I have always been viscerally anti-status quo so change and innovation are of particular importance to me. And there is no doubt there’s a lot of change when it comes to the increasing importance of private brands in the lives of consumers triggered by the “Black Swan” economic shift of the last few years. With […]
In this Star Trek original series episode a very powerful being (the Squire) imprisoned Captain Kirk, Bones, Sulu and some of the crew on Gothos in an environment he created to look like a castle on medieval earth. Every detail of the castle was replicated to perfection. Well, almost perfection. The crew of the Enterprise […]
Private brands use to follow a simple set of strategies. Not anymore. All that is changing… After spending over 30 years, much of it in strategy jobs, with a company that has some of the most recognized brands in the world, it’s possible I left the place just a little bit biased. “Our” brands were […]
Check out this recent article by Warren Buffet: Stop Coddling the Super Rich Of course Buffet wouldn’t mind it if they raised taxes on him and his wealthy buddies: HE’S A BILLIONAIRE! He won’t miss it! He doesn’t even keep track of his own money. When’s the last time Buffet had to watch his grocery […]
They claimed it was a $1 billion opportunity for dairy. That was back in October 2009. Now, 2 years later, the $1B opportunity is still there. There is renewed effort behind the initiative but can they make it happen? Without a strategic, unbiased, collaborative path to industry redesign, I’m not so sure. It’s not surprising […]
There’s no question consumers are changing. Even though the recession has “officially” been over for more than two years, consumer confidence continues to decline, food prices continue to escalate beyond forecasts and gas prices are still $1/gal more than a year ago. As a result, economic pressures continue to cause tectonic shifts in consumer behavior. […]
When growth goals are set, every business knows they have to deal with the “leaky” bucket: finding new sources of revenue for what “leaks” away every year and must be replaced just to stay even. Well, it appears the State of Wisconsin has a leaky bucket when it comes to jobs. Although Wisconsin’s population grew […]
Once again, very impressed with the presentation quality at the Shopper Insights in Action conference. And also once again, the speaker, Bill Hoffman SVP Customer Insights at Best Buy, is not only sourcing consumer insights to drive the business, they have changed their business model accordingly. Bill has a background in military special forces and […]
Check out this cycle from GameStop: Consumer insight –> loyalty program concept –> internal business alignment and loyalty program design –> commercialization of a unique customer loyalty program –> great business results –> change and adaptation of the GameStop business model –> more consumer insights –> repeat process. Terrific presentation at the 2011 Shopper Insights […]
Bad news this morning showing poor job creation nationally. It makes this “Scariest Jobs Chart” from BI even more scary. Thankfully, Governor Scott Walker is all about jobs here in Wisconsin. The new Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation became official this week. Now it’s time for them to put their strategies to work…
