reade flag. Duane Reade president Joe Magnacca said, “This is our learning store,” and in anticipation of its reopening “it was the right time to come home”.

The new store features innovations like; “Find Your Look,” a computer that takes your photo, lets you scan in makeup items, then retouches your photo to show how you would look in those products; an in-store salon offering blowouts for $35 to $45 dollars (an unthinkably low price for pricey Manhattan); a juice bar where employees whip up made-to-order $4.99 smoothies; a Coca-Cola machine that dispenses 130 drinks at the touch of a computer screen and refrigerated cases filled with New York-centric foods like pastrami from the Carnegie Deli, Zabar sandwiches and glass-bottled Ronnybrook milk.

If that is not enough to challenge your apothecary shopping expectations, how about Justin and Steven Song, Duane Reade’s resident Sushi Chiefs who will whip up fresh offerings  while you wait for the professional pharmacy staff to  fill your prescription or give you a Flu shot. The new sushi bar will be staffed by two sushi chefs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. They’ll hand-make sushi to order, including spicy tuna rolls or salmon avocado rolls for $6.99.

Walgreens completed its deal to acquire 257 Duane Reade stores in the metro New York area and the acquisition is credited with adding 3% to the rise in Walgreens revenues in the first month, and helped boost overall sales, which cashed in at $5.7 billion. The Duane Reade New York City stores are anything BUT your average neighborhood Walgreen’s, but Joe Magnacca still  looks forward to the opportunity to share some of the more successful concepts of his new store with other Walgreen’s and Duane Reade locations.

The message the new store at 40 Wall Street is sending to the marketing world is “Up Market”, and while this location is unique, even to the extreme, the company is forging a strategy that will allow the chain to become more geared toward specific neighborhoods and focused on connecting more effectively with its customers. If you are in NYC, it’s worth a visit!

First gathering at the legendary Le Cirque for a private reception on the evening of March 13^th, a panel of senior marketers from influential brands including Vanguard, TD Ameritrade, Citi, and PIMCO will discuss Strategic Customer Connections in Financial Services. Clara Shih, CEO of Hearsay Social and Corporate Board Member of Starbucks, will be on hand to deliver keynote remarks.

Next, on the morning of March 14^th, the tenth annual JFAM Live! Financial Marketer’s Conference will bring together leaders from across the financial services marketing industry as The Gramercy Institute, publisher of JFAM, presents findings from an extensive study on ‘Transformative Marketing,’ a significant trend for 2013. The research includes insights culled from a detailed survey and interviews with high-ranking marketers from the world’s leading financial brands.

Featured during this event will be 5 panel discussions covering subjects related to the findings of the Institute’s research. Gareleck will join other experts, including representatives from PricewaterhouseCoopers and Prudential, to talk about crafting customer experiences that strategically speak for the brand in ways compatible with marketing messages. Other panels will tackle topics including internal marketing strategies leveraging employees, the role of innovation and new tools in financial services marketing, and the importance of company culture as financial brands rebuild their reputations.

“These two events will bring together some of the most progressive, plugged-in minds in the financial services marketing world to take a good look at the state of the industry,” says Gareleck. “Continuing this conversation is a key component of knowing where we stand as marketers, and where we should be going next. I am very much looking forward to sharing the stage with some of the industry’s sharpest minds to contribute Junction’s philosophies on how to get more out of marketing in 2013.

Registration for the events is still open. More information about Junction is available at www.junction-creative.com.

Because of this trend, as mobile continues to explode, it has been reinvigorating B2B efforts, with more of these brand-carrying employees working off of their own laptops, smartphones, and tablets thanks to the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) movement. With BYOD practices, employees are allowed or even encouraged to bring personally-owned mobile devices to the workplace and use them to access privileged company information. Aside from some risks related to data security, BYOD has been lauded for making workers comfortable with the devices they are spending the most time with, translating to happier and more productive employees.

As devices continue to become more capable and more readily available, members of the workforce are better connected than ever before. Now, B2B marketers are finding ways to make this new level of mobility even smarter.

BYOD is one of many results of the consumerization of IT, in which consumer preferences are driving the adoption of new technologies instead of corporate interests. International advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather reported that executives perform more mobile searches from personal devices today than they did from company computers a year ago. The same report suggested that the BYOD movement has enabled B2B mobile in-app advertising to engage its audience as well as the highest profile B2C advertising categories, like retail or automotive. These preferences and user behaviors are precisely the activity that B2B marketers have been after in the years since employees emerged as more powerful brand assets; getting through to a brand’s people is vital, and it is becoming easier to build those connections.

BYOD has become prominent enough that entire mobile strategies have been redesigned to fit the requirements of having more personalized technology in the hands of workers. Messages and applications must be tailored appropriately.  By delivering dynamic, interactive content to prospects, the experience shifts from ‘presenting the information’ to having a real conversation. The individuals, not the enterprise, have become the final decision makers.

“The Junction brand has certainly matured since we started in 2009,” says Julie Gareleck, CEO & Managing Partner, Junction. “We recognize the importance of using creative to tell our story. As a hybrid agency truly focused on business strategy and creative execution, it’s difficult to articulate both sides effectively.”

The enhancements and new features included in the new website include easier site navigation with a clean, user-friendly design aesthetic, a more robust portfolio containing creative examples and detailed client case studies, expanded biographical profiles of company leadership and key account team members, and a redesigned multimedia newsroom featuring current and past company news, publications, and video highlights.

Junction’s company blog, Strategy. Impact. Results. also received an facelift in order to carry the updated brand experience across multiple platforms. As always, readers will find frequently updated insights and commentary on topics related to business, brand, marketing, advertising, strategy, and technology.

“In this vastly competitive industry, we stay true to our own philosophies – we ‘drink our own Kool-Aid,’ so to speak. We want our brand to reflect the very best that it can so that our clients can trust in our abilities to deliver amazing solutions for them,” comments Gareleck.

The new website is live and viewable at www.junction-creative.com.

The idea is basic enough; presenting search results about people and activity in a visual style, and personalizing findings to a user’s own network to bring up more relevant information. Although Google, Yahoo!, and Bing certainly aren’t too difficult to operate, this style of search also comes off as a bit more intuitive, accepting criteria based on speech and the way a social citizen, not a programmer might think (you don’t need an advanced degree in Boolean logic to get more precise, localized results).

There are the requisite concerns over issues of privacy – some worry that companies are trying to explicitly monetize Facebook users and collect their personal data. But Graph results are restricted by user sharing preferences, allowing social networkers to control this information to some degree. When it goes live, many users will play around with Graph, but the platform will likely only be utilized by a certain segment of the overall FB population; one that includes a plethora of brands.

Because of this, far more important to note is the way that Graph may flip current SEO and SEM practices on their respective heads. A study by IT firm Mainstay Salire found that on average, local Facebook pages receive five times more marketing reach and as much as eight times more ‘engagement’ per fan than corporate brand pages. Graph is positioned to potentially make these numbers even greater. What brands wouldn’t want to build a more localized, more focused fan base?

Although comparable in practice, Graph must be viewed as an entirely different channel for businesses than typical search engines, requiring its own strategy if it is to be implemented effectively. Even the key metrics are different – ‘likes’ actually become more important, and goals should move away from linkbuilding and traffic in favor of building the kind social capital that has been revealed as the real driver in social media marketing.

Search can be a way of discovering customers’ intentions, but the assumption that users will adopt Graph as their search engine of choice, if at all, remains untested. Although the network is large, even immense, the quality of content found is really the most important factor for search engines, and the big 3 have that market fairly well covered. What if the launch of Graph simply puts more users off than it turns on? Facebook’s business could be taking another step in the wrong direction.

Facebook has had both great successes and more than its share of missteps in the past. Graph is emerging as the next big gamble – whether it lifts the social network to new heights of personal and brand engagement or acts as the straw that breaks the camel’s back for users is up in the air.

The move to reduce the alcohol content of Maker’s Mark came as the company struggled to keep up with unanticipated demand for its product. In the original announcement, the company described the process leading up to the decision, which included extensive testing to determine the amount of watering-down of the recipe necessary to meet customers’ increased demands for their favorite whiskey. “The change in alcohol volume called for the recipe and process to stay the same, except for a ‘touch more water’ to be added when the whiskey comes out of the barrel for bottling,” Samuels said.

For seasoned marketing professionals, the decision was difficult to understand and heralded back memories of another time in history when another beverage bottler with overwhelming advantages in market share and millions of satisfied customers decided to change the recipe in order to capture an even larger and therefore more profitable share of the cola markets. As is often said, “The rest is history.” Perhaps the most puzzling aspect of the decision was that the decision to embark on the products alteration was approved by Samuels, who happens to be the grandson of the brand’s founder, not just Maker’s Mark’s corporate owners. Apparently, the descendent of the legendary bottler was not an accomplished student of history.

Luckily, the brand has found a way to spin the debacle into something positive. The well-established whiskey maker had invested wisely in social media, and when the original announcement was made on Maker’s Mark’s Facebook page it drew thousands of responses from outraged and disappointed customers. The overwhelming negative response prompted a reversal of the decision to return production to the original recipe. That decision drew more than 14,000 “likes” and 2,200 comments within two hours of the announcement, helping to avert much of the potential damage to the brand and to its sales position in the market. Less than a week later Maker’s Mark tweeted, “You spoke. We listened.,” with a link to its Facebook apology. The phrase then became a popular hashtag. Customers went from feeling abandoned to listened to and respected in record time, and Maker’s Mark retweeted their messages.

Maker’s Mark Chairman Emeritus Bill Samuels, the founder’s son, said “the company focused almost exclusively on not altering the taste of the bourbon while stretching the available product and didn’t consider the emotional attachment that customers have to the brand and its composition.”  Rob Samuels added “Our focus was on the supply problem. That led to us focusing on a solution. We got it totally wrong.”

A more comprehensive message to its customers on the company’s website this week read  “Since we announced our decision last week to reduce the alcohol content (ABV) of Maker’s Mark in response to supply constraints, we have heard many concerns and questions from our ambassadors and brand fans. We’re humbled by your overwhelming response and passion for Maker’s Mark. While we thought we were doing what’s right, this is your brand – and you told us in large numbers to change our decision. You spoke. We listened. And we’re sincerely sorry we let you down. We’ll set about getting back to bottling the handcrafted bourbon that our father/grandfather, Bill Samuels, Sr. created. Same recipe. Same production process. Same product.”

It is truly difficult to understand why company decisions makers insist on making core changes to a product or brand that is clearly working, particularly to one that has produced so much demand and success in the marketplace. Whether in response to a production problem, an attempt to increase sales, or to target a new segment, flawed strategies come at a significant price to even the most well-established and venerable brands. Before making changes to core competencies, we should all stop and take a breath. If it’s not broken, don’t insist on messing it up. To use a well-worn adage, “those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.” It may pay to be better students of history in order to be more effective leaders in the future.

Most major carriers offer tracking websites, mobile apps and 800 numbers for travelers to stay in touch as to the basic schedules and status of flights, some offer online check-in, advanced boarding passes and automatic passenger notifications of changes and delays.

But United Airlines has taken the practice to new heights with their online flight tracking system. Not only can you get schedule information and ticket services, but the UA Flight Status System offers information so comprehensive that it borders on “more than we need to know.”

It is not necessary to have a ticket or be a booked passenger to gain access to all kinds of interesting stuff. Just a flight number, date of departure and an airport and an abundance of details will be laid out before you including; the usual flight time schedule, airport concourse, gate number, model of plane, in-flight amenities, seat map, seat assignments and the, not so usual, upgrade and standby lists, with the first initials and last names of the passengers. And as the flight becomes airborne, you can follow the airplanes in-flight progress in real time via satellite, all the way to its destination. So much for jetting around the country unnoticed.

This pervasive use of the new communication technologies may have a measurable marketing advantage for United over its competitors, but many are beginning to wonder what is an appropriate threshold for offering such detailed real-time information, unprotected and seemingly without user restriction.

How much is too much?

The innovative application enables users to report and stream live video directly to emergency respondents and public safety organizations, arming them with valuable information that can help prevent crime and save lives during emergencies and disasters. The latest updates include an improved user experience, a new platform for video-streaming technology, and a system for Vicinity-Based Alert Notifications by text, email, or automated phone call.

Guardian Watch™ Founder and CEO Dr. Gordon Jones is confident that citizens equipped with the application will play a more active role in the protection of their community. In fact, early pilot programs have shown overwhelmingly positive results, earning recognition from local governments and industry organizations, including recognition by the National Sheriffs’ Association in the form of the 2012 Neighborhood Watch Excellence Award.

Junction has worked with Guardian Watch™ since March of 2012, managing the brand as well as providing technical project management leading up to the launch of the new online and mobile experiences. Junction has acted as the outsourced marketing and public relations department for Guardian Watch™, leveraging findings from a comprehensive strategy engagement to execute a marketing campaign designed to attract 1 million users locally and nationwide to the platform. Building an extensive network of active subscribers to crowdsource reports and carry the dialogue is critical to the success of Guardian Watch™.

“We believe in Gordon’s vision for Guardian Watch™ and are excited about our continued involvement with the growth of the business,” comments Julie Gareleck, CEO, Junction. “The impact of this revolutionary application and the overall strength of the brand speak highly to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved in this project. It is our hope that Guardian Watch™ will become the new standard-bearer of a better future of public safety.”

Learn more about Guardian Watch™, sign up, and download the application at www.guardianwatch.com. More information about Junction is available online at www.junction-creative.com

Last year’s Oscars used a slew of tactics intended to hook the viewers back in, but despite anticipation of an exciting show and a rejuvenated audience, the results were disappointing.  Ratings were slightly up from a year prior, measured in statistics like “tweets per second,” but the level of engagement simply wasn’t high as expected. This posed a serious problem not just for producers but also for the advertisers hoping to achieve maximum return on advertising dollars.

2013’s nominees included more exciting contenders than last year’s roster, which was criticized for lacking any real mainstream or ‘blockbuster’ appeal. In 2012, J.C. Penney took the biggest gamble on the show’s underdog lineup, buying more airtime than any other advertiser to launch a campaign supporting its new business model, which incidentally worked out even more poorly than the Oscars themselves. This year, prices for advertising were on the rise with the expected increase in viewership, and marketers showed renewed enthusiasm, buying up spots early. Samsung, Hyundai, and Apple put in their best performances, and JC Penney even re-entered the fray in an effort to atone for its prior missteps, looking to course-correct with a new strategy, just like the Oscars themselves.

As usual, there was just about an equal amount of buzz dedicated to celebrity fashion displayed on the red carpet before the show. Thankfully, for 2013’s show, the glitz and glamour didn’t stop there. There was plenty of conversation across social media sparked by some memorable moments in the evening, like Best Actress winner Jennifer Lawrence stumbling up to the stage to accept her award or the esteemed Meryl Streep not-so-subtly ‘adjusting’ her dress while walking out to present the award for Best Actor. Whereas the best acts are usually booked for the Grammies a week earlier, the Oscars’ musical performances (and we’re not talking about MacFarlane’s bit pieces) were exceptional, and were met with glowing praise from the media. But most importantly, thanks to the likes of spectacular works such as Lincoln, Life of Pi, Silver Linings Playbook, and Best Picture winner Argo capturing the hearts and minds of the American public and the Academy, this major industry event was able to take in a much-needed breath of new life.

The Oscars prove time and time again that great opportunities for success, both in terms of the show’s production and for its advertisers, are born only under the right circumstances. We should know the formula by now: better nominees and better content equals much better engagement. When the audience is energized, as it clearly was last night, the year’s biggest awards show offers brands a chance to captivate and capitalize. It’s a little bit of that old Hollywood magic.

To gain insight into what changes are on the horizon, one only needs to ask the marketers (clients) what they will be expecting from their agency in the coming year, a seemingly elementary approach and investigatory tool that has escaped routine practice in many marketer/agency relationships in the recent past. Marketers today are expecting their agency to be a jack-of-all-trades, but also expect them to stay true to their core expertise, conflicting expectations that will require a newly expanded relationship to be built on collaboration between marketer, agency, and industry partners who will provide services outside the scope of the agency. Finding an avenue to facilitate and manage this new approach becomes a critical piece to the “Team” puzzle.

Expectations from the client will continue to center on the quality of relationships that emphasize the team’s understanding of the business and taking pride in the work, fostering proactive leadership and insight, and a steady stream of creative ideas and executions. Marketers will command team stability, increased responsiveness, and consistent, predictable deliverables.

While the death of the traditional agency model has been approaching rapidly for some time, tighter budgets and increased competition have forced alternative business models into in the execution stage. McCann-Erickson’s incoming agency chief executive, Ben Lilley, has slashed middle and senior management roles, saying ”A clear delineation between suits, creative and production, is a very old-hat way of thinking about agencies,” he said. ”Technology has forced our industry to evolve, and obviously that means that agencies need to evolve as well.”

To continue to be successful, agencies will need to become better about listening and learning about their clients’ business. And as the new relationship matures, the model will need to continue to change and adjust to provide an ever-increasing level of value to the client.

Contributions from both sides will be necessary to establish mutual trust. Seek out and offer honest assessments of expectations and performance. Provide real answers and solutions. Encourage flexible approaches to challenges. Most importantly, share a commitment to achieving mutual marketer/agency goals and objectives.

Saffire Vapor founder and CEO Robert Arnold recognized an opportunity to enter the premium electronic cigarette industry as consumers adopt the products over traditional or ‘analog’ cigarettes. “It’s very rare in business to enter a marketplace that isn’t completely saturated with competitors. Although there are other competitors, I have managed to differentiate my brand by providing the highest quality products and superior customer service.”

Arnold engaged Junction Creative Solutions (Junction), Atlanta-based strategic agency, to develop the brand and build an eCommerce website. Since then, Junction continues to partner with Arnold as he prepares for the next stages of company growth.

“Robert (Arnold) is a true entrepreneur with a clear vision of what success looks like for his company. He is the ideal client for Junction, as he understands the importance of strategy in order to support a more sustainable business model,” comments Julie Gareleck, CEO & Managing Partner, Junction. “We look forward to working with Robert as he takes Saffire Vapor to the next level, online and in his brick and mortar stores.”

Saffire Vapor has been nominated for industry awards recognizing innovation and integrated campaigns that have achieved KPIs and exceeded revenue expectations. To learn more about Saffire Vapor, visit www.saffireecigs.com.

Billed as the ‘Largest Gathering  of Startups in Georgia since 1895,” Startup Rally 2013 took over the Georgian Ballroom at midtown Atlanta’s historic Biltmore Hotel on Monday, February 18^th. The event marked the official launch of Startup Georgia, as it joined Startup America Partnership, a national network of similar growing startup communities.

Thousands of business leaders, investors, students, and media attended the exposition to see the latest pioneering ideas coming out of the Southeast and share ideas and opportunities. One of Junction’s clients, Guardian Watch™ founder Dr. Gordon Jones was on hand not only to showcase his company’s revolutionary new multi-platform application supporting public safety, but also to talk about startup culture in his hometown of Augusta, GA, a growing satellite market to the hub of Atlanta.  Joining other influential Georgia startup founders and executives on stage, Jones highlighted the greater Atlanta area’s immense potential for cultivating successful new companies, and how the ‘Capital of the South’ is becoming a hotbed for innovative technology companies with its wealth of industry talent and diverse marketplace.

The presentations were headlined by a conversation with Grammy winning hip hop mogul and serial entrepreneur Jermaine Dupri, who is himself an engaged member of the Atlanta business community as CEO of So So Def Recordings and Global14.com.

The turnout and obvious enthusiasm for the day’s events was a clear indicator of the excitement surrounding the launch of Startup Georgia and the growth of industry in the region. The exhibitors, panelists, and presenters represent the men and women building the next great wave of ground-breaking companies, proving that Atlanta and the South are on the rise.

In 2013, performance measurement data for business comes in two basic sizes – the ever popular “Big” and the far-less-often discussed “Small.”  Of course, not all businesses have access to glamorous Big Data – most companies don’t have tens of millions of visitors to their websites, or hundreds of thousands of impressions for online ads, nor do they have the resources to hire a full team of analysts to derive meaning out of the numbers. Of course, this isn’t an excuse to forego leveraging the data that is available to them to create better business processes. Small, meaningful data is itself highly useful in determining success factors, metrics, and benchmarks. In fact, having limited resources dedicated to this effort can help prioritize which information is the most important to understand.

On the other hand, companies choosing to engage in the business of Big Data need to undergo a basic shift in philosophy. Many marketers are just looking for the data to tell them things are improving, especially in more number-centric verticals, like financial marketing. There is a clear need to identify means of applying the data in a way that is not self-serving by nature. Available data can be parsed any way you like (‘It doesn’t matter that our revenue dipped by 10% this month, we got 40,000 more hits to the site!’), but it needs to be the driver in making smarter strategic decisions. It’s about applicability.

Another common mistake is the assumption that data only supports marketing-related initiatives. The truth is, sales teams, customer service departments, and other lines of business might be surprised to see what cold, hard numbers have to say about their process and efficiency. In reality, every piece of data collected should have an application somewhere across the business – the challenge lies in recognizing where it belongs and what fresh perspective it brings within that framework.

This immense body of data is only growing. As more and more information becomes available and the science of its analysis becomes more complicated, companies need responsible voices who can tell them what the data means, not just in general terms, but in the context of a specific business. What’s big is getting bigger – take smaller steps with a trusted partner to avoid getting lost in its shadow.

Skip Prichard is an accomplished CEO, turnaround business leader, and keynote speaker. He is known for his track record of successfully revitalizing companies and dramatically improving results. Most recently, he was President & CEO of Ingram Content Group, Inc., one of the largest behind-the-scenes companies in the book business. During that time, he had great success repositioning the company to improve results and grow key parts of business significantly.

“Professionally, I’ve enjoyed running companies,” says Skip. “My particular specialty is corporate turnarounds and transformations. That means I enjoy the challenge of taking companies that are losing money and help them back to profitability and then growth.” To achieve his past successes, Skip relied on his “Five C’s of a Turnaround”; Control, Cash, Customer, Culture, and Connection. In our first installment of this series, we focused on the importance Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, placed on Culture in creating happiness in employees and customers. In this installment we explore the art of making the connection.

Jill Geisler, Senior Faculty, Leadership and Management, at Poynter, recently authored, Work Happy: What Great Bosses Know, a book detailing the path to creating happy workplaces to help managers and leaders achieve their goals and meet success. It is a book leaders at any level can turn to for answers and advice they can put to work immediately. It is a “workshop-in-a-book,” designed to improve work, workplaces, and those who lead them, and Skip Prichard seems to have taken an important page, albeit in advance, from the text.

Significant turnarounds in the fortunes of troubled organizations require leaders with creativity, energy, insight and vision but success is realized only when leadership makes a connection with employees, customers and partners. Effective communication is vital for leaders to accomplishing their goals and filing the vacuum of information that often is a basis for organizational failure. Our options and vehicles to advance effective communication are more diverse today, with email, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or a blog, leaders can send forth their message to employees and customers more effectively than ever before. But impactful communication is not limited to the modern tools of digital electronics, sometimes reaching into the tool box of the past and creating a hand written note or letter can have significant impact in making a point.

Skip Prichard asks, “What do you get for someone who has everything?” Answer, how about a hand written note or letter? Skip goes on to say “I would argue that there is nothing as powerful as tangible words on the page. I’ve appreciated and saved emails, but inevitably they are deleted. Contrast that with handwritten notes. I have kept almost all that I’ve received. It’s a fading art. In a growing digital universe, it’s rare to receive a scripted letter anymore and for marketers or for anyone who craves differentiation, it’s a great way to stand out.”

With his demonstrated successes, it is clear that Skip Prichard has made the connection.

While also celebrated in Canada, Mexico, England, France and Australia, it is Americans who will spend more than $17 billion dollars this year on the holiday, mostly on candy, flowers, special dinners and romantic cards. But a recent survey indicate that what people really want is less sweets and gooey, sentiments and more electronics, but giving a sweetheart a gift of a new Gameboy, smartphone, or even the best and latest “Pad”(which is devoid of the traditional expressions of romance) may not meet the expectations of the heart. Some caution may be in order, to spite all the scientific study about what is an appropriate gift, there are some theories we should consider very carefully before testing in practice. After all, the very origins of Valentine’s Day are deeply rooted emotion and tradition.

Today, according to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. In addition to flowers and card giving, more than 30 percent of Americans will purchase something sweet to celebrate Valentine’s Day with the traditional heart-shaped box of chocolates, pink and red M&M’s and the iconic heart shaped message conversation hearts displaying messages of love.

All have their position in the holidays celebration, but Hershey’s wins out as the top brand candy buyers intend to purchase this year, followed by Russell Stover and Godiva. But whether gifting flowers, cards, candy or electronics, brand association is vital to establishing an effective strategy for businesses to capture a respectable share of the Valentine’s Day gift giving market.

Manufacturers don’t have to produce chocolate, flowers or jewelry to take advantage of the great marketing opportunity surrounding Valentine’s Day. As consumers seek out the perfect gift for their special someone, they’re looking for items that are unique, humorous memorable or special. A fresh label may be just what shoppers need to understand the value of a product. “Like Cupid’s arrow to the heart, an eye-catching, revamped label can capture consumers’ attention and affection,” said Anne Marie Campbell, Lightning Labels Business Development Manager. “This Valentine’s Day, companies that stand out are those investing in packaging that embraces the festive quality of their brand in a unique, fun way.

Whether appealing to the deeply entrenched, traditional gift giver or the new electronics crazed consumer, making in-roads into the Valentine’s Day market will require some creativity, flair, and exploration to develop a successful brand that works effectively with continually changing consumer tastes and a fragmented market economy.

The idea of documenting these individuals originated with the 2010 documentary of the same name, which followed several couples who had been together for years before meeting face-to-face. The practice is becoming increasingly commonplace on social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, with motivations ranging from the need to feel wanted or appreciated to harassing others for fun. To some degree, everyone puts up a façade online, but we are learning that the problem runs far deeper than white lies and playful misdirection.

In our modern world, technology has made us more connected, but ‘catfishing’ is an example of how many members of society have responded by actively distancing themselves from one another.  It turns out creating a fake identity online is incredibly commonplace; some sources estimate that there may be as many as 83 million fake Facebook accounts. With the large majority of the world’s personal and professional communications now occurring online, one has to wonder how many catfish we interact with every day.

Hook, Line, and Sinker

Just last month, the story of Notre Dame standout linebacker Manti Te’o and his involvement in a catfish-style ‘hoax’ brought the scenario into the spotlight. Even the Heisman Trophy candidate, with the full attention of the media, was unable to avoid the perils of this bizarre trend, exposing some serious implications of placing trust in an online persona.

Thanks to the TV show and the Te’o saga, Americans are gaining a far better understanding of the risks involved with shifting our everyday interactions into the online space. For businesses, evaluating this new lay of the land in social media has become an important part of the agenda, as marketers spend valuable budget distributing messages to millions of social citizens who may not be who they say they are. Discovering who the audience really is, behind the mask, will help businesses avoid falling victim to the same mistakes as those who were baited and hooked before.

The Thursday before the big show, Beyoncé opened a pre-Super Bowl press conference by belting out the anthem with both finesse and emotion to hush her critics. She addressed the controversial inauguration performance, noting that she only utilized a backing track, a very common practice for high profile musicians at special events, in order to ensure a great performance under ‘difficult conditions.’

Then, on Sunday, during halftime of an exciting Super Bowl matchup between the 49ers and Ravens, Beyoncé put on a show to be remembered, singing and dancing with an incredible energy that clearly demanded a special talent. Without resorting to any tricks or shortcuts, her vocal performance was an absolute stunner. There may not have been as many surprises or twists as some other recent halftime productions, but simply put, she dazzled.

In the digital age, the rules and definitions of celebrity and stardom have certainly changed a bit. With so many more media channels available to us than 20, 30, or 50 years ago, it does not necessarily take as extraordinary a talent to rise to fame. On the other hand, the figures who reach the very top are even more prolific than their predecessors. Our expectations of a star, or someone who is at the forefront of any discipline, for that matter, are that we will witness flawless performances each and every time.

Just two Super Bowls ago, Christina Aguilera famously botched the lyrics of the national anthem singing live before an audience of hundreds of millions of people worldwide. On the biggest stage possible, it seemed like a disaster for the diva. One might think such a nightmare would wreak havoc on her career, but instead, she chose to admit her faults openly, and was highly praised for her authenticity and honesty in performing with no safety net. With so many stars turning to pre-recorded tracks to avoid such mistakes, Aguilera showed that she was dedicated to giving the people her best, whether or not it was absolutely perfect. It turns out the latter practice is far more valuable to fans than the former.

With her genuine performance at halftime on Sunday, Beyoncé has now righted any wrongs and reaffirmed her status in the upper echelon of our celebrity culture. Leaders in other fields, like business or politics, should take away a fresh understanding of the value of taking risks, making mistakes, and avoiding the ‘safe play’ in order to truly shine.

The pricing strategy was a key element in the companies plan to reinvent the department store from the ground up by adding new up-scale fashion lines and in-store boutiques, replacing the stores traditional rack, upon racks of clothing. The results of the new strategy led new CEO Ron Johnson to once remark, “Our sales have gone backward a little more than we expected, but that doesn’t change the vision or the strategy.” Really? For the first nine months of its current fiscal year, JC Penney lost upwards of $433 million, with total sales dropping 23.1 percent. Analysts expect losses at similar negative levels in the fourth quarter and total sales plunge of 25 percent for the year. Coupled with intense market scrutiny concerning the company’s overall financial health and stock performance, the strategic miss has produced a landslide that will be difficult to turn away.

In addition to adding back an undisclosed number of sales events, JC Penney has now decided to add tags or signs on much of its merchandise showing the manufactures suggested retail price in comparison to its own, an effort to help shoppers recognize savings. Considering the level of sophistication of today’s savvy, price smart consumers it may be a miscalculation to assume that shoppers will identify a manufactures suggested retail price as anything other than an arbitrary number, rather than a basis for establishing a product’s real value, perceived or otherwise.

Johnson expects his company to return to growth sometime in 2013, but in a shrinking economy and increased competition it is hard to believe that merely tweaking an already badly failed marketing strategy will produce new growth anytime soon. To lure customers back, JC Penney will need to offer customers features, benefits, and new incentives that they are not currently getting from the competition. Otherwise, why should they return?

Whether the new JCP can come ‘back to life’ for customers or simply succumbs to its missteps is yet to be determined. Either way, it is clear that in an attempt to reinvent itself, JC Penney has forgotten the best attributes of who they were in an attempt to be something they weren’t meant to be. The entire experience has demonstrated the importance of strategy – real strategy. Understanding customer’s motivations, behaviors and brand reputation is critical in shaping a relevant strategy for the business. Otherwise, those companies who fail to recognize this value will pay the price.

The #BrandBowl, originated four years ago by advertising agency Mullen and now managed by boston.com, tracks positive and negative feedback across social media in real time when a new advertisement airs – a reasonable measure of an advertiser’s overall success or failure for their million-dollar budgeted works. Here is how the feedback of millions of social citizens breaks down:

As usual, humor was the focus of a majority of the ads. Winning ads from Taco Bell (Viva Young), Audi (Prom), and Hyundai (Team) hit the mark, as did Doritos (Goat 4 Sale) a fan-sourced creation from the snack maker’s annual Crash the Super Bowl competition. These ads struck the right tone and injected the right level of humor into the lineup to connect with the audience at home. Volkswagen’s (mildly controversial) feel-good ‘Get In, Get Happy’ spot was also a big hit, accomplishing just that; it made audiences feel good, propelling it to the top of the BrandBowl rankings.

Unfortunately, there was more than the usual share of disappointments this year. M&Ms fell short of last year’s triumphs, Budweiser focused too much attention, including the coveted first advertisement, on a new, not-so-exciting product offering (although the King of Beers was redeemed by a terrific addition to its Clydesdales canon, more on that in a moment), and even Coca-Cola, arguably the world’s most beloved brand, failed to deliver with its social media-driven ‘Chase’ campaign, which didn’t really engage the masses at all.

GoDaddy.com’s first ad was a disaster, toeing (and likely crossing) the line of decency, turning the large majority of viewers off. GoDaddy’s ‘uncensored’ ideas have certainly brought the site a lot of attention over the years, even if it has been largely negative. This year’s efforts definitely made a negative impact on the brand. It felt as if this was the nail in the coffin for this campaign, and hopefully, it is time to close the door on this chapter in advertising.

Instead, we would love to see more ‘serious’ efforts – like those from Dodge (Farmer), Jeep (Coming Home), and Budweiser (the aforementioned ‘‘Brotherhood’) that stole the show and really won the day. Humor is a good thing, and has carried Super Bowl advertising for a generation, but these rare and powerful ads we have seen over the past few years have shown that injecting some gravity can go a long way (consider the timeliness and impact of ‘Halftime in America’ last year). Not every brand can pull these ads off, but we are clearly witnessing a shift in tone as viewer attitudes dictate the direction of our advertising culture.

As part of my New Year’s resolution to put down the technology and pick up a book (an actual book), I selected Confessions of an Advertising Man, by David Ogilivy, a true genius known as the “Father of Advertising.” Although Ogilvy passed away in 1999, his principles remain as relevant in today’s marketing economy as in the 1960s:

- Be A Student: In order to be great in advertising, it is important to be a student first. Listen, learn, and study before you beginning the creative process, or risk being permanently superficial.
- Be Ambitious: Put simply, don’t bunt. Rather, hit the ball out of the park.
- Sell or Else: In the words of Ogilvy, you can’t save souls in an empty church. In today’s modern business world, it is useless to just be creative. You must also sell what you create.
- Tell the Truth: Present only the facts in advertising if you want to be successful.

Reading the book felt much like an interview. All of the questions I would ever think to ask, Ogilvy managed to answer in this book, leaving me with more than a few notable remarks:

- On Discipline: “It takes brains and perseverance to create a brand.”
- On Content: “Advertising is a business of words…..”
- On Engagement: “Advertising is a game of seconds.”
- On Talent: “Hire people who are better than you are, then leave them to get on with it. Look for people who will aim for the remarkable, who will not settle for the routine. ”
- On Hard Work: “I believe in the Scottish proverb, ‘Hard work never killed a man’, men die of boredom, psychological conflict and disease. They do not die of hard work.”
- On Excellence: “The pursuit of excellence is less profitable than the pursuit of bigness, but it can be more satisfying.”

As the advertising industry continues to dynamically change, advertisers and marketers search for solutions for establishing marketing best practices within each respective organization. Ogilvy is sure to remind us that sometimes the big ideas are simple ideas. Despite the pace at which we operate, there is inherent value on first looking behind to adjust our decisions moving forward.

At the end of 2012, a unique online auction closed for a final bid of $45,500, resulting in iwearyourshirt.com founder Jason Sadler legally becoming “Jason HeadsetDotCom” for the duration of 2013. Headsets.com, an online retailer of telephone headsets, was the lucky high bidder, leaving Sadler with an interesting new moniker.

The story represents more than just another media stunt. Certainly, $45,500 is nothing to scoff at, a modest year’s salary for an enterprising individual willing to shill for someone else’s interests. But back in 2009, when Sadler started wearing a T-shirt bearing the logo of a different business every day, he accomplished something more important than making his own living; he shed light on a powerful new channel for marketers to tap into: people.

iwearyourshirt.com has become something of a small phenomenon online and in the marketing world; the business now employs an entire workforce of shirt-wearing, blogging, social media-using mercenaries. The company is taking Sadler’s distinctive brand of entrepreneurism to an extreme, and driving some real value for its daily clients.

The advocacy of real people is a powerful and valuable commodity. Wearing a t-shirt, or to a greater extent, changing one’s last name is about as strong an endorsement as a brand can find anywhere.

In an interview with AdWeek, Sadler (or HeadsetsDotCom, as it were) put his perspective plainly: “I think I’m willing to push the envelope further than most and willing to see it through. More companies could benefit from doing the same, instead of adding to the noise.”

Despite how inane it may seem on the surface, it is hard to argue against the practicality of changing one’s last name or ‘selling out’ in another way to gain some visibility and make a few bucks in the process. The overall success of Sadler’s services and the buzz that the buymylastname.com concept is currently generating is a rare find in today’s marketing world. So, we ask again, how far would you be willing to go to tap into the power of the people?

The kind of brand loyalty generated by social media is certainly unique in the current marketplace. With consumer behavior becoming increasingly personalized, brands have an opportunity to garner eager ambassadors, willing to share experiences with others. This is a powerful tool in the marketer’s arsenal, but it comes at the cost of the expectation that the consumer will gain something from the relationship, whether a promotion, prize, or even simple recognition. Customers on social media platforms are constantly seeking this “social currency.”

Meanwhile, a 2012 study conducted by The CMO Council and social media technology firm Lithium showed that about 60% of CMOs believe their customers interact with social media for the content related to the brand philosophy, new products, and news. Just 33% thought that fans are looking for incentives or rewards, with even fewer operating under the impression that customers are actively seeking rewards or exclusive offers.

Therein lies the disconnect. It’s plain to see that consumers and marketers are speaking two different languages. So, if it’s really about the ‘social’ for the customers, why are brands so focused on the ‘media?’

Businesses must resist the temptation to promote themselves on social media platforms. They are simply a different animal than traditional marketers are accustomed to. Social customers expect to be rewarded for connecting with brands online, and there is no shortage of ways to please them. The more investment made by the brand, the more value contributed by the customer. The people have spoken, and marketers must adapt to bridge the gap and capitalize on the potential of their loyal customers.

Engage the Customers
Over the years, the game of football itself has changed significantly. The size, strength, and speed of the athletes has increased, mandating that the style of play needed to win had to change. To compensate, the league has imposed salary caps and free-agency restrictions in order to maintain as much parity among competing teams as possible. The popular adage ‘any given Sunday’ speaks to the excitement of how every team has a chance to win, grabbing hold of the attention of the audience, and never letting go. In fact, as the season wears on, the stakes are raised. In the playoffs, the level of engagement only intensifies, and the marketing efforts of the league and the individual teams ramps up accordingly.

Understand the Value Proposition
At the close of the 2011 season, the average NFL Franchise was worth more than $1 billion, a number that has climbed substantially this year under the terms of the league’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement, negotiated last summer. TV deals with CBS, FOX, NBC, and ESPN are at the crux of these earnings, each bringing in an average of more than $3 billion dollars annually to the NFL. The league has successfully parlayed its rabid viewership into a bargaining chip that all but guarantees the new contracts will be even larger when they are renewed after the 2013 season.

Protect Your Assets
If the fans are the customers, and the game is the product, the players are the employees. The NFL has always pushed to give its customers the highest standard of quality, and that means keeping the players healthy and happy. Players have always been well-compensated for their work, and they are deserving of it: while the common man grumbles about pro athlete salaries, the truth is they generate more profit for their bosses than employees at just about any other business. The latest challenge facing the league has been an epidemic of injuries, particularly concussions that can limit a player’s lifespan in the big show. In response, the league is working to change rules and improve equipment that will keep its invaluable star players on the field. On the surface, it doesn’t seem like it matters that much, but maintaining a talent base that operates at the highest level week in and week out is pivotal to the appeal of the league.

Stay Current and Innovate Constantly
Despite all its successes, the NFL has often had to identify ways to improve, especially as the emergence of a better ‘at-home’ viewing experience has threatened ticket sales over the decades. The league has always been quick to adopt new technologies and even pioneer some of its own, often shaping the way the other professional sports manage and market their game in the process. As the next generation arrives, expect the NFL to be the forefront.

The event, JFAM:FORUM-NYC, was the first major conference of 2013 hosted by The Gramercy Institute’s Journal of Financial Advertising and Marketing. The sole representative from an independent marketing agency, Gareleck joined industry leaders including JPMorgan Chase, Prudential, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America in discussing the theme of the day, “What Financial Marketers Want in 2013.”

The panelists covered a broad range of hot-button marketing topics, framing their insights in the context of a rapidly moving marketplace that has left many financial firms looking for solutions to new challenges. Discussions on reputation management, mobile and tablet marketing, social media, and the role of so-called ‘Big Data’ characterized the conversation at the half-day event.

Gareleck’s firm is known for its dedication to bringing together thought leadership and encouraging collaboration in the greater business community. “In the past few years, the game has changed, not just in the financial world but across all industries. It has become increasingly difficult for companies to strategize effectively with the unknowns of a marketplace driven by technology and innovation,” says Gareleck. “For business leaders, especially marketers, taking the time to share perspectives and educate ourselves is the best way to adapt. Events like the JFAM:FORUM series are invaluable to financial marketers in 2013.”

For more information about Junction Creative Solutions, visit www.junction-creative.com.

After selling internet advertising startup LinkExchange.com to Microsoft for $265 million in 1999, Tony Hsieh joined Zappos as an investor, eventually rising to CEO as he created a unique culture that breeds happiness in its employees and customers and gives a lot back. He has even written a book called ‘Delivering Happiness,’ an illustration of his perspective on the goals and values of the company.

Hsieh at his desk

To Hsieh, Zappos’ work is meaningless if customers are not delighted and the greater community does not benefit. So how does Zappos execute Hsieh’s vision?

First off, Zappos is known for exceptional, even extreme standards of customer service. For example, the performance of customer service representatives in call centers is not measured in the traditional metrics that usually come to mind; where it is clearly more profitable to keep call lengths to a minimum, this company celebrates employees who have the longest lasting service calls, not the shortest. Zappos also pays $4,000 to any new hire who decides to quit during the training period, in order to foster a culture of employees who are committed to the brand and the culture, not just money.

Working towards building desirable culture within a company is already well known to be extremely important. Large companies spend millions allotted specifically to retain talent and boost productivity. Of course, thousands of studies and surveys conducted in the last 20 years will tell you that happy employees are more productive, but the crux of the idea goes far beyond the notion of simply rewarding your workers with higher salaries or letting them wear Hawaiian shirts to work on Fridays. As the example of Hsieh and Zappos shows, the focus when designing and realizing a great company culture must be to engage employees with the values and goals of the company as a whole.

The people at the front of an organization – the entrepreneur, the business owner, even the executives, usually have the best understanding of the vision of the company and the environment and culture needed to stay on a successful track. The capacity to get others on the same page and find employees to fully buy in remains the challenge. Take a page from Zappos and consider stepping up efforts to make sure the crew is on board; the results may be surprising.

The half –day forum features five panel discussions covering specific topics ranging from branding and reputation management to mobile and tablet marketing, social media, and the role of big data in marketing financial services. The lone representative in the conference from an agency’s perspective, Gareleck will participate in the fifth and final panel, informally titled ‘Getting It Done,’ addressing financial marketing team management.

Gareleck views the topic of how to effectively organize a team and execute on marketing tactics as one of Junction’s core strengths. “Junction has proven that our own process makes a significant impact on streamlining operations, improving internal and external communications, and maximizing the value of the solutions we design for our clients,” says Gareleck. “Marketers in 2013 must focus on this high level of organization, because even the biggest ideas lack power without proper coordination and flawless execution.”

Anyone familiar with American history understands that landmark pieces of legislation have often been met with strong opposition. In the case of the 16^th President, the passage of the 13^th Amendment was a signature work that now echoes in our society and is frequently paid tribute to, such as in the case of this film, although that infamy exists despite a great deal of resistance in its time.

Mirroring political history, the greatest strides forward many other facets of our world are often made in the face of those reluctant to change. Hesitation to adopt new technologies is a barrier for innovative new businesses, and doubters in the board room prevent the risk-takers from reaching for the stars; yet thanks to those willing to step up and lead, business, culture, and life can move forward.

Any politics aside, the Lincoln portrayed in the film (and the real man, for that matter) is remembered and even revered for his unequaled understanding of what it means to lead. In particular, 3 qualities demonstrated by the Tallest President come to mind:

Humility: Lincoln prioritized the good of the country above his own personal interests. He listened to others and considered their opinions before making decisions.

Honesty: Lincoln truly earned his most famous nickname, Honest Abe. Despite the prevalence of bribes and lies in politics at the time, he maintained a dignified authenticity at all times, bringing honest pleas to his cohorts to accomplish progress the right way.

Perseverance: In the face of a seemingly impossible goal of ending both slavery and the Civil War, Lincoln refused to compromise, and pushed until the very end to ensure victory on both fronts.

There have been countless books written and seminars held trying to describe what it means to be a leader in business, whether as an entrepreneur or an executive. Some might argue that there are only born leaders, while others believe that personality makes all the difference. In the end, what we can take away from this film and the historical record of Abraham Lincoln is that our actions are crucial to earning the respect and trust of our peers and our customers. Win the admiration and respect of the opposition, like Lincoln, and success will follow naturally.

On Sunday, the league and the Players’ Association reached a tentative agreement to end the lockout and begin the 2012-2013 season, but the immediate response from fans was not uniformly enthusiastic. For the generally rabid followers of the fast-paced sport, which doesn’t typically get the same media attention as the other 3 major North American professional sports leagues, the feelings of the moment are summed up by disinterest at one end of the spectrum, and betrayal at the other.

The NHL's customers, the fans, joined players in being 'locked out' from their beloved game.

Considering the loyalty and passion of the sport’s fanbase, it doesn’t seem too surprising that Level5 Strategy, the firm behind the research, would suggest that the NHL has truly committed such a serious grievance against its customers. The people who watch the sport on television, buy tickets to games, and fill their homes with merchandise have had their trust in the league severely breached. Following its catastrophic oil spill, BP put in a serious effort to initiate cleanup, pay out damages to affected citizens and businesses, and ultimately agreed to pay the enormous fines that resulted.

It is highly unlikely that the NHL will do anything but move on as if nothing happened at all.

This most recent lockout marked the third under current commissioner Gary Bettman, a figure employed by the league but frequently maligned by the fans. For more than a decade, die hard followers of the sport have called for change, citing Bettman as an ineffective leader, detrimental to the game of hockey. The league is fundamentally a business, focused primarily on creating a quality product to generate revenues, a fact sometimes forgotten or intentionally ignored by the fans, but this latest development and the toll it has taken on the reputability and integrity of the league should be enough for the owners to realize how important the management of that brand truly is.

Many fans will reluctantly return to the rink to watch the game they love, supporting the NHL in spite of the frustration that the lockout has caused. Under Bettman, the league has more than tripled its annual intake of ‘hockey-related revenue,’ and notwithstanding the losses accrued from 3 months off from the regular season, might still be on track to continue growing richer over the next 10 years of the new collective bargaining agreement. All of that success is placed in serious jeopardy, however, should the owners fail to recognize that its customers are the lifeblood of the business, a fundamental truth across all industries. The NHL brand faces a long road back from the damage suffered during the tenure of its current commissioner. It must take measures to win back the trust of the fans, or die.

“Despite the volatility of marketplace, we’ve once again experienced continued growth and great success with our clients over the course of the past year,” says Julie Gareleck, founder, CEO & Managing Partner, Junction. “Building on our already diverse portfolio, we added a multitude of clients as well as new industry verticals in the oil and gas, public safety, consumer products, and retail industries. We’ve accomplished a lot for a boutique firm.”

In 2012, Junction introduced the JXN Executive Roundtable, a series of events focused on bringing together thought leadership and promoting collaboration in the business community. Events brought together business owners and executives to discuss the challenges of operating in a less than favorable economic climate, a topic that resonated throughout the tumultuous year.

In December, Junction published its 2012 Annual Report, titled Sustainability in a Fragmented Marketing Economy. “Junction certainly does not fit the typical agency mold, and we decided that instead of creating an annual report touting our own achievements in 2012, we would discuss big thinking and trends in the marketplace,” comments Gareleck. Created in reaction to the overwhelming segmentation of the marketing industry, the report emphasizes Junction’s core philosophies and illuminates the importance of centralized strategy to unify marketing solutions. The report has garnered acclaim from partners and industry peers, bolstering Junction’s reputation as an authority in the space.

Junction was the recipient of multiple industry distinctions in 2012, most notably with recognitions from its peers in the Horizon Interactive Awards for building successful Consumer Information Websites and Integrated Marketing Campaigns. “Junction is committed to delivering the highest standard of work our talented team is capable of,” says Gareleck. “Awards are a testament to the value that we bring to the table for our clients.”

Junction has thrived by reacting appropriately to trends while remaining steadfast in its core values of authenticity, integrity, and value. Gareleck predicts a continuously changing marketplace, but intends to preserve momentum and push Junction’s influence to new heights in the New Year. “Whatever new technologies, new regulations, or new attitudes arise in 2013, Junction believes that strategy will be a central role in all business and marketing efforts. It’s how we do business, and we are focused not only on creating world-class solutions for our clients, but building better businesses.”

Junction is currently preparing to launch its updated website, featuring an expanded look into its team, service offerings, and portfolio in the first quarter of 2013.

For more information about Junction Creative Solutions, visit www.junction-creative.com.

2012 was truly a year worthy of conversation. Facebook’s IPO opened the world’s eyes to a new understanding of social media, mobile technology continued to grow and captured more of our attention and our dollars, the Summer Olympic Games unfolded in London, Hurricane Sandy became the most digitally captured event in history, and the nation caught the fever of a Presidential election that set new standards for advertising spending while highlighting the state of business and the economy in America.

We try our best to write about the topics that matter most to doing business in the context of an economy unlike any other experienced before. Here is a look at the influential topics we discussed in 2012, and some that we believe will be on the forefront of conversation in 2013:

We are also extremely proud to share our Annual Report: Sustainability in a Fragmented Marketing Economy, which presents a short timeline and history of marketing to shed light on a fundamental truth about successful business communication that we think will spark a trend next year. Read the report, share with your network, and join the conversation in the comments section below or tweet us @junctioncreativ.

Thank you so much for reading Strategy. Impact. Results. We look forward to offering our insights and perspectives, and seeing what unfolds in 2013!

As we flip the calendar once again, we are reminded of how important setting goals, such as New Year’s Resolutions, can be. But these resolutions transcend business; when we declare our objectives, we set the tone for our entire year in our personal lives as well.

Here are our own ambitions for 2013:

After a difficult year, I hope for better health in 2013, and I resolve to work hard towards that goal. – MC

My New Year’s Resolution this year is the same as every year…  to save more money.  I didn’t do too well in 2012, but we’ll see how it goes this year! – TLS

I resolve to spend more time on my Kindle, which I’ve hardly touched the last couple of months, and also to commit more time to an organization giving back to my community. - SB

My resolution is to dedicate more time and energy to exploring new paths, discovering new experiences, meeting new friends and reconnecting with old ones, and making the most of the precious time afforded to me at this point in my life.  – JMA

I resolve to spend more energy and focus on moving forward to creating additional opportunities for personal and business growth in 2013, and to spend more time with family and friends.  – JMC

My New Year’s resolution is to take down the Christmas Tree before March and remain healthy in order to fit into my wedding dress. – BM

I find that most New Year’s Resolutions fade after the first 2 weeks of the New Year. In an attempt to have success with my resolutions in 2013, I resolve to listen, learn, and contribute more in all areas of my life throughout the year. - JCG

Junction wishes all of our readers a prosperous New Year, and good luck with sticking to your resolutions!

(Read previous entries about Days 1 and 2: Day 1, Day 2 )

Click the image above for the full set of Sir Richard Branson’s photos (Facebook)

We’d like to take this opportunity to wish very Happy Holidays and a prosperous New Year to our clients, partners, and friends. We are privileged to work with fantastic people every day. Thank you for a terrific year, and enjoy whichever holiday you are celebrating this season!

(Read about Day 1’s events here.)

The Hardware: The Necker Cup

On Monday, December 10, I set sail from Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands for the inaugural Necker Cup on Necker Island. Aside from the promise of watching the world’s top tennis players play in a Pro Am, I anticipated catching a glimpse of Sir Richard Branson.

The scene upon arrival at Necker Island

As the boat neared the dock at Necker Island, the anticipation was building. Within 20 yards, I could see Branson on a speed boat with a few others with photographers in tow. He beamed a smile in our direction and waved us in. His smile was electric.

Stepping onto the dock, I looked up only to see a jungle – or at least what resembled a jungle – lush with color. We walked down the sandy path complete with tortoises, flamingos, and lemurs. With the blink of an eye, Branson appeared, smiled, shook my hand, and welcomed me to the island. It was completely disarming, and it set the tone for what remains to be one of the most memorable experiences in my professional and personal life.

I scanned the crowd of no more than 60 people that included tennis stars like world singles #1 Novak Djokovic, world #1 doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan, Tommy Haas, and John McEnroe, mixed among other notable business leaders spanning technology, finance, commercial real estate, etc. With no pretense, there was undeniable camaraderie all around.

Gathered around the dinner table

It became even clearer to me that I was witnessing authenticity in its purest form. This environment, created and nurtured by Branson, is a place – rather a paradise – designed to strip away the labels. To see how one person’s sentiment can infect an entire group is a lesson to all of us.

On our ride back to Virgin Gorda that evening, I couldn’t image a better experience and opportunity, and yet, it was only Day 1.

Now that the game has changed, and building brand ‘experiences’ is the modus operandi, many professionals, even those with a lifelong education in speaking to customers, are finding themselves unsure of exactly what it is they are doing. The people who used to be the experts are now just along for the ride, trying hard to hold on and survive the turbulence.

We have often discussed the new wave of platforms and outlets that are now the major drivers, many of them focused on what is social, local, and mobile. Immediately, a huge number of marketers who have been around for a generation or more have been left in the dust, having failed to listen to the dialogue of the rapidly evolving market and adapt accordingly. Many marketers are also ambivalent to the plethora of data at their disposal thanks to humongous advances in metrics reporting over the last 5 or so years. Some aren’t even aware of who their customers really are. Trying to build brand equity and garner loyalty with audiences you do not understand is like buying a gift for someone who you have never met.

The result of this shift is an increased emphasis on the importance of constant learning. As marketers and businesspeople, we must maintain our curiosity and be enthusiastic about tackling the learning curve that comes requisite with such drastic change. If we take that first step and honestly concede that we are no longer the experts, we can really listen to our customers and begin to make these new channels work for us.

In an era where prolonged success is so fleeting, how has the Bond franchise managed to sustain itself through changing trends and an evolving audience?

As much as the world has changed since Dr. No, the first installment of the series, debuted in 1962, the films themselves have stayed true to their roots. As we discussed in Junction’s 2012 Annual Report, the makers of the iconic films have never deviated from a pure understanding of what has worked in the past and why. Even as the principal actors portraying the suave and bulletproof Bond himself have passed on the reins, the character himself has become seemingly more everlasting. Each entry in the series has similar qualities, marked by memorable villains, witty one-liners and double entendres, and fast paced, standard-setting action sequences. Yes, the film industry has advanced dramatically over the course of the past half-century, but as visually gripping and pulse-pounding as the Bond films become, these core pieces are parts of an equation that has resonated with audiences for decades now, and shows no signs of slowing.

Bond films are the perfect blend of nostalgia, tried and true, with what is cutting edge and new. This marriage of innovation and tradition is a perfect example of an approach which works in many contexts, whether in business or in Hollywood. In 50 more years, James Bond will likely still be as smooth as an expertly made martini – shaken, not stirred, of course.

During the holiday season, we get to take a bit of a break from the fast pace of business and spend some time with the people that we care about most. The exchange of gifts is a tradition with great meaning for us. Whether the gift is big or small, we love to see the joy on the faces of our family, friends, and coworkers when we hand them something thoughtful, useful, or just plain fun.

Whether you are looking for inspiration, a last minute gift, or just want to treat yourself, these are a few of our Favorite Things:

Chocolate – The sweet stuff is a perfect gift, not just for the holidays, but any time of year. Don’t ever hesitate to indulge in one of life’s most simple pleasures.  Earlier this year, we conducted a taste test. Click here to see some of our favorite brands!

Starbucks Mobile App/Gold Card – The nation’s leading coffee retailer revamped its loyalty program in 2012 to give customers some pretty fantastic rewards for their business. We love enjoying a good, warm holiday-themed beverage while earning Gold-level rewards. The mobile app makes it simple to pay at the register and keep track of your perks!

KeyRing Mobile App – This simple but innovative app has kept all of our loyalty cards and coupons in check. No longer do we carry key chains weighed down with clunky cards. Now they are all at the touch of a finger.

AirTran A+ Rewards – We are often flying for business or pleasure, and living in Atlanta, no other airline has made it as easy to rack up rewards points, so we can fly to see friends and family more often. Staying connected is important to us, and this rewards program helps us get where we need to go.

iPhone 5 – Although nearly every employee of our company is an iPhone user, we were cautious not to jump on the bandwagon too soon with the launch of Apple’s latest iteration. We were pleasantly surprised to find the updated hardware very cool – there might just be a few upgrades under the tree this year.

Electric Start Fireplaces – Do you have a fireplace in your home? Are you sick of having to buy wood, build a fire, and constantly deal with ventilation problems and clean up? Upgrading to a simple electric-starting gas fireplace means flicking a switch on and off for cozy comfort. Sure, you might miss the smell, but you won’t miss the hassle.

Scoutmob – This Atlanta-based startup made a big splash in 2012, offering excellent deals directly to our mobile devices in a plethora of cities across the US. Scoutmob differentiates itself from other deal sites by being instantly redeemable, instead of forcing customers to purchase certificates in advance. It is the epitome of local-focused deal advertising, and we love saving at some of our favorite restaurants and shops around town!

Uber – Uber is a mobile-app based car service that is changing access to transportation. Available in a few major cities, users can use their phone to order pickup by a sleek towncar and be taxied wherever they need to go. The cost is reasonable, and payment is made entirely online, perfect for a hassle-free ride anywhere in style!

DVR – With all of our favorite shows seemingly scheduled at the same time, or at an inconvenient time, we have now been spoiled to the point where it is difficult to watch live television since getting accustomed to the luxury of DVR. Well worth the small cost from your cable provider, DVR makes television work for our busy lives.

Zumba – Staying fit on a busy schedule isn’t easy, but we have found that Zumba classes, offered at gyms across the country, are a fun and efficient way to get in a workout after a long day at the office. It is a growing phenomenon in fitness, and it’s easy to see why.

Pedicures – The season calls for luxury, and there are few better ways to pamper oneself than getting a pedicure at a great salon. This opulent experience isn’t just for women – it is a relaxing practice that can literally inject some spring into your step. We dedicate a great deal of time and energy to others, and this is a wonderful way to receive it in return.

Polyvore – Pinterest may be the biggest name in visual social media, but when it comes to fashion, Polyvore is the most useful community for the latest trends, tips, and thoughtful conversation amongst peers. The site is another step forward in social engagement, and we love the tie-ins to eCommerce. Brilliant and fun for any fashionista. 

Goop – This customizable weekly publication delivered straight to your email inbox has a plethora of information on deals, recipes, travel notes, shopping ideas, wellness tips and more. It is a huge timesaver, putting plenty of great ideas in one place, and is a great source of inspiration for anyone’s lifestyle.

Kickstarter – This website, which provides a platform for funding for creative projects, has used crowdsourcing and social media to open the door for thousands of new and innovative ideas to enter the marketplace. It is one of the biggest revolutions in business we have ever seen, and we are excited to see innovation flourishing as a result. Log on and browse categories that interest you – you may find one of your own new favorite things.

Happy Holidays and Happy Shopping from everyone at Junction!

Another genre beginning to come to the forefront of many marketers’ minds is the concept of ‘gaming.’ Startups are springing up offering services aimed at providing game-like experiences in contexts outside of the traditional realm of board games, video games, etc. The idea fueling these newcomers is that games help make technology more engaging, which is appealing far beyond just the entertainment industry. As we continue to better understand consumer behavior patterns, we may be entering a new era of “gamification.”

Humans are competitive by nature. Several years ago, the education industry discovered that games could be used to focus children’s attention and improve learning retention through this type of medium. A slew of new companies entering the current marketplace are asking a fair question – why not apply the same principles to consumer education?

InfoArmy recently launched a completely crowdsourced business research platform using several gamification techniques. Members receive badges, rankings and compete to top leaderboards for conducting online research. Not only does the service leverage our competitive nature to get users engaged, it provides an eloquent solution to logging and organizing data. Within the thrill of the ‘game,’ there is real potential for positive impact on data quality, learning, and ultimately ROI.

Other new startups are focusing on gaming for the purposes of reputation management and social mechanics, including ideas like social performance platforms for employees and HR. It is easy to think of multiple possible applications where gamification could provide a significant boost – any situation encouraging desired behaviors in order to solve problems.

It’s already part of our nature. The way we are captivated by professional sports or inclined to ‘keep up with the Joneses’ is indicative that this may be a trend whose lifespan is much longer than the average tech sensation.

“Junction certainly does not fit the typical agency mold, and we decided that instead of creating an annual report touting our own achievements in 2012, we would take a different approach,” commented Julie Gareleck, CEO & Managing Partner, Junction. “We chose to present an idea that we predict will be on the tip of every marketer’s tongue next year.”

Founded in 2008, Junction has consistently leveraged the notion that sound strategy is key to designing solutions that create impact and maximize return on investment for its clients, who range from start up companies to the Fortune 500. As the marketplace becomes increasingly crowded, Junction has remained steadfast in its belief that multiple solutions linked by a core strategy are more effective in cutting through the noise.

“2012 has been a particularly influential year; Facebook’s IPO opened the world’s eyes to a new understanding of social media, mobile technology continued to grow and capture more of our attention and dollars, and we witnessed a Presidential election that set new standards for advertising spending while highlighting the state of business and the economy in America,” said Gareleck. “Although the game has changed considerably as the marketing ecosystem becomes more ‘fragmented,’ we believe marketers and agencies alike will find that looking to our past reveals that successful marketing and the power of a brand are fueled by consistency across communications, and the best way to achieve that consistency is to unify the core strategy.”

To view or download Sustainability in a Fragmented Marketing Economy, visit Junction’s website.

Hurricane Sandy was an opportunity for social media to show off some of its best sides; Facebook and Twitter played a large role in preventing unnecessary injuries and loss of life during the storm, enabling real time communications that aided evacuation and served as a primary informational resource for those stranded or without power. The hashtag #SMEM (or Social Media Emergency Management) has been picking up steam in recent years, as more people and public safety organizations realize the value of these networks in times of emergency; Sandy was a resonating proof of concept.

Social media also has served the citizens of the affected areas in the aftermath of the storm. Awareness for the needs of aid groups like the Red Cross is at an all time high, making relief more efficient. Local communities are leveraging their networks to organize cleanup and rebuilding initiatives. The power of these tools mean that our nation will face future disaster level events far better prepared than ever before.

On the other side of the coin, there were some severe missteps by brands communicating via social media platforms during the storm that just didn’t sit right with many individuals. In an age where we have the ability to geotarget messaging, it was unnecessary for Groupon and LivingSocial to offer its latest great deals for restaurants that were closed without electricity, or the attractions that would be closed for the next week dealing with water damage from flooding. Gap and American Apparel both touched a nerve with communications about shopping during the storm. Furthermore, the storm arrived just before Halloween, and some Tweeting businesses failed to understand that most residents of New York and New Jersey weren’t exactly feeling up to partying late into the night. In the moment, many brands simply did not exercise common sense.

It is crucial to avoid mistakes like these that can destroy loyalties so easily in an increasingly volatile marketplace. Businesses would benefit far more from sending one less tweet and steering clear of insensitivity. Social media is about conversation; brands must avoid faux-pas like these to keep relationships strong.

Of course, we live in a radically different paradigm than this idealized era. The seemingly endless amount of information at our disposal would be absolutely useless in the context of the 1950s or 60s. Unfortunately, simply having access to this bevy of facts and figures does not automatically make the modern marketer better; the more we know about consumers, the less we often seem to understand them at all. The challenge we face is how to intelligently interpret and react to the ‘Big Data’ at our fingertips. In order to make sense of what we know, we must sort through the veritable ocean of information and decide which data is relevant, and how best to apply it.

Earlier this year, Ersnt & Young Advisory Services reported the findings of a monumental market research survey in This Time It’s Personal: From Consumer to Co-Creator that revealed several important new findings about the behavior and preferences of modern consumers. Accruing nearly 25,000 responses globally, the survey presented insights into the new breed of consumer and the trends that, in response, might characterize 2013.

The report describes the “Chameleon” consumer – who defies any traditional persona and disrupts the old notion of strict market segmentation. Thanks to the prevalence of this behavior, brand loyalty has become more transient, as preferences quickly change in a more crowded market with more options. Creating strong brand experiences now requires far more personalized communication and service. Consumers are empowered, and they want to be active ‘co-creators,’ not just an audience. We already know that marketing ‘lingo’ has been made effectively obsolete by social media, but these findings are a broader comment on the changing nature of commerce itself.

Visualized graphically, there is a clear consistency of response in the data across different verticals and the various channels of communication that drive marketing around the world. Regardless of industry, respondents had uniform expectations about the dynamic between marketer and consumer. As such, the implications for businesses of all kinds are twofold;

1. Businesses must focus on offering more personalized service to customers, and
2. Every link in the organizations’ ‘chain’ must be aligned to delivering the brand promise.

In a rapidly changing ecosystem that has taken a great deal of control away from marketers who fail to understand consumers, it is the best path to creating sustainable relationships with the new breed. With 2013 just around the corner, the pressure is on.

At Thanksgiving, it is important to take pause from our daily routines and the pressures of demanding responsibilities to recognize and give thanks for the many blessings we enjoy. The following are the reflections of the Junction team for this special time of year:

I am greatly thankful for the love of family, the time to enjoy the important “stuff” with one another, the gift of good health, the kindness of good friends, and the many bountiful comforts of life in the best country on earth. – JMC

I’m thankful for the usual things: my loved ones, the food on my table, the roof over my head, and a great job, but I’m mostly thankful for life and being blessed to see another day….good times and bad…they’ve all made me a better person! – TLS

I am most thankful for the people in my life – my loving family, caring friends, and wonderful coworkers and clients who make going into work every day a pleasure. – JMA

I am reminded of how blessed I am to be surrounded by wonderful, supportive, positive people in my life, whether it be family, friends, or colleagues. I am especially grateful this year for good health, not taking it for granted, and that I am able to travel and spend the holiday with family, sharing the same old stories around the dinner table and deepening the bonds that tie us. – SB

My thanks are well represented by this poem, which captures some of the intangible blessings in my life. – MC

Although Thanksgiving Day comes but once a year, I am mindful of those things I am most grateful every day. As a business owner, I am thankful for our clients, partners, and colleagues. To our clients, thank you for allowing Junction to be part of your business. We applaud your success! To our partners, thank you for investing in our relationship. We appreciate your collaboration!  To my colleagues, thank you for working hard every day. Without you, it would not be possible!

And on a personal note, I am appreciative of my family and friends who have been a source of constant support and motivation.

Happy Thanksgiving! May you all be rich with blessings today and throughout the year! Gobble! Gobble! – JCG

In the two weeks following Election Day, the media has been quick to offer citizens multiple reports of that both Democrats and Republicans appear more willing to emphasize better cooperation during Barack Obama’s second term, following a period in which policymakers received some of the lowest approval ratings ever. The persistent cry from American citizens has been a need for collaboration towards economic recovery, and although the worst may be behind us, many businesses are still feeling immense pressure and uncertainty amidst the changing landscape.

Hostess, makers of Twinkies and Wonderbread, among several other iconic products, recently announced that it would sell its popular brand and shutter its doors, laying off thousands of workers nationwide. The downfall of this long-lasting company, founded in 1930, is a microcosm of larger economic and political issues. The last few years have been especially illustrative of the dangers of debt for businesses of all sizes, as the company was effectively unable to combat a strike by unionized workers due to insufficient financial resources. During an electoral campaign in which predatory private investment funds were under great scrutiny thanks to Mitt Romney’s career at Bain Capital, it became obvious that there are very few if any viable options for companies in this position under the current regulatory and fiscal climate.

On the other side of the coin, Chrysler announced it is planning a $240 million investment and will add and expand jobs at some of its Michigan plants, a clear sign of confidence in the economic climate moving forward. The auto industry has become a popular barometer of the state of the U.S.’ economy, and played a significant role in the conversation of this election cycle as well.

Any significant changes that may come down the pipeline as a result of shifting attitudes in Washington towards the best path to recovery may be a double edged blade for businesses. Regulatory conditions and tax code do not necessarily go hand-in-hand, and what will be good for some may be anathema for others. Both parties have vocally championed small businesses, but Americans know from experience that larger companies carry the weight of our GDP and receive the brunt of the attention in debates of policy. The future is still uncertain, but hope remains that our elected officials will treat the economy with urgency and respect for all of its constituents.

Those who have successfully weathered the storm will hope for a continued economic recovery to keep things moving forward. Despite the disarray of the past few years, businesses can call upon the strategies that carried them through to press on.

- One of the first and ultimately most iconic images of the storm was a crane hanging off the top of a new 1000+ foot luxury high rise under construction in midtown Manhattan, its 80-ton swing arm damaged within just a few hours of the arrival of the storm. Fortunately the apparatus was ultimately secured after 6 days, avoiding further damage, but the twisted metal hanging in the balance for nearly a week served as a symbol the power of the storm and the damage it would ultimately cause. It was the first tangible topic across news outlets and exploded across social media platforms.

- Sandy exposed the fragility of our mighty infrastructure in cities and towns up and down the Atlantic coast. Widespread and prolonged power outages were one of the most common effects of the storm, along with damaged or flooded roads and interruptions in public transportation. The extensive infrastructure that characterizes the modern world is an extremely sturdy network, but was nonetheless helpless against this force of nature. It was a reminder of the looming unknown and the importance of contingency plans.

- The storm chose a highly controversial time to strike, landing in the run up to last Tuesday’s elections. Pundits from both sides of the political spectrum were quick to postulate on the effects of the storm and the government’s response. Contrary to many natural disasters, which can unify citizens in response, Sandy became a far more polarizing event, an unfortunate twist for the victims of its wrath who were seeking help but instead became simply votes to be won over. One congressional campaign manager even lost his job after intentionally reporting misinformation to sway public perceptions.

- Finally, many gears in the business world came to a grinding halt as New York City and other metropolitan areas affected by the storm shut down. Sandy kept employees from getting to work, cut off supply chains, and introduced a great deal of pessimism heading towards the end of the fiscal year.  Wall Street was shut down as the New York Stock Exchange was closed for two consecutive days, the first time in 124 years. High end New York City restaurants served as a strong example of the broad economic impact of the disaster; they suffered millions of dollars in losses in operational revenues and spoiled perishable inventory, and the city’s army of tip-earning employees enduring a long stretch without pay has lead to a true worst-case scenario for a significant chunk of the Big Apple’s workforce.

The region is slowly recovering from the storm, and as the weather returns to normalcy, so too will the climate across politics, business, and everyday life. But Sandy will be long remembered as a resounding example of the perils of the unexpected. While many industries are still faced with new challenges brought by Sandy, others are rallying in response to increased demand and helping where they can.  Business is a confluence, and a great measure of success is about adaptability in times like these.

In October, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said it expects holiday sales to rise 4.1% in 2012 to totals approaching $580 billion. Even in times where the state of the economy didn’t threaten to curb consumer spending, retailers have always fought hard to capitalize on the holiday season, and that profitable motivation means that as always, the race to win the shoppers’ dollars must begin as early as possible.

But if consumers are so fed up with hearing ‘Jingle Bells’ when they step foot in the mall or seeing elaborate dioramas depicting snowy scenes in shop windows, why do retailers insist on making sure Christmas comes earlier and earlier each year?

As soon as the calendar flipped to November, Starbucks rolled out its signature red cups, symbolically signaling the official start of the winter season for its coffee-crazed devotees.  Target showed that it had no intentions of being fashionably late, airing its first holiday-themed television ads of 2012 in the middle of October.  Even earlier, clothier Abercrombie & Fitch lived up to its reputation as an aggressive marketer, and sent out emails with a subject line reading “We’re feeling naughty and sneaking Christmas in early!” The email campaign even addressed its own ridiculous stretching of the limits of reasonable timing. “Let’s keep this on the down-low,” it read.

On the other side of the coin, some marketers are recognizing the disdain many Americans have for companies who shove the holidays in their faces before they are emotionally prepared. Nordstrom has proudly announced that it is waiting until Thanksgiving is over to even begin rolling out its holiday efforts. Rest assured there will be no shortage of décor, specific sales, and general holiday cheer – department stores thrive when December finally does arrive.

Nordstrom is taking an 'against-the-grain' approach in 2012

Surprisingly, shoppers, despite all their expressed contempt for battling the crowds and having to spend hard-earned cash on gifts for Aunt Susie and their 14 third cousins, thrive in this unique season too.

The NRF’s projections and the actions of the retailers leading the trends this season are proof that this is the most important time of the year for the symbiotic retailer-customer relationship. It is sometimes said that the savviest shoppers get their holiday lists completed before the season even begins. Despite our ridicule of the industry trying to push the boundaries of the season further and further, they clearly understand what is at stake.

On the Rue Montaigne, a step off of the Champs Elysées in Paris, the light bounces of the glass windows lining the street of the world’s most coveted designers. More than just brick and mortar, the stores experience is unlike what you will find at a shopping mall. At the door, you are not only greeted with a warm welcome, but given an attentive personal shopper to better guide your experience, which might last no less than 3 hours. As you scan the glass cases full of expensive couture and finest leathers, you are free to enjoy a luxurious glass of fizzing champagne, sit, and converse.

Same rings true in the heart of the “Quadrilatero della Moda,” the famed fashion district of Milan, where before paying a significant sum for a stunning handbag from an iconic designer, handmade espresso and a delicious, delicate pastry is first in order, on the house, of course. It is a celebration of the amazing experience, rather than a transaction with a stinging price tag.

The most expensive cup of coffee you'll ever buy

In a culture where the balance of power is weighed heavily to the consumer, the trend is often to offer more for less. In these exceptional cases, the purpose of shopping is so much more than buying a necklace or a bag; it is about the experience and the marketers know it. Offering luxury attracts customers and makes them more comfortable with spending out of their usual budget. It is a variation on the same psychology behind playing certain types of music in stores, and using specific language or imagery in advertising.

Focusing on the experiential aspects of not just retail, but other industries, is a smart way to give your brand a huge boost. There is a large body of evidence, from thriving high end restaurants to luxury car dealerships… elevating the purchase experience beyond a simple transaction is a powerful strategic move that can make all the difference.

Regardless of which way we voted, or how we feel about the results of Tuesday’s Presidential Election, each individual American citizen has hopes and fears for what the future of our nation looks like throughout the course of Barack Obama’s second term in office and beyond.

The political climate of the country has reached fever pitch, and the following thoughts from Junction team members reflect optimism and urgency towards Americans coming together to ensure a better tomorrow:

“My hope is that the next administration will have the leadership ability to reach across the aisle and govern to the middle. Our country deserves a responsible government that can move us forward as the world looks towards the U.S. for leadership.”

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“My hope for the next 4 years is that everyone puts in the effort to come together for the purpose of helping the nation get better. We must find ways to do the right thing, not just on the federal level, but on the on the local and state levels as well.”

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“I hope that all the politicking of this election cycle subsides quickly, and we forego the partisanship that has characterized the last four years in favor of doing what is right. If our newly elected and re-elected officials take the state of our union as seriously as the voters who put them there, I think the outlook is positive.”

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“With the evenly divided electorate, it is essential that our newly elected leadership work together to reach common ground and move forward with positive and measurable objectives and goals for one America. If we are to turn the corner on this failing economy and make gains towards growing a prosperous future for all Americans, compromise and consensus must be the primary objective. Our ability to survive the many challenges we face as a free and just society will greatly depend upon our leaders’ desire and ability to seek and secure common ground and mutually beneficial solutions. Building policies that produce winners at the expense of losers will result in losses for all. We must insist that our elected officials work to build one united America.”

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“As Americans, we are granted many freedoms, including the right to elect our leaders. Regardless of political affiliation, it is my sincerest hope that this election sparks a change in all Americans – a positive change – to work together. With any election, one candidate will concede and one will reign victorious, but I am reminded of the proverb “it takes a whole village to raise a child.” It will take all Americans to raise this country up again, not just one individual.

Calvin Coolige once said ‘All growth depends on activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work.’ Let’s put aside the politics and get to work.”

Google is using social networking to give the pilot legs and draw new subscribers, a campaign that is tied in with continued efforts to get Google+, the company’s own social network off the ground. The installation costs of the new technology are steep, but the company is waiving the fees for many new customers and as part of select subscription packages. Regardless of what it takes in terms of conversions and costs, Google is trying its hardest to prove that it is serious about disrupting the current cable and internet market.

Fiber is innovative and severely disruptive in more than a few ways; the service includes internet speeds of up to one gigabit (which is as much as 100 times faster than what most Americans currently have), and is available for free. Read it again, free. Fiber also carries a full TV channel lineup including Google’s own roster of 150 online channels on Youtube. Not only is the cost lower, encouraging some serious debate over the pricing of major competitors like Comcast and Verizon, but Google is also on the verge of a potential huge shift in the TV model by becoming a content creator, while controlling all the advertising that accompanies programming.

The most immediate implications for the Kansas City experiment may just be Google using a complete local ecosystem to observe more accurately how broadband subscribers interact with the Internet and television. Learning to predict user behavior, preferences, and wants is a powerful proposition for a company in Google’s position.

Many doubt the likelihood that Fiber will make a lasting impact on the market, but we are quick to forget that Google went from zero presence in the mobile phone market to Android phones owning  a 64.1 percent share of all phones sold in just four years. It is hard to undersell Google’s willingness to take new markets on headfirst. We could be witnessing the start of the next major change in broadband and media consumption, and Kansas City is the proving ground.

Junction extends our best wishes to our clients, partners, and everyone affected by this week’s weather events along the Atlantic Coast and throughout the Northeast. We have witnessed firsthand some of the challenges presented by these rare but all too catastrophic occurrences. For those currently dealing with lingering effects of the storms, we sincerely hope all of you are up and running and back to business as quickly as possible.

Just a few short years after Amazon.com introduced its Prime membership offering, which affords consumers free two-day shipping on most items for a flat annual fee, the eTail giant quietly started shipping certain items same day. Yes, you read that correctly; given a favorable set of circumstances (which item, where it is being shipped, what time of day the order was made, etc.), consumers can place an order online and receive their purchase in just a few short hours, conveniently delivered to their doorstep by Amazon’s preferred carrier, UPS.

Just in time for the approaching holiday season, Walmart is preparing to offer its online customers the same luxury service in select cities, leveraging its massive stores as impromptu distribution centers. In theory, Walmart’s nearly 9,000 locations and the sheer size of its stores’ inventory could equate to the company having the capability to compete with Amazon in the online channel, a feat no other retailer has even dared attempt. The move seems to be an obvious attempt to cut into Amazon’s dominance online, especially when considering that in September, Walmart decided to discontinue selling Amazon’s popular e-book reader the Kindle. Same-day shipping during the holiday season and beyond would be a logical next major stepping stone towards matching what Amazon can already offer its loyal customers.

As our infrastructure continues to improve and consumers become more educated and attuned to shopping online, the possibility of same-day shipping could become the turning point for the next phase in the timeline of retail commerce. Companies like Amazon and Walmart are taking the lead on the forefront of innovation, charging to take advantage of a new breed of customer that demands instant gratification. Who will make the next big move?

According to the National Retail Federation, 148 million Americans take part in the festivities each year. It’s not just the candy companies who love this time of year. In its 2010 “Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey,” the Federation found that we spend an average of $66.28 per person on costumes and decorations in addition to sweets, a number which can be expected to increase as the weaker economy that has slowed consumer spending over the past few years continues to recover.

Temporary Halloween stores selling costumes and other kitsch out of available retail space pop up all over the country, and established retailers rush to expand their offerings and ad campaigns to include the Halloween theme ahead of the 31st. Another trend taking flight is restaurants, bars, and clubs cashing in by charging cover and marking up drinks during Halloween parties. Millions of dollars are at stake, and everyone wants a piece of the pumpkin pie.

The fascination with the holiday that leads us to so easily open our wallets has much to do with escapism and relief from the everyday mundane. Putting on a costume and reveling in the night is a way to forget about work and other stresses. Businesses have capitalized on our love affair with this particular celebration, but supporting a quirky little niche of the economy is all the more reason to put on our zombie makeup and enjoy being someone else for an evening.

Product design has always been a fairly important part of business that offer material goods, but today more than ever, design has risen to stand on equal ground with the practical concept and actual functionality of a product. It is surprising that it took us this long to get to a point where design has become so important; designers are really responsible for figuring out how a human will interface with a product, beginning with visuals and considering details down to the form and feel of the materials. If a designer does their job just right, the result is generally far better than simply selling on the idea of the product itself.

And so it has come to pass that design has been integrated with not just the creation of a product, but its marketing as well. The aesthetic of the product often informs the look and message of the print or video advertisement that promotes it, the language of the copy that describes it, and the mindset of the consumers who covet it. In the modern marketplace, a new product simply cannot succeed without strong design. Furthermore, exceptionally good design alone can help a less-than-optimal product succeed regardless of the quality of its functionality.

Customers are unconsciously far more design-minded than in previous generations. Through increased exposure to media, especially online, the public’s perceptions of innovation are inextricably linked with design.

Braun was among the first companies to actively bring design to the forefront of its products and marketing. The company’s designs for some of its early electric appliances and devices have shaped trends in the industry for more than half a century.  Many have even half-jokingly accused Apple, the undisputed current king of product design, for stealing Braun’s design aesthetics in the creation of some of its most popular product offerings. But Apple isn’t the only company to see value in putting design forward. Its largest competitor, Microsoft, is preparing to launch its answer to the successful iPad, a line of “Surface” tablets, powered by the new Windows 8, a particularly design-oriented operating system. This pair’s current strategies shine a light on the connection between design and business in the current economy. The most obvious lesson is that design-forward products stoke consumer interest and demand higher prices and higher competition.

As our consumer culture becomes even more design oriented, look for design departments’ budgets to increase and the conversation between designers and marketers to intensify. If businesses can manage to compliment the latest innovations with brilliant designs, the future looks bright.

What is the goal of this particular ad? Is the company looking to encourage more folks to sign up? Roughly 1 out of every 7 people on the planet already have Facebook accounts. Perhaps they are trying to engage their users on a deeper level, leading them to spend more time on the site in hopes of selling more digital ads. On that front, Facebook faces a challenge much larger than engagement; the ads themselves don’t work.

Regardless of the motivation, on a more superficial level, the content of the ad is obviously lacking. The whole effort seems heavy handed and almost egotistical. We are 8+ years into Facebook’s existence, and up until the company going public with what has unfolded as a disastrous IPO in 2012, they had done quite well for themselves. The company’s history is marked with achievement after achievement, but Facebook isn’t the first or, arguably, the best social media network. The central message of the ad is misplaced self-praise as a communication platform that is as good as interacting face to face, as we do in chairs, on airplanes, and over bridges.

Marketers watching this ad should also be left wondering what Facebook’s branding is going to look like in future advertising campaigns. With an all white logo at the end, it might be construed that the company is reluctant to put out an ad with the actual Facebook brand (the now iconic blue-colored square containing an “f”). More questions materialize as to what brand equity Facebook has beyond mere recognition at this juncture.

Each of these criticisms is rendered with an understanding that Facebook must discover a business model if it is to survive an imminent social media bubble and keep its stock price afloat. Facebook’s stated intention is to promote the ad using its own suite of ad products, including sponsored stories and log out ads, though the video will also be visible for non-users to see. Registering a billion users is a monumental achievement, but reaching the next billion users will be a herculean task. Whether the ad will help or hurt in the long run is yet to be known.

Deeper digital immersion in our everyday lives, where everything is fast-paced and information flows quickly and freely, has forced marketing to fundamentally change to adapt. The increased speed of dialogue exchange online means that the time allotted for “elevator pitching” has shrunk considerably.  Traditionally, this would mean a focus on frontloading as much attention-grabbing material in a pitch, or risking distraction and disinterest. Now, the structure of visual and language cues has changed completely – consumers are no longer captivated by marketing ‘speak,’ but actively dismiss messages that contain buzz words and immediate calls-to-action.

This modern consumer is highly attuned to the kind of messaging that has been thrown their way over the course of the last 50 years of marketing. But this is not necessarily a bad thing; social media has forced messaging to change, but it has changed for the better.

People today are looking to engage in conversations and build trust to ultimately drive their purchase behaviors. Because this dialogue is a two-way street rather than a unidirectional assault of marketing messages, the result is an opportunity for marketers to create stronger, more personal relationships with consumers when designing and executing a campaign. Businesses that promote authenticity are highly successful in this new paradigm, although the other extreme, where some companies swear or otherwise push boundaries of decency in advertising, doesn’t work well. Messaging can be fun and authentic without crossing these lines.

Companies must focus on a more integrated approach that speaks to a wide spectrum, reaching peers, industry influencers, and most importantly, customers in a manner that aligns with not just a company’s brand identity and resources, but its goals and objectives. Marketing jargon is effectively dead, but if more companies successfully transition to the new lingo, we will be listening closer than ever before.

Today, the booming multi-platform app economy is changing the way we interface with the internet and search. Apps now dominate our information intake, as internet users digest increasingly more data from their mobile devices. Rather than searching the web for a movie time at a local theater, we now pull up our convenient movie app. We check sports scores from a specific app with its own experience. Need to convert that Metric measurement to Imperial units? There most certainly IS an app for that.

But the reality is that the huge wave of apps has us stuck back in the pre-search ocean again. The near future will bring apps built into every device in our lives – our TVs, our cars, and our refrigerators are already starting to adopt the technology, so we are never more than a few finger taps away from the information we crave. The iTunes App Store, Google Play, and the Windows Marketplace all resemble a frenzied bazaar, with noisy developers hawking their wares. Since apps have taken over, the challenge has shifted from learning what users are looking for to designing a system for getting it to them.

Classic search engines assume that the user expresses their intent with a search query, but searching through apps requires a different type of mentality. What search terms would one enter to find the popular game app Angry Birds? “Shoot birds at pigs?” Search engines assume you are looking for information, but in the app economy, the approach has always had to be different. The standard thus far has been to categorize, a la early Yahoo!, and allow people to simply narrow down what they are looking for.

There are some startup companies trying to create app search engines to try and keep up with the more than half a million apps currently available to consumers. With as many as 60% of iOS applications having never been downloaded, there definitely needs to be a better way to deliver results, or innovative new businesses and their backers releasing new apps will continue to face a major challenge of how to be found. Despite all the progress forward, when search is made obsolete, we can’t regress to just ‘surfing’ in the new internet landscape.

After studying more than 40 years worth of research comparing organic and conventional foods, the Stanford scientists determined that organic fruits and vegetables were generally no more nutritious.

The study drew quick response from individuals like Walter Robb, co-CEO of Whole Foods Market, who disagrees with the study, citing his own experience as an organic farmer. But his disagreement, like the foods his stores sell, is only natural. Organics fetch prices roughly 25% higher than conventional foods, depending on the crop and time of year. The price premium doesn’t seem to be hurting Whole Foods’ stock. The company has outgained the S&P 500 threefold in so far this year.

In reality, the evidence for the superiority of organic food is mostly anecdotal and is based largely on assumptions and wishful thinking. The way that the media treat “green” issues and glorify healthy lifestyles is largely responsible for the notion that organic is always better. But being “natural” or “organic” does not make a food safer, nor does being synthetically treated necessarily make one unsafe. Organics do not offer special protection against disease, nor, as the study suggests, are they any “healthier” than food produced by conventional farming. Organic farming is not necessarily better for the environment than conventional farming – organics may not even be free from the pesticides and harmful chemicals we fear so much. There are over 20 chemicals commonly used in the growing and processing of organic crops that are approved by the US Organic Standards.

Many claim to be able to tell the difference in taste, but the bottom line is that fresher is always better. Organic produce that travels thousands of miles to market is inferior to the same produce from local farmers, organic or not.

The moral is not to malign organic foods are inferior or harmful, but the industry has grown incredibly quickly and deserves scrutiny as we decide the future of our food culture. Organic foods are a name, a movement, an ethos. The marketing machine behind agriculture has capitalized on the health revolution in the US, selling consumers on the image of the small farmer and the fit lifestyle. Next time you are in the checkout line, just remember that chomping into that delicious $2 apple is part of a $29 billion dollar proposition.

Fast forward a decade, and technology has taken another several leaps forward. Innovation is alive, but despite the possibilities for forward thinking in a more interconnected world, industry is currently focused on the business of marketing. Thanks to the advent of the social web, businesses are now more mindful of the importance of understanding how to sell over what to sell, a concept plucked straight from the birth of modern advertising in the middle part of the 20^th century.

Today, marketing departments are larger than IT, and they are growing at a faster rate. Marketing budgets are growing so fast, that by 2017, the average CMO is expected to spend more on IT than the same organizations’ CIO. Tech-centric initiatives like digital advertising, social media campaigns, and mobile marketing budgets are skyrocketing. Marketing departments are even taking over the responsibilities of choosing and managing technology providers and understanding customer intelligence and analytics. So, are IT departments doomed to fade away completely as their role is diminished further and further?

In reality, the changes in practice have been the result of a shift in perception about the functions of CIOs and IT departments. Most organizations presently view IT as a means to increase productivity and efficiency, rather than through the traditional lens as a source of innovation and new business directives. Today, innovation’s place is in the drivers’ seat of newly amplified marketing efforts. It is a powerful way to deal with an increasingly crowded and noisy marketplace. The enlarged budgets and widened responsibilities of marketing departments include room for innovators.

As a result of this paradigm shift, the world of IT is on a path to be split into two distinct groups, the conventional infrastructure providers and the new innovation partners. In an abruptly changing environment, CIOs must answer the call to push business forward through the mechanics of innovative marketing, or simply be left behind.

The referee scandal that characterized the first 3 weeks of the 2012 NFL season was a reminder that behind the games, the media blitz, and rabid fandom, the NFL and other pro sports leagues are simply businesses. The absence of the usual referee corps was due to a dispute between the league and the Referees’ Association, essentially a labor dispute. The whole fiasco was a blow to the NFL’s pristine brand, one that sets it apart from the MLB, NBA, NHL, and others.

That brand is incredibly valuable. If the NFL could be equated to other companies, it would easily fall into the Fortune 500, with more than $9B in annual revenues. So how does football manage to be such big business?

Take a look at the model: First, the league offers fans a quality product, as it is designed to keep competition at the highest level. The NFL draft works in inverse order, giving the worst performing teams the first pick of the best new players entering the league each year. Second, a large portion of each team’s revenue from ticket sales, merchandise, sponsorships and TV deals is shared with the other teams. One franchise’s losing season and poor revenues is offset by another team’s bumper year, meaning the business is well-hedged. Finally, there is a limit on player salaries, known as the cap. The players earned a more than respectable average salary of $1.8M last year, but thanks to the hard cap, team owners’ expenses in terms of paying their employees are minimal.

Business is good. Although ticket sales have slightly declined since 2007, TV viewership and licensing are near all time highs. Each February, the NFL’s incredible portfolio culminates when the league puts on the greatest media spectacle of the year, the Super Bowl. Record audiences worldwide consistently tune in to watch the sport’s signature event, leading advertisers to spend nearly $2 billion on the night over the last 10 years. Not many businesses take in that much revenue in a year, let alone a single day. Out of the 31 privately owned franchises (the Green Bay Packers are technically publicly-owned) 16 NFL owners are members of the billionaire’s club.

It is the impeccable branding of the NFL that transforms a humble game into an entertainment juggernaut that is engrained into American culture. The NFL’s business practices, as in the case of the referee debacle, are often less than favorable and frequently abhorrent, but the brand keeps fans in blissful ignorance of the fact that it is a moneymaking powerhouse behind all the emotional appeal. When the league neared a lockout before the start of the 2011 season, we learned that fans were so entrenched in the brand that even if the NFL willingly shut its doors, its customers would still come knocking. The NFL is built like one of its own powerful linebackers; a true juggernaut.

This movement is an example of how not-for-profit organizations actually achieve brand advocacy from the companies who sponsor or honor the cause.

Each year, the efforts to combat the #2 killer of women culminate in a month where awareness of the disease is pushed to the forefront of the nation’s attention. Businesses of all sizes join the millions of individuals who dedicate their time, money, and effort to show their support for victims and survivors. In this particular month, buildings across the country will be brightly lit with pink, the NFL’s players will don pink gloves, cleats, and captains patches, and other organizations will show their support with more symbolic use of the distinctive color. Workplaces and public spaces everywhere will be filled with people wearing pink clothing or proudly pinning on the iconic ribbon. The list of corporate sponsors for one of the month’s signature annual events, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, illustrates how many large and influential brands also answer to the responsibility to address such greater causes.

These brands forego their own unique value to answer this call to contribute to the greater good. As the Breast Cancer Awareness brand is strengthened, sponsors adopt its core values and tone while extending their own influence through cooperation with other prominent brands. The result is a mutually beneficial relationship and an amplified, unified message. For sponsors, contributing to a cause strengthens brand image, deepens community networks, and caters to a fiercely loyal niche market. Moreover, employees of these companies generally take on the corporate sense of duty as their own, serving to extend not just the company’s reach, but creating more advocates and extending the brand for the movement as well.

Brands of all sizes are clearly motivated by the opportunity to join a unique brand awareness cycle while doing some good. Sponsorship or at least participation in these worthwhile undertakings certainly isn’t mandatory, but brands that take hold of the initiative will benefit and make a positive impact in the process. With this mutual support, causes like the fight against Breast Cancer are significantly bolstered, a win for everyone.

Speaking to a room of individuals seeking guidance toward boosting personal brand equity, Heyl first discussed tools and techniques for increasing visibility, creating valuable connections, and making the most efficient and effective use of time. Squires presented the importance of setting measurable goals and milestones in moving forward, defining a path for implementing these tactics to move forward.

Cropp spoke on how to best present a brand to investors, target customers, and the general public. As a lifelong entrepreneur, Cropp has extensive experience in defining and polishing his own personal brand, as well as working to contribute significant value to partners. He shared examples from his time with Junction, working hand-in-hand with other entrepreneurs, startups, and SMBs seeking to harness their own unique value propositions and create memorable, sustainable brands.

“With so much competition in every industry vertical in the modern marketplace, sharing thought leadership with these individuals and companies is the best way to create impact.” said Cropp. “At Junction, we are driven by the spirit of entrepreneurship, and we are passionate about helping new brands maximize their potential and thrive as members of the greater business community.”

With the shift in business’ approach to how to consume and digest data, marketing is becoming more of an exact science rather than an abstract art form. The more refined process of collecting, analyzing, and utilizing data to inform actions is causing many businesses to reassess and refine strategies to focus more clearly on what their customers want. The effect in terms of ROI can be extraordinary.

But what happens to this effect when it comes to businesses whose customers’ data isn’t directly accessible? Beyond B2C and B2B businesses, there are a wide range of companies offering products and services to other companies, which in turn pass them along to the consumers. In essence, these companies operate B2B2B, and may have little or no relationship at all with the people who ultimately drive demand for their work.  They are selling through a non-captive agent, leaving them without the abilities to measure effectiveness in the same way as the rest of their industry.

Regardless of these limitations, engagements for these companies must still begin with set expectations and key performance indicators in place. For these entities, business intelligence and inside-out knowledge of how their performance stacks up to their capabilities become incredibly important in achieving the same kind of measurement typically afforded by customer data. Without the value of marketing performance measurement, strong attribution management that looks beyond simple customer feedback is one of the best ways for these companies to twist big data into working for them.

We often talk about the “business of marketing,” and how marketers are looking for ROI and a competitive advantage from real time data. Taking a page out of the B2B2B playbook reveals that even when the standard facts and figures aren’t available, businesses can take alternative routes to design and execute better-informed strategy. The opportunity is out there for businesses who can best adapt to the information available to them.

In our modern marketing economy, trust has become paramount in communications, and an integral component of relationships between businesses and consumers. These days, trust is engendered primarily by our peers, with social media serving as a cornerstone in the foundation of those relationships thanks to its rapidly growing influence.

In 2012, social media has come to permeate our lives to a great degree. As an outlet for marketing and advertising, networks like Facebook and Pinterest have become some of the most effective and popular ways to generate business, rivaling or even surpassing the power of the search engines that previously guided the large majority of visibility in the marketplace. A social media advertising campaign fundamentally demands that a brand relinquish control and submit to the power of its followers, but the formula isn’t as simple as just letting go.

Social media is conversational by nature, but it still affords authority to brands. Often times, it is the brand that starts the conversation that disperses through a network of peers. This power entails a new kind of responsibility for brands in terms of creating a consistent, constant, and well-thought out message in order to be effective without being overbearing or burdensome. The power of the network is undeniable; what a brand says will affect its audience to a great degree, so it is crucial to carefully measure communications to ensure a positive impact.

Such is the case in Financial Marketing, an industry presently under the microscope when it comes to issues of trust. The kind of trust that facilitates effective use of social media has been so severely damaged by the actions of financial institutions in the past 5 years that marketers’ main challenge is not to sell a product or service, but rather to simply regain the confidences of its once-loyal audience. Taking the time to ensure that all communications originating from the company on social networks positively reflect the brand will have an exponential effect as the message disseminates across the network from peer to peer.

With social media, the dynamic has changed. People have been appointed with the power to dictate the dialogue that long belonged to the brands. Tap into the trust of this set and leverage their collective voice to generate a stronger message than ever.

Cropp will join Sherry Heyl, CEO of Concept Hub Inc. and Julie Squires, CEO of Softscribe Inc. as they lead a conversation on tools, tricks, and techniques for launching a brand. The talk will be geared towards entrepreneurs, artists, and anyone looking to bolster their company or personal brand equity as they move through a challenging economic climate. Calling on his extensive experience as a lifelong entrepreneur and his time helping build businesses from the ground up with Junction, Cropp will discuss how to best present a brand not just to investors, but to customers and the general public.

“With so much competition in every industry vertical in the modern marketplace, there has never been a more important time to focus on what differentiates your brand from the pack,” says Cropp. “I am excited to join Sherry and Julie in sharing some of the keys to creating a brand identity that will resonate with audiences across each and every touchpoint.”

Tickets are $20 cash at the door, and are available at a discounted rate in advance with pre-registration at http://eclaunchingyourbrand.eventbrite.com/.

About Junction Creative Solutions

Junction Creative Solutions (Junction) combines the intellectual capital of a consulting firm with the creative execution of an advertising agency to create effective and measurable strategies. The strategic solutions align with specific business goals and objectives, and provide consistency from strategic planning through execution. As a result, our clients are able to maximize opportunities to react, adapt, and thrive — ultimately creating more sustainable and competitive businesses. Junction’s award winning portfolio boasts successful strategies and agency solutions for SMBs and Fortune 500 companies.

From the time the World Wide Web advanced to the point where the first online shopping systems began to emerge about 20 years ago, eCommerce has exploded into the mainstream. Today, mobile internet on cell phones and other smart devices have changed the game yet again, giving shoppers the ability to research products and compare prices almost instantly wherever they are, including inside a retail store. Powerhouse online retailers like Amazon.com and Overstock.com have garnered a large share of business away from traditional retail stores, forcing the brick and mortar set to open their doors online as well.

Still, in 2012, E-retail accounts for only approximately 7% of total retail sales in the US. Customers still hold on to the experience of walking into a store to shop. In an ideal situation, a retail store is a place to be helped by friendly and knowledgeable employees, see and feel the products in person, and completely avoid the wait time and hassles associated with shipping and handling when ordering from an online source.

But customers are now often rewarded for choosing the online platform over an in-person transaction. OpenTable.com gives diners points that amount to gift certificates for making an online reservation for their favorite restaurant, even if they don’t need one. Airlines now streamline the logistics of seat reservations, encouraging passengers to book online and even charging additional fees for over-the-phone purchases. Furthermore, the rise of social networking has helped both consumers and the brands they choose develop mutually beneficial relationships stronger than ever before. Looking forward, the future is bright for E-retail spending, projected in a report by Forrester Research Inc. to grow by as much as 62% over the next 4 years.

Indeed, a web-based outlet can be far more user-friendly than the physical store, and it is beginning to create a bias for many consumers toward shopping online. As the eCommerce economy continues to mature and assume more market share from traditional retailers, the lack of consistency evidenced in the big box site-to-store experience must be addressed, or physical retailers are at risk of losing even more business to e-Tail only competition. Shoppers have more knowledge and buying power at their disposal than ever before thanks to technology, and all businesses must refocus the purchase experience on what works for the consumer to succeed.

A popular Ted Talk given by filmmaker and author Kirby Ferguson offers a new perspective on the creativity that turns the wheels of business and society; Everything is a ‘remix.’ The argument is hard to refute; the creators in our society often achieve great success taking any number of ideas that already exist, and copying, transforming, and combining them to create something new. Especially today, with the internet playing a prominent role in everyday life, people are far more connected and collaborative, sharing ideas and concepts, leading to more rapid and volatile changes in trends and consumer responses as ‘new’ ideas arrive. As a side effect, this collaborate culture has all but eliminated the ability to invent anything that is, in itself, truly new.

Many products publically marketed as true innovations are, in reality, far from it. Take the hugely popular Apple iPad as an example; the concept of a tablet computer, in which the user interfaces directly with the display, had existed for decades prior to the iPad’s launch. Manufacturers like IBM and Hewlett-Packard had models available for nearly 10 years before the public fell in love with the sleek Apple device. The touch screen technology that wowed consumers on the tablet and its ‘disruptive’ precursor, the iPhone, was nothing new, but hadn’t ever been applied to consumer electronics before.

Objectively, the new products could have been dismissed as a rehash of a handful of old ideas that never caught on, but the push by Apple to believe in their product as a true innovation drove a very abrupt shift in the marketplace. The device was a hit, and suddenly, the market for not just the iPad, but other similar mobile devices exploded thanks largely to a perceived milestone of innovation.

Businesses taking a step back and looking at the big picture are sure to notice that product life cycles are shrinking and competition is growing as barriers to entry are mitigated by the opportunities available in our modern, connected, and technologically advanced world. Where do we go from here? The real requirement is to, like Apple, take an innovative approach to the process of innovation itself. It is essential to believe that, even if everything is a remix, true innovation is still possible and is still the lifeblood of the business world.

But creating this type of positive corporate culture yields not just internal benefits, but also produces an interesting side effect that benefits the external image. In the right company culture, employees willingly become stewards of a company’s brand. Each day, they leave their offices and head out into the world to fulfill roles in marketing and PR, most times without even realizing it. Word of mouth is a popular and very efficient avenue for marketing in the current economic climate, and when the conditions are right, nobody carries a brand message with more authenticity than employees.

Some of the largest and most influential companies in the country, like Google and Pixar have become quite famous for creating nontraditional workspaces and more casual, flexible work processes for employees. The various successes of these companies indicate that creativity and innovation thrive in these types of environments, but there is more to the formula than just a “fun” place of business. The secret lies in culture; fostering a culture in which team members feel valuable as a part of the whole can turn them into powerful champions of their own brand.

Thinking so far outside the box is not requisite for cultivating this kind of enthusiastic employee. Fidelity Investments offers outstanding professional development programs and tuition reimbursements, helping employees help themselves while serving the company’s interests. Even Hilton Worldwide’s simple focus on hospitality transcends just treating its customers right; employees find the same warmth and spirit of accommodation as the hotelier’s guests, landing them atop CareerBliss.com’s 2012 job satisfaction survey. As a result, these individuals, who turn the wheels of everyday operations, are now taking the time to actively evangelize for the company. Outsiders can clearly see these signs, creating a mystique about the ‘dream’ of working for these organizations, and it reflects extremely positively on the quality of the respective brands.

In a time when every individual has been granted a louder voice than ever before thanks to our interconnectedness, it’s not just the CEOs and the hired spokespeople out there touting a brand’s many virtues. Today, brand evangelism has to come all the way from the bottom and resonate throughout the company to create the kind of credibility that can skyrocket a brand to the forefront. Companies that succeed in turning their employees into their own most vocal supporters can win big.

What builds a credible, sustainable brand? In this day and age, the most competitive brands offer great incentives for advocacy. The most significant development has been the growth of social media, which has driven brand visibility to new heights; consumers now utilize the online space to literally show peers who they ‘like’ or ‘follow.’ Many brands are turning to swag, a pop-culture term for consumer items or tchotchkes intentionally given away, to broadcast a marketing message by physically putting their names in the hands of consumers.

Swag isn’t by any means a new concept. Brands have long leveraged giveaways of branded items for increased visibility. Consider pharmaceutical companies, famous for having sales representatives leave behind pens imprinted with their latest drug’s name and logo at hospitals. The doctors, nurses, and administrators use the pens frequently and see the name each time they write, every few minutes of the day, for weeks or months. It is an inexpensive and frankly, unparalleled brand recognition technique.

How effective is giving away swag in creating brand loyalty? A study by digital advertising technology firm SocialVibe found that advertising incentivized with promotional items works quite well in improving brand perception and ultimately influencing purchase intent. The study claimed that as many as 90 percent of people pay active attention to a brand message when interacting with this kind of incentivized engagement, and brand perception rises an average of 38 percent after its completion. This suggests that consumers aren’t simply pursuing an incentive just to reap the reward, but also to give a brand real consideration.

So, incentivizing a brand with swag is effective, but still relatively underutilized. We can perhaps expect this to change soon, as social continues to alter the marketplace and the process of organically creating loyalties becomes more and more demanding. When the chips are down, swag just may be the key to finding, converting, and maintaining brand advocates.

PICNIC errors, or, “Problem in Chair, Not in Computer” is a phrase that bounces around the digital marketplace every day as a way to describe user error, probably accompanied by some snickering at the expense of less tech savvy members of the workforce. The term alludes to the fact that all kinds of technologies, not just hardware like computers and mobile devices, but also common experiences like building websites or using social media and digital ad platforms, are designed to always do exactly what they are instructed to do, which often becomes a problem when the person operating the system doesn’t quite get the input right.

It happens all too frequently when a question or a complaint comes through from a client; dealing with technical issues isn’t a big hassle, but it becomes problematic when the conversation gets argumentative, or blame is assigned for problems that actually have very simple fixes for someone who understands exactly what is going on. It’s just not healthy for the relationship. Patience is incredibly important in these situations.

Our advice for clients when technology just isn’t working like you want it to is twofold: First, focus on educating yourself as much as possible. Simply learning as much as possible about how a new technology works is the easiest way to avoid misunderstandings and anger when these frustrating situations arise. Second, open the lines of communication; find a helpful partner to assist with problems that are admittedly beyond your capabilities. It is far more efficient to defer to the experts than to expend time and energy fighting an uphill battle with technology you don’t fully understand.

These two steps will not only help shed the stress of struggling against an emotionless and very stubborn opponent, but also enable quick resolution to any technical problem, allowing you to get back to business!

Stop for a moment and consider that Mr. Deutsch, a respectable advertising executive and television personality, is chairman of Deutsch Inc., a multimillion dollar New York ad agency whose own website includes a glitzy customized full-screen video feature for displaying its portfolio. Did $250 buy that? Of course, not every modest startup needs a Ferrari like the Deutsch site, but there is simply no reason to expect that a bargain-basement amateur website will ever produce the same horsepower.

With the rise of the internet and online business, entrepreneurs have largely forgotten that even without the overhead of a physical storefront, there are still significant costs associated with getting off the ground. Building and operating an online-only business may appear to be cheaper than traditional brick-and-mortar, but it’s certainly not free. People are often so conditioned for shopping around, hunting for discounts that they neglect to consider the ramifications of opting for price point over quality. It is a difficult habit to break, but why cheap out on an investment that you are counting on for your retirement?

For entrepreneurs entering the marketplace with an online storefront or online-only business, similar principles apply. With consumer sentiment at an all-time high, recognize the value of building the best online solution to drive the business forward. Choose a partner to help you build a lasting business comes down to so much more than the financial cost. Far more important is founding a relationship in which both parties understand each other’s goals and expectations.

The innovators behind today’s most prominent web-only businesses, like social media giant Facebook or professional networking site LinkedIn carefully and patiently sought out the best talent. And even in their infancy, these sites were not built on spare change.

It’s not anything in particular that UPS is doing wrong, FedEx, its largest and most rival competitor recently predicted that its own earnings would suffer in similar fashion, and countless other companies are thinking and acting conservatively as well. Doing business in 2012 has undoubtedly become a trickier proposition. The general perception is that there is not much that can be done, but it isn’t entirely impossible to operate or even start up a successful business amidst the challenges of a struggling economy.

This is now the 3rd consecutive year in which the mid-year economic outlook has stalled out after a promising start. There is little reason to think that the end of 2012 will be much different, especially considering the special circumstances of the upcoming US Presidential election. Truth be told, not much about the environment is changing. Yes, in the bigger picture, 2012 may be a less desirable time to run a company than 1998, but the circumstances and attitudes are hardly any different from how they were in 2010, or how they will likely be in 2014.

Many companies will not feel ready to stop just ‘weathering the storm’ and get back to business until the persistent uncertainties of the past few years are cleared up. In the interim, businesses with the real goods will not only persevere, but thrive, because spending more resources isn’t the only way to build more business. Companies who are willing to step back, scrutinize every aspect of their situation, and then adapt strategy accordingly will find that periods of recession are a time to learn how to operate smarter.

UPS’ forecasting appears accurate, and their action appropriate, but it is important to recognize that as the company cut back services to conserve resources, it increased revenue and became more profitable. The realities of the economy aren’t going anywhere, but with the right approach, the time to build your business is always now.

I was racing to a meeting and realized that I had left my cell phone at the office. I desperately looked at my colleague fearing that I would be late. I ask her if she can check her cell phone to see what time it is. She peered at me and smiled. She calmly replied, “Aren’t you wearing a watch?” In fact, I was wearing my favorite white ceramic watch. It was one of those embarrassing moments, but it made me question- how did we get to this point?

Now that so many people rely on their cell phones to tell them what time it is, global sales of watches have been consistently declining since 2005. Wristwatches are now just a fashionable, rather than functional, accessory. Since most people carry mobile devices with them at all times, the timekeeping abilities of watches are all but obsolete.

We interact with our phones and tablets so much that mobile device use is projected replace PCs as our primary point of access to the internet by as soon as 2014. Sometimes, I subconsciously know the time just because I have been checking my phone every 5 minutes for the last hour…

There is real lasting impact to the culture shift we are currently undergoing. Technology continues to change how we approach work and life. It’s strange to think that our future generations may not have to learn how to tell time on an analog clock, but rather will be conditioned to look at a digital display as I am. Hopefully the next time I leave my cell phone behind, I will remember to look at my wrist!

However, sales results prove that consumer purchase behaviors are driven by brand loyalties to just a handful of makers. Available data supports the notion that loyalties for other types of consumer products are quite strong. Take household cleaning products, for example; consumers choose one product from one brand and stick with it, often for life. There is not much deviation or experimentation from these brands. But are consumption behaviors the same for chocolate lovers?  Is there much variation in how the products stack up, or is it the brand name, rather than the chocolate itself, driving the decision? We set out to decide how much influence branding has over a presently thriving chocolate industry.

We opted to conduct a taste test to further understand how brand preference can shape a palate. Our team tasted milk chocolate composed of between 11% and 41% cacao from six brands spanning a wide variety of price points. We included brands with a varying degree of presence in the marketplace such as Hershey’s, an unlabeled block from small Venezuelan producer El Rey, Dove, Lindt, Godiva, and Green & Black’s.

The double-blind test had some interesting results. Half of our tasters chose Mars’ Dove bar as their favorite for taste and texture. Surprisingly, both Hershey’s (the lowest price point) and El Rey (the highest price point) were the other winning products selected. The overall scores of the products fell within a relatively narrow range, with the highest overall score averaging just 20% better than the lowest.

The experiment proved that the products available to consumers are largely equivalent in quality. In fact, for many consumers, there may not be such a thing as a ‘bad’ milk chocolate on the market today. In the end, reaching for that familiar sweet treat at the checkout counter remains a powerful experience. It seems that brand equity, including visibility, packaging, and price point, may be driving consumer purchase decisions, but the quest for the real ‘golden ticket’ goes on.

Do you have an idea for a product test that test brand experiences and consumer behaviors under the microscope? Leave a comment or email josh@junction-creative.com with your suggestions.

Featured speakers throughout the half-day conference addressed prominent issues relevant to branding and reputation, measurement and optimization, social media, mobile marketing, and audience targeting. Brands represented on the five panel discussions included Bankrate Inc., Brown Brothers Harriman, John Hancock, Bank of America, The Hartford, Fidelity Investments, Liberty Mutual, Thomson Reuters, State Street Global Advisors, and Linkedin, among several others.

The financial industry has been in a mode of ‘protect and preserve’ through the economic downturn, protestations on Wall Street, and recent public scrutiny over missteps such as those made by J.P. Morgan Chase. Financial brands must be able to effectively communicate the value of products and services in a way that resonates with consumer audiences. Junction has previously addressed how business can achieve this type of brand affinity by simplify messaging and injecting the ‘human’ element, turning mindshare into brandshare.

The themes discussed at JFAM:FORUM in Boston aligned with Junction’s own evaluation of the current market; with a plethora of new technologies at their disposal, marketers are looking for agile resources who can adapt quickly. With great segmentation occurring in marketing, there is a need to partner with agencies who are staying on top of trends. Junction is a member of Brave New Financial, a best-practices consortium designated by JFAM serving as a trusted resource for these financial marketers.

“Bill Wreaks (CEO, Gramercy Institute) has once again put together a star panel of experts who shared insights on the goals and objectives that will guide financial marketing initiatives in 2013,” said Julie Gareleck. “This summit of the industry’s top marketing minds shed light on how the financial services market can approach messaging and regain the trust of the consumer. At the beginning of the strategic planning phase for the upcoming year, there is certainly much to consider. “

Successful businesses invest wisely and generously in their brands in an effort to make them memorable and easily recognizable, and to create a sense of quality and reliability. A well designed, displayed, and maintained logo will produce a value premium for a company by creating a certain level of product loyalty in consumers. It is part of what makes Coca-Cola more desirable to consumers than its generic equivalent.

But just as a smart, clean, and buttoned up logo can create equity for a business, a poorly presented public image can quickly become a liability when the brand is improperly maintained or positioned, particularly when it is placed in an environment where consumers can easily draw comparisons to the competition.

A recent trip through a well-traveled commercial area, via the expressway, provided a clear example of a brand asset becoming a brand liability. Approaching the exit, travelers came upon the familiar large signs designed to inform drivers of gas and food options available at the upcoming exit. These signs are very effective in getting hungry travelers to pull over and “fuel up” at a favorite eatery.

This particular sign displayed the brand logos of six nationally recognized fast food competitors. Five of the logos were bright, clean, and well maintained, but one major national fast food franchise’s signage was faded, with a cracked surface – barely legible at all. Driving past the business, situated among its attractive, well lit competitors, the restaurant featured a half-lit sign, a tarnished facade, and at least a half dozen burned out decorative light bulbs. Suddenly, the decision of where not to eat became an easy one. Checking back months later, the business still featured the same derelict appearance.

Well-formed marketing, brand identity, creative advertising, and promotional programs are essential to success in any industry, and touching all of these points are crucial to any business looking to rise above the crowd in a competitive environment. However, even the best designed and beloved brand can be instantly damaged by the neglect of the simplest of details.  Remember success in the details, and in this case, the light bulbs.

The boom in tech has created a great amount of competition in the mobile space for retailers. By the end of 2011, 39% of brick-and-mortar retailers with top-500 e-commerce websites by revenue also had mobile websites, and nearly 26% had mobile apps. Still, online sales currently represent only 9% of all retail sales – so what is driving shoppers through the doors?

Thanks to the proliferation of mobile devices and a drastic increase in average consumer time spent online, marketing for retail has, in essence, evolved from targeted engagement on a single channel to capturing an audience across touchpoints on multiple platforms, devices, and locations. Attracting customers is no longer as simple as offering better pricing or amenities; customers make purchase decisions based on experiences. Just this year, JC Penney reported a severe drop in business when they ceased offering sales and coupons (a hallmark of their brand) in favor of an ‘everyday low price’ pricing structure. It’s not a simple formula; considering how many different items are now listed on the modern retail marketer’s agenda, uniformity of message across each andevery channel becomes more crucial than ever.

The best way to achieve this consistency is to build connected experiences that carry the brand between different times and places of interaction. Consumers have been empowered to research, price, and purchase nearly any product or service within minutes and have it delivered directly to their doorstep. Amidst all the options, delivering the right message at the right moment is the strongest way to influence a purchase. Placing as much information in the hands of consumers in order to make their decision is important, but no amount of messaging is useful without timing and targeting. The challenge is to make the transition across platforms as seamlessly as possible; nail the experience even just once and create invaluable loyalty.

With the market experiencing a huge shift in focus as organizations evolve, corporate clients are now looking to agencies to solve not just marketing problems, but business problems. In turn, the agency model must dynamically adapt to maintain relevance. The CMO Council reported in a recent study that only 9% of senior level marketers say ad agencies are managing to evolve and extending capabilities in the “digital ocean.” Furthermore, other surveys have shown that the same senior marketers are not as confident dealing with the complexities of this new marketing economy looking ahead to the next 5 years.

These volatile changes are undoubtedly affecting the traditional relationship between agencies and clients. Now, both are faced with increased expectations of measured effectiveness and delivered results. How do we keep the flame burning amidst the uncertainty? A successful agency/client relationship is one with:

Clarity: The client must set expectations for the desired outcome of a project or campaign. Agencies must also be clear upfront as to what can be expected with a specific marketing solution.

Communications: Consistency in communication is critical to the relationship. Both the client and the agency must engage in the conversation, speaking with each other rather than at each other.

Manners: Advertising is a high stakes game. When money or reputations are on the line, it’s easy to forget manners when dealing with a client or an agency.

As agencies move forward, hand-in-hand with clients, qualities of trust, value, accountability, and responsibility are being elevated over the Don Draper prototype in importance.

The secret to keeping the sizzle in this relationship is simple: Be transparent. Deliver results.

Other companies left in the dark typically engage in any sort of ‘guerilla’ marketing possible to grab attention during the biennial spectacle. Brands like Nike, American Express, and Kodak are some of the more prominent companies that the average person might expect to get involved in the $2.1 billion affair, but have been excluded from the London 2012 Games.

This year, with help from the British Parliament, the IOC has actually criminalized the kind of guerilla tactics so commonly seen as a result of the exclusivity of advertising at the Games. The result of the legislation has been the creation of a so called “brand police” squadron charged with fighting unauthorized campaigns. Among the broad duties of the Olympic Delivery Authority, responsible for much of the infrastructure of the Olympics, is enforcing the new branding rules. The ODA has posted 250 “specialist enforcement officers” at the 28 venues and sites across London to protect the integrity of the all-important official sponsorships

The extent of the powers granted to the ‘brand police’ has not been seriously tested, but there has been a great deal of discussion sparked merely by their presence at the Games. Murmurs from London suggest the squad may be quietly exercising its authority, pulling down unauthorized signage and telling athletes and spectators what to wear.

Regardless of hyperbole surrounding how severe the measures being taken to protect the messages of official Olympic sponsors, the creation of the “brand police” serves as the latest mile marker in the dramatic shift in brand culture since London’s first hosting of the Games just over a century ago in 1908. For many, it is a somewhat disconcerting sign of the times. Although G4S, the private security firm hired to handle security at the London games, failed to deliver, the group of esteemed official sponsors can rest easy knowing they are being strongly protected.

Solavei™ is a new social commerce company offering an affordable, contract-free mobile service that actually pays back consumers for adding new members. The Solavei Mobile Service is a comprehensive mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) utilizing T-Mobile’s nationwide 4G network. As a member of the network, consumers sign up for a $49 per month unlimited voice, text and data plan, and earn income by engaging friends and family to purchase the mobile service through Solavei’s integrated social networking platform.
“We are going to make a difference in people’s lives by shifting billions of dollars from traditional mass-media advertising into the greatest advertising vehicle today – people,” said Ryan Wuerch, founder and CEO of Solavei. “Solavei is the first company to create an economic linkage between mobile service, social commerce and social-networking technology. We give people the opportunity to earn income by using and promoting the services they are already consuming each and every day.”

The first half of 2012 has brought quite a bit of excitement across the marketing and media industries. Facebook stole the headlines with the unprecedented valuation and their May 17 IPO that is now considered one of the worst performing of 2012. Twitter experienced its longest service disruption since an hour long outage in October 2011, causing an internet freak-out. Just now, as Q3 begins, Microsoft and NBC complete a web divorce that has industries speculating what the future holds for NBCnews.com. The appointment of Marissa Mayer, 37, to run the global media giant Yahoo! as the youngest CEO in the Fortune 500 continues the trend. While it’s hard to predict what is to come, it’s safe to say that Solavei is attempting to do what no other company has tried.

“As a purveyor of all things social and mobile, Solavei is positioned to completely revolutionize the market place,” comments Julie Gareleck, CEO & Managing Partner of Junction Creative Solutions. “As founding members, we have the access to test the platform before its official launch into the marketplace. As an agency, it’s a great experience to be involved with such an amazing group of leaders who will make a significant impact on consumer behavior, social networks, and commerce.”

Gareleck is sharing a few spots for other industry leaders interested in testing this new network before its debut on September 21^st. Contact Gareleck at julie@junction-creative.com for an invitation.

ABOUT SOLAVEI

Solavei is a social networking and commerce platform that enables users to connect, share and capitalize on the power of social networks. Solavei’s mission is to make commerce less expensive by empowering individuals to earn income on the products and services they enjoy and use every day. Solavei’s initial product offering is affordable, no contract, unlimited text, voice and data services throughout the United States. It operates as a MVNO through a strategic partnership with T-Mobile USA. Solavei is led by former Fortune 100 telecom and retail executives and advisors. For more information, visit www.solavei.com. For the brand’s latest news and updates, find Solavei on social media at facebook.com/solavei and twitter.com/solavei.