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  • Hip-Hop Culture and Marketing in the New Economy

    Steve Stoute , CEO of the marketing agency Translation , believes that traditional marketing does not fit with the new economy and in particular with Millenial consumers. A former record executive, Stoute came to recognize that the old way of looking at demographics no longer seemed relevant, so he coined a phrase to mark what he was seeing: "tanning." He came to believe that many American companies were missing out on connecting with American consumers across demographic lines by shunning hip-hop culture even as it continued to grow and grow. Stoute recently spoke about his new book, The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy , in this HBR IdeaCast :

  • Harley-Davidson and Other Brands that Speak to Women

    Do women want Harleys? Well, some certainly do. And it seems even a lot of women who don't own a motorcycle really like the brand. We'll leave it up to you to figure out why that is. But we mention Harley-Davidson because it scored very highly among women in a recent survey. Forbes contributor Caleb Melby took a look at the survey results, and he highlights a few of the brands that do well among women: Barbie, CVS, Kotex...and Harley Davidson. Melby writes: Harley Davidson, the traditionally male-associated brand, scored with women this past year – landing it a spot on the index for the first time at number 194. The iconic motorcycle brand staged a series of initiatives to celebrate the growing number of women enthusiasts, including women-only garage parties, a first-ever female “biker boot camp,” and the launch of “women riders month.” The company also gave women the chance to interact with fellow female riders on a new website, featuring tips and advice on how to turn their riding dream into reality. Read What Brands Do Women Want? here . Incidentally, Forbes has a lot of content focused on women in business right now. Click here for Forbes's list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women .

  • Social Media Dilemma: More Users May Mean Fewer 'Likes'

    Is it better to have more people paying attention to your work or fewer people who are more loyal? Musicians, companies, and brands of all sorts are forced to confront this question when it comes to social media outreach. eMarketer notes that an increase in overall audience--or followers--on Facebook appears to bring with it a decrease in followers' engagement: So does this mean that brands need to try to connect with fewer people? Of course not. But it does point to the need for a coherent strategy that is flexible and expandable enough to allow for continues engagement as the audience grows. From eMarketer: There are many posting strategies brands can pursue to boost engagement on pages as the number of fans increases, however. Research from Buddy Media found that tweaking the length, timing and wording of posts could raise engagement. In addition, the research from Visibli points to how brands should space out their posts. Half of all “likes” happen within 1 hour and 20 minutes of posting, and 70% happen within 4 hours. “Likes” taper off over time, until about 95% are received within 22 hours. Read Can Brands Maintain Engagement on Facebook? here .

  • MarketingVox: Wisdom of Crowds, or Mobs?

    It seems even adopters of new technology might still fear change when it comes to branding. Big-time international retailer Gap has decided to scrap the new logo it just released after some pushback from fans on Facebook and followers on Twitter. Gap spokesman Bill Chandler told the Wall Street Journal that the new logo was "a step too far" . Here's a look at the two-decades-old logo (left) and the proposed new logo: The whole episode provides an interesting case study in following the wisdom of a social media crowd. And MarketingVox thinks Gap has made a mistake: It is one thing to turn to crowdsourcing - especially if it is a commercial offering such as Trada. But allowing the crowd make a strategic decision, especially on the fly, is unwise. Fact is, sometimes people just Tweet to Tweet - especially if there are a string of similar Tweets already out there - and then forget about it 20 second later. "How does the company know if the negative reactions are coming from loyal customers, or just folks who like opining on various topics via social media," writes Michael Roberto, a professor of management at Bryant University writes in a blog post. There are other unknowns as well that were drowned out by the comments, he said. "How does the firm know if the negative reaction will translate into any lost sales? Will this move make it difficult for the firm to work with professional designers in the future? Won't they be upset by the rapid abandonment of something created by one of their professional colleagues and the turn to free crowdsourcing instead? Initial reactions from some in the design community have not been positive. Finally, won't the very same people who chose this logo be sifting through all the submissions in this crowdsourcing effort? What makes the firm feel that they will make a better decision this time." Read Overestimating the Wisdom of the Crowd here .

  • Where Physics and Marketing Meet

    You might remember some basic Physics. Like Newton's second law: force = mass X acceleration. But do you ever think about that law as an important marketing principle? Or how about Heisenberg's uncertainty principle? Okay, you probably don't remember that one, but Dan Cobley , marketing director at Google , does. He says that Physics was his first love, and that it helps him be successful as a marketer. Here is Cobley giving a very accessible Physics lesson for marketers at the TedGlobal conference:

  • Mobile Marketing and the iPad

    Apple's iPad has made two important steps toward going global. The hot mobile device of 2010 is now available in the UK and Japan. It is just the latest success for Apple's latest success, and many marketers are bullish on the iPad's potential to deliver new ways for engaging customers. Gap is one retailer trying hard to get in on the game, having recently released its iPad application. And to hear Gap VP for global marketing Ivy Ross describe it, you'd think the iPad is the product of marketers' dreams. Marketplace 's Steve Henn reported on Gap's efforts, and the iPad's potential as a marketing tool Take a listen here .

  • American Consumers: Resetting Behavior and Refocusing the Economy

    John Gerzema , Chief Insights Officer for the marketing firm Young and Rubicam , sees a major shift in the "post-crisis" behavior Americans. He says the American consumer is "de-leveraging," and he is bullish on what that means for the future of the US economy. The consumer is newly empowered, in Gerzema's view, and he outlines how this will bring about positive change in the economy in this Ted talk: