Blog Archive.

No Debate: A Need to Innovate & Differentiate

One of the themes at this year’s Life Insurance Conference is product innovation and differentiation in a low interest rate environment. In any industry, there’s a need to innovate and differentiate. Brands that fail to do this risk a loss of relevance in the marketplace; more importantly, they risk negative consequences on the income statement. […]

Nothing Foolish About Distributed Marketing Software

It is April Fools’ Day, a fun annual calendar event. What was once just a day for pranks has actually become a marketing event for numerous brands with the evolution of digital marketing channels. One of the best known examples of this is Google, which unleashes a prank on unsuspecting searchers every April 1. This […]

Springing Into Life: Does Your Brand Need to Revitalize?

In the Northern Hemisphere, the spring season is upon us. Spring is known as a time of rebirth. The brand world is not all too different from the world of living organisms. Like all living things, brands need to be cared for in order to demonstrate signs of vitality. This is the essence of the […]

Solving The Low Interest Rate Dilemma

On March 14th, I posted The Low Interest Rate Dilemma, which detailed how the current low interest rate environment is impacting the insurance industry. At the upcoming Life Insurance Conference, this is going to be a significant topic. Low interest rates are affecting pricing, the price-value proposition of product offerings and a variety of corporate […]

Is Non Participation in Social Media a Great Danger?

Trade publication “Insurance & Technology” recently featured an article about social media’s dangers. The article cited a quote from a VP at a life insurance company and a consultancy in the insurance industry. There was some alignment in their perspectives. The VP at the life insurance company stated that “the value in terms of selling” […]

Bridging The Advertising Trust Gap

A report from Forrester Research, based on survey responses from 58,000 respondents, indicates what could be perceived as a severe advertising trust gap. The data indicated that 70% of consumers trust brand recommendations from friends but only 10% trust advertising messages. At first glance, this may seem like a significant deficiency for brand advertisers and […]

Research Indicates Importance of Distributed Marketing Management Software

Content distribution is a key concern for marketers. Recent research from Gleanster and the CMO Council has reinforced this notion. For instance: A significant percentage of companies are having difficulty finding balance between corporate marketing and local marketing efforts. Recent research from Gleanster noted that 93% of distributed marketing organizations cited the conflicting needs of […]

Why Multi-Channel? 5 Places Where You Need To Be

Visa ads once had a famous tagline of “It’s Everywhere You Want To Be”. So where is the everywhere that brand marketers want to be? Simply everywhere, or as close to everywhere within reason. One of the key challenges of the present era in marketing is changing the mindset from single channel to multi-channel. Brand […]

Why Brands Should Not Pass on Local Customization

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will begin in earnest on Thursday, but the field of teams was chosen yesterday. The tournament is a noteworthy event in the annual cultural calendar, particularly in places where college basketball is closely followed by a significant portion of the population. This represents a tremendous opportunity for brand advertisers in […]

The Newest Pheeding Frenzy

Have you heard of Pheed? Are you on there? The answer to both of these questions is becoming yes more frequently. So what is Pheed? Pheed is the newest, hottest social media network. It launched in October 2012. It has been growing in popularity, and has earned its way to the top of the list […]

The Low Interest Rate Dilemma

One of the biggest issues in the insurance industry at the moment is the low interest rate environment. It is manifesting itself in a wide variety of ways. The low interest rate environment could be around for a bit, as all indications are that the Federal Reserve intends to keep interest rates at 0% until […]

Brand Authenticity in a Distributed Marketing Environment

A recent AdAge article highlighted the plans Miller Lite announced with a new ad campaign that will soon launch, emphasizing brand authenticity. I like the idea of brand authenticity, and I think it serves all brands well to develop an individual, authentic approach to marketing communications that will resonate with an audience. The Miller Lite […]