Apple just announced its refreshed iPod line-up, and among the products came the long-rumored news that the iPod Nano would be getting a built-in video cam...but not the iPod Touch. It's a tad surprising, but still a clever ...READ»
The grocery store can be a jungle. The survial of the fittest brands can depend on the same kind of natural laws the species use to perpetuate themselves. Success or failure can be de-coded and leveraged by understanding paternity and core brand meaning atached to it.READ»
A delegation of Scottish CEOs came by our offices recently. They were on a four-day tour of U.S. companies -- Apple, Cisco, and so forth. Their goal was both information and inspiration, about how best to keep their businesses, ...READ»
What if something you thought you knew to be true, turned out to be exactly the opposite? What if an approach you imagined was working for you was actually working against you?
Imagine if it were true, for example, that almost ...READ»
The old adage says, “Image is everything,” and when you’re marketing
a company there couldn’t be a more true statement. When considering launching a
new brand, marketing campaign or re-branding, the first step to ...READ»
The topic of design has generated a lot of buzz lately--so much, in fact, that some suggest that the renewed interest in all things creative is a passing fad. Not exactly. If we let history be our guide, we'll see that there's a ...READ»
Design thinking is currently an "It" concept, the topic of countless books and blogs and conference panels. While it can mean a lot of different things to different people, for me, design thinking is a methodology, a tool, ...READ»
As a small business, your budget is tight and your time is even tighter. But you still have to compete with larger organizations that have big budgets and even bigger staff. Let’s face it image is everything and if you can’t ...READ»
Design thinking is currently the most powerful competitive tool/leverage for business success in the near future. In order to leverage it successfully there are a number of things to demand from Design Thinkers. Here's a list.READ»
Many
small business owners know that direct marketing is one of the most cost
efficient methods of marketing to both new and existing customers. It allows you to focus the postcard mailing
or other marketing materials ...READ»
Your small business is operating in a time where things are uncertain. Business coming through the door might be spotty, customers seem to be spending less, and making the bills is a much bigger struggle than it once was. But that ...READ»
The impressionist era of painting arose as a deviation from the accepted, classical techniques -- a creative explosion that spread through the power of unique perspectives. When Monet painted, he shared his personality through ...READ»
In a down economy the natural instinct is to draw inward. Cut spending and pull back on initiatives. The problem with that approach is that a down economy may in fact be the best time to win by being creative.READ»
Creative has been teasing a strange "stem cell" chip for a few weeks as part of its Ziilabs offshoot. Now we know that it's a crazy-powerful media-centred system on a chip, designed to be daisy-chained together into a "nano-sized" ...READ»
As a sales representative, making your goal can be full of anxiety. Some months your phone rings off the hook while other months leave you pulling your hair out as you try to drum up business. You need existing customers to buy ...READ»
There’s no question that the holidays are a time for sharing and giving back to those that are most important to us. Making sure all friends and family receive gifts during this time can be a time-consuming task and during this ...READ»
Going through the blogs on the Fast Co site, I was particularly struck by the insights contained in a blog entitled: Fish on Friday: Two Dramatic Statistics Bracket Today’s Sweet & Sour Economy.The writer, Charles Fishman ...READ»
It seems that I spend a great deal of time these days talking about the subconcious emotional drivers of designs. It turns out that there are very good reasons we all "buy" what we do. Reasons that are tied into our biology, ...READ»
So the economic crisis is in full force and juxtaposed against what also currently appears to be a full commitment to Design and Innovation by business. In front of us, there is a moment of truth. The question now becomes, ...READ»
When thinking about small business marketing, the standard means of promotion such as newspaper ads and postcard mailings most often come to mind. While these “tried and true” methods can be effective, they are not the most ...READ»
There is a change in the wind. I am just back from a recent design conference, the IDSA National Conference, and one has the sense that two dramatic changes are in play. First, the idea that design's service to society should be ...READ»
