Leadership and innovation

McKinsey research reveals a wide gap between the aspirations of executives to innovate and their ability to execute. Organizational structures and processes are not the solution.

McKinsey Quarterly, January 31, 2008 — Like short skirts, innovation has traditionally swung into and out of fashion: popular in good times and tossed back into the closet in downturns. But as globalization tears down the geographic boundaries and market barriers that once kept businesses from achieving their potential, a company’s ability to innovate—to tap the fresh value-creating ideas of its employees and those of its partners, customers, suppliers, and other parties beyond its own boundaries—is anything but faddish. In fact, innovation has become a core driver of growth, performance, and valuation.

False 'Green' Ads Draw Global Scrutiny†

Watchdogs' Rulings Bring Bad Publicity, But Many Lack Bite

Wall Street Journal, January 30, 2008 — With companies eager to tout their "green" credentials to consumers, advertising watchdogs in a number of countries are stepping up efforts to rein in marketers that make false or exaggerated claims.

Overhaul, Make It a Venti

New York Times, January 30, 2008 — KANSAS CITY, Mo.—When a Starbucks moved in next door, the coffee fanatics who run the Broadway Cafe trembled. Sure, they roasted their own beans and served up handmade espresso drinks to a loyal clientele. But would it be enough to fight off a corporate behemoth? That was nearly 10 years ago, and now the results are in: the Starbucks is about to shut down.

Succeeding at open-source innovation: An interview with Mozilla's Mitchell Baker

The company’s chairman and former CEO explains the power of th

McKinsey Quarterly, January 30, 2008 — As companies reach beyond their boundaries to find and develop ideas, they are exploring new models to manage innovation. In projects that tap external talent, questions quickly arise about process management, intellectual-property rights, and the right to make decisions. Some executives have been at this game longer than others.

Wisdom of the Web

It may be a little late to the game, but business travel is now the subject of a variety of blogs.

New York Times, January 29, 2008 — It may be a little late to the game, but business travel is now the subject of a variety of blogs.

In the last two years, companies in the travel business including Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Marriott International, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines have introduced blogs to promote their products and brand images, as have business travelers who want to narrate experiences and share complaints.

One of the newest sites useful to business travelers is BoardingArea.com, a portal created by Randy Petersen, the frequent-flier program expert and founder of the online forum FlyerTalk. BoardingArea is essentially a directory to blogs that address issues of interest to business travelers.

How a Firm Got Smart To Fight Grime, Rivals†

Wall Street Journal, January 28, 2008 — Beset by cheap imports from overseas and facing a slowing U.S. economy in 2002, Tennant Co., a big name in the small market for industrial floor-cleaners, could have tightened its belt and sent more of its factory jobs overseas.

Instead, the Minneapolis company decided to place a big bet that it could outsmart its competitors with innovative products.

Is It a Recession? Marketers Seem to Think So

Let the economists and politicians debate whether the American economy is in a recession. Madison Avenue is already battening down the hatches.

New York Times, January 28, 2008 — Let the economists and politicians debate whether the American economy is in a recession. Madison Avenue is already battening down the hatches.

Since September, Wal-Mart Stores, the nation’s largest retailer, has built its entire current advertising approach upon this bald premise: “Save money. Live better.” Skeptics wondered at the time whether Wal-Mart and its new agency, the Martin Agency in Richmond, Va., part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, were fixating on price at the expense of other attractions like fashion or breadth of merchandise.

But the economic problems that followed — falling prices for houses, tightening credit and the gyrations of the stock market — vindicated their decision.

New Campaign Tries to Butter Up Shoppers

New York Times, January 28, 2008 — A food brand with a funny name, which is known for funny advertising, is starting a campaign that offers a humorous look back at eating habits when Dwight and Mamie were in the White House, Dick and Dorothy were on the radio and Ozzie and Harriet were on TV...The campaign is contemporary not only in its contents but also in its media outlets.

Next in Line for Reinvention: The Art of Selling†

Consultant Ram Charan Says Focus Is All Wrong; What a Customer Needs

Wall Street Journal, January 28, 2008 — Ram Charan is known for his platinum clients and his relentless schedule. The business professor-turned-management consultant says he's worked seven days a week for 30-plus years, advising executives at the likes of General Electric Co. and Verizon Communications Inc. on such topics as improving results and execution.

In his spare time, he has written or co-written 16 books, mostly on strategy and leadership.

Recently, Mr. Charan turned his attention to sales, particularly from one business to another. He doesn't like what he sees. In "What the Customer Wants You to Know," published last year by Portfolio, he argues that companies need to "reinvent" the way they sell, to focus on their customers rather than product features.

Study: Purchase Intent Grows With Each Event†

Brandweek, January 28, 2008 — Getting up close and personal isn’t just for politicians. A new survey shows in-person events can boost purchase intent as high as 52%. According to the report, released this month by the Advertising Research Foundation, New York, purchase intent—a customer’s stated interest in buying a product—rose 11% to 52% among consumers who attended brand-sponsored events including sports championships, walkathons and theme parks.

Thinking About Tomorrow†

How will technology change the way we shop, learn and entertain ourselves? How will it change the way we get news, protect our privacy, connect with friends? We look ahead 10 years

Wall Street Journal, January 28, 2008 — Let's get this out of the way first — in the next 10 years, no one will travel to work by jet pack or have robot maids that serve dinner. But technology will continue to transform the rituals of everyday life — sometimes in startling ways.

Imagine televisions that project 3-D images into the middle of the living room, for a theater-in-the-round experience. And while we won't get those robot maids, our appliances might start "talking" to us through email alerts, letting us know when a part is getting worn down and needs to be replaced.

Many other changes will be more subtle, as technology finds new ways into our daily routine.

WaPo 'Buzz Maps' Track DC-Based Bloggers

MarketingVox, January 28, 2008 — The Washington Post has selected blog aggregator site Outside.in to provide Buzz Maps of DC-area bloggers on WashingtonPost.com, according to the Outside.in blog. A "Buzz Map" (see example) tracks both DC-based bloggers and the places they are discussing in the area. The service also maps the top 10 places mentioned, based on volume in a given week.

Beauty in the Blogosphere

Women's Wear Daily, January 25, 2008 — A new breed of beauty writers is building the sort of influence that's gaining the attention of major brands: bloggers. Scores of blogs largely dedicated to opinions and reviews of beauty products have proliferated in the past several years. And as the quality and quantity of blogs increases, beauty companies' traditional marketing strategies are having to adapt.

Quality over Green: Nike's New Air Jordan

The latest in the popular line of basketball shoes hits stores as part of Nike's sustainable design line. But the company is hyping performance, not green

BusinessWeek, January 25, 2008 — Nike's (NKE) new Air Jordan XX3 sneaker, which arrives in stores on Jan. 25, won't have a trace of the color green on it. Rather, the limited-edition shoe will be available in the color combination of white, blue, and gray. And although the shoe was made with earth-friendly materials, and even inspired the invention of a sewing machine to help manufacture footwear with fewer chemical glues, the company is not focusing on the "green" aspect of the sneaker.

Dunkin' 'on the Offensive' in Coffee War†

New Marketing Chief Aims to Establish Chain as Beverage Leader

Advertising Age, January 24, 2008 — America may run on Dunkin', but Dunkin' runs on Will Kussell.

As the coffee war with McDonald's heats up this year, the $4.7 billion, privately held doughnut chain has tapped Mr. Kussell, 49, as president-chief brand officer. Mr. Kussell has held a variety of marketing jobs, including senior VP-marketing and retail concept officer, during his 13-year tenure with Dunkin' Donuts, which has 5,300 U.S. locations. He was most recently chief operating officer of parent company Dunkin' Brands.

Cheer Up, Ben: Your Economy Isn't As Bad As This One†

In the Make-Believe World of 'Second Life,' Banks Are Really Collapsing

Wall Street Journal, January 23, 2008 — In the real world, banks are reeling from the subprime-mortgage mess. In the online game Second Life, a shutdown of the make-believe banking system is causing real-life havoc for thousands of people.

Publicis, Google to Exchange Execs†

Companies Plan to Share Talent, Collaborate to Develop New Products

Advertising Age, January 23, 2008 — Publicis Groupe and Google are collaborating to develop new products and tools and exchange talent by embedding executives in each others' companies.

From MySpace to YourSpace

A Web blockbuster is evolving to try to stay ahead of rivals.

New York Times, January 21, 2008 — Two years ago, Chris DeWolfe, the co-founder and chief executive of MySpace, was talking about international expansion with Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corporation bought the social networking site in 2005. According to Mr. DeWolfe, an entrepreneur used to moving at Internet velocity, he suggested that MySpace could expand to “four or five” countries in the next year.

What about 13?” Mr. Murdoch said.

That was one of Mr. DeWolfe’s first lessons in just how fast business is done inside the News Corporation.

Marketers and Content Providers Tune in to Podcasting's Potential†

Acura, MasterCard, ESPN Seize on Growing Audience of Medium

Advertising Age, January 21, 2008 — Radio revenue could very well stay flat for the third straight year in 2008, but there's one sector in the audio industry that's getting attention from the likes of Acura and MasterCard: podcasting. Although it's been ad-supported for a little over two years, podcasting only recently has built an audience with enough scale in key categories such as news and sports

Marketers Make Friends With Savvy Online Consumers

MediaPost Publications, January 21, 2008 — LENDING CLUB, A FUNDS EXCHANGE and lending network, launched this fall ... on Facebook. As a social network, Facebook helps consumers build trust in the brand partners presented to them, says Lending Club COO John Donovan.

Word-of-mouth--or rather word-of-mouse--marketing is a natural outcome of social networks. Consumers compile connections and further feather their nests with friends of friends.

Richard Sapper: Fifty Years at the Drawing Board

At 75, design pioneer Richard Sapper continues to push his craft in new directions

BusinessWeek, January 21, 2008 — To get to Richard Sapper's studio in central Milan, you have to take a creaking, 100-year-old elevator to the fourth floor of the apartment building where he and his wife have lived for decades. The elevator has the original dark wood paneling, and the ancient gears and pulleys hoist it upward at a glacial pace. So the feeling on approaching Sapper's lair is that you're traveling back in time. But Sapper, a pioneer of industrial design who got his start at Daimler-Benz in the mid-1950s, is not stuck in the past. Even at 75, he is still experimenting

Study: Internet Ads Will More Than Double By 2011

MediaPost Publications, January 21, 2008 — YANKEE GROUP FORECASTS THAT INTERNET advertising will more than double to $50.3 billion in 2011 from $21.7 billion last year, driven by technology investments that will boost online ad performance.

While the size of the U.S. Internet audience will level off in the next few years, ad dollars have yet to catch up with the growth in online media consumption, according to the Yankee study. The research firm estimates that the Internet accounts for about 20% of overall media consumption, but only 7.5% of ad budgets.

The Corn Belt: Farmers All Ears to Branding?

Brandchannel.com, January 21, 2008 — Corn from the US Corn Belt accounted for 70 percent of world corn exports in 2006. Furthermore—driven by US legislation requiring that the amount of corn-derived ethanol added to the nation’s motor vehicle supply double by 2012—the acreage of corn planted in the US reached a 63-year high in 2007. But with more US corn being diverted to ethanol production and away from food and feedstock for animals, global market dislocations have begun to show up.

The corn industry, indeed, is undergoing a transformation. The price of corn was up nearly 20 percent in 2006, and global sugar prices reached a 25-year high reflecting a shortage of high fructose corn syrup. Meanwhile, escalating international corn prices led to a tripling of the price of tortillas in... continue reading

Yet even as Chevy popped the clutch in reverse†

Brandweek, January 21, 2008 — The tool it used to cook up "Come Together and Worship" is, at the moment, thriving. We are, of course, talking about microtargeting—the practice of using complex psychographic datamining to direct tailored marketing messages at narrow slices of the consuming public. Sound familiar? It should. In the ad world, market segmentation has been the norm since the 1960s. But today's marketers have one thing their wing-tip-wearing ancestors did not: Web 2.0

Athletes' New Game: Their Own Web Ads†

Low-Budget Spots Put Stars in Control Of Their Marketing

Wall Street Journal, January 17, 2008 — Basketball star Chris Bosh, known for his power and finesse around the basket, is trying out a new off-court move. Mr. Bosh, with help from his girlfriend and brother, recently wrote and shot his own Web commercial. The ad, in which Mr. Bosh takes on the persona of a Texas-fried used-car salesman to ask fans to vote him into the National Basketball Association's All-Star Game, has become something of an underground hit, racking up more than 376,000 viewings on YouTube.

Imagining Apple's Future

We asked design, innovation, and marketing pros what the folks who gave us the iPod should focus on now

BusinessWeek, January 17, 2008 — Business schools and design consultants have a favorite exercise they like to use when they're trying to prod students and colleagues to come up with new ways of thinking about old problems. It's called What Would Apple Do? The idea is to think of a horrendously complicated problem and imagine what Apple would do to come up with a simple, elegant, engaging solution that's delightful to the eye and easy to use.

Our designers tried to imagine what would happen if Apple took its design process and applied it beyond its usual stomping grounds. What if Steve Jobs took the stage and dramatically unveiled an Apple car? Or Apple iMoney software to manage your finances?

NBC Unveils Sell of NBC Everywhere†

Network Holds First Digital Out-of-Home Upfront Event

Advertising Age, January 17, 2008 — NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — As the writers strike puts a question mark on the fate of this year's TV upfront market, the out-of-home upfront market got off to a splashy start yesterday at Rockefeller Center with the first event for NBC Everywhere, NBC's out-of-home-media division. Held in Studio 8H, where "Saturday Night Live" is filmed, the event showcased the nine out-of-home venues NBC is selling, ranging from taxis to sports arenas to maternity wards.

The Case Against Marketing to ‘Influencers’†

Forget social hubs and alpha influencers. To reach consumers, old-fashioned mass marketing might be the way to go.

Wall Street Journal, January 17, 2008 — That message, espoused by sociologist Duncan Watts, is making waves in marketing circles by refuting the notion that an elite group of taste makers spark consumer trends, reports Clive Thompson in the February issue of Fast Company (no online version available yet). The idea of the super-influencer, popularized in books like “The Tipping Point” and “The Influentials,” is compelling. But in Mr. Watts’s view, social networks are so complex that consumer trends are essentially random.

‘Decade of Data’ Study Reveals Key Trends

Marketing Charts, January 17, 2008 — For men 18 and older, TV advertising is no longer the main influencer in purchasing decisions - just 22% say it is (down 8 points), compared with 24% who now cite advertising inserts as the most influential medium, according to the Customer Focus: Decade of Data report from Vertis Communications.

Can't Get Enough Oprah? Wait a Few Years†

Winfrey, Discovery to Launch New Network in Her Likeness, But Without Her TV Show

Wall Street Journal, January 16, 2008 — Americans love "The Oprah Winfrey Show," but are they ready for the Oprah Winfrey Network? Ms. Winfrey and Discovery Communications announced yesterday plans to launch a new channel — which will go by the acronym, OWN — in the second half of 2009. Ms. Winfrey will be the creative force behind the channel, developing programming on topics familiar to her viewers, such as dealing with bullying and recovering from divorce.

One-on-One with Carole France

Consulting Magazine, January 16, 2008 — Oliver Wyman’s latest report in its Global Leadership Imperative series takes a look at innovation’s relationship with leadership. According to the research, 65 percent of executives still don’t have an innovation strategy in place

Small Firms Tap Amazon's Juice†

Web-Services Unit Gains Popularity Renting Storage, Server Capacity

Wall Street Journal, January 15, 2008 — When Internet start-up Renkoo Inc. created a program called Booze Mail in June, its chief technology officer, Joyce Park, didn't want to set the program up on the company's main computer infrastructure. Instead, she signed up for Amazon.com Inc. By doing so, Ms. Park joined a growing group of start-ups and entrepreneurs now turning to an unusual ally: Amazon.

The attack of the ad-sponsored phone call

Internet telephony companies seek to sell seconds of airtime before connecting your calls.

FORTUNE, January 15, 2008 — Callers beware: Marketers are about to invade one of life's last advertising-free zones, the private phone call. At the end of last year, privately held Internet phone company Jangl started testing "in-call" advertising: While customers wait for Jangl to connect their calls, the originating party may hear a short audio advertisement. Potential advertisers, Jangl says, include wireless game and ringtone purveyors.

3 Hidden Trends in 2008

eMarketer, January 14, 2008 — Business statistics can often reveal a great deal of information about a market or trend. A single number, like a picture, can be worth a thousand words. Take 9.3%. That figure represents eMarketer’s prediction for the share of total US media spending going to the Internet this year (in 2007, the share was only 7.4%).

Heinz Researchers Cook Up New Food Items

With Focus on R&D, Heinz Concocts New Food Products for the World at Research Facility

Associated Press, January 14, 2008 — WARRENDALE, Pa. (AP) — At a sleek office building outside Pittsburgh, garlic and vegetable aromas mingle in the air. Chefs handle frying pans behind industrial stoves and lab-coated technicians scoop morsels of food into their mouths.

It's a clinical staging area for what H.J. Heinz Co. hopes will become household favorites — packaged foods and condiments designed to please palates and entice shoppers across the United States and around the globe.

Outdoor Advertising is “Hip” Again!

ANA Marketing Maestros, January 14, 2008 — Today, on average, we are exposed to approximately 5,000 ad messages per day. With numerous advertisements and increasing consumer control, advertisers continue to produce innovative ways to promote messages.

Recession Hits: What It Means for Ad Biz†

Ten Industry Leaders Offer Their Takes on the Approaching Downturn

Advertising Age, January 14, 2008 — Merrill Lynch last week became the first major U.S. investment bank to declare the U.S. economy in recession. Two days later, Goldman Sachs jumped in, predicting that the economy would enter recession during 2008, if it wasn't there already.

The thinking at both banks is that a recent spike in unemployment is evidence that the credit crunch roiling the housing and financial sectors is beginning to infect the larger economy. So in order to find out what that means for the marketing world, Ad Age asked leading industry executives what they think a recession means for the business in 2008.

Their reply: It might not hurt in the short-term, but if things don't tick up, gird yourself for a tough 2009.

Reviews Roll In as Shopping Sites Add Video†

Brandweek, January 14, 2008 — The written word may be powerful, but video is mightier still, and there’s the rub for marketers.

As Amazon, Orvis and PetCo encourage consumers to upload video reviews, the marketers give the public a dynamic tool to tout or trash products.

So Much for Engagement; Buys Are Still Based on Eyes†

'Wave Eight' Survey of Marketers Finds Media Buyers Still Want Reach and Will Pour More Money Into Online

Advertising Age, January 14, 2008 — It's still about the eyeballs.

For all the talk about engagement, top marketers and their media buyers still consider reach the No. 1 criteria when they're framing their media plans and making their purchases. In findings shared with Ad Age, the majority of respondents to Advertiser Perceptions' "Wave Eight" survey of 2,047 top marketers and their media buyers, less than half ranked engagement among their top five criteria when buying media.

That said, the big media spenders plan to pour more dollars into digital in the next six months, which could be construed as a vote for a medium that allows targeting and a high level of measurability — or maybe just another vote for going where the eyeballs are. An overwhelming 76% of respondents said they will... continue reading

Take a Giant Step in Your Mind. Imagine

Where is Innovation in Marketing Today?

Hub, January 14, 2008 — Ann Lewnes: In Adobe's humble opinion, it's all about the web. The reason is, you can be incredibly innovative on the web, but you can also be incredibly precise. The web is at the intersection of art and science.

The New Focus Groups: Online Networks†

Proprietary Panels Help Consumer Companies Shape Products, Ads

Wall Street Journal, January 14, 2008 — When Del Monte Foods was considering a new breakfast treat for dogs, it sent out a note to an online community of dog owners asking them what they most wanted to feed their pets in the morning. The consensus answer was something with a bacon-and-egg taste. The result: Last summer, Del Monte introduced its Snausages Breakfast Bites.

A Million Miles vs. a Few More Smiles

New York Times, January 13, 2008 — JAMES T. KANE, a corporate consultant on customer loyalty, has a news flash for his airline. “I hate you, and I tell everybody I hate you,” he says. “You could not pay me to get on your airline if I didn’t have to. The reason you think I’m a happy customer is I flew 178,000 miles on you last year — but that’s because I didn’t have a choice.”

Consumers Consider Sustainability When Picking CPG Brands

MarketingVox, January 11, 2008 — Approximately 50% of US consumers consider at least one sustainability factor in selecting consumer packaged goods items and choosing where to shop for those products, according to a survey conducted by Information Resources, Inc., reports Environmental Leader (via MarketingCharts).

Bidding for brands: India and China acquire a taste for luxury†

Financial Times, January 10, 2008 — Hotel managers, particularly those in the luxury business, are generally polite folk. But last month, when India’s Taj Hotels chain made what it said was a friendly approach to Orient Express Hotels, Trains & Cruises, the luxury hospitality group, the ensuing dialogue quickly degenerated into an uncharacteristically public spat.

Doritos Got a Winning Spot, Creators Won Recognition†

Super Bowl Contest Jump-started Five Point Productions

Advertising Age, January 10, 2008 — NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — For the winners of a create-your-own-ad contest sponsored by Frito-Lay's Doritos for last year's Super Bowl, promoting themselves and their work, rather than a bag of chips, was the real goal...What they were aiming for was some quick cash and a chance to put their company on the map.

10 Possible Starbucks Responses to McDonald's Coffee Threat

Seekingalpha.com, January 9, 2008 — I've used Starbucks' (SBUX) business strategy as a way to discuss the Trial and Error Economy (here and here). I'm not, by any means, the world's greatest expert on the company, but it provides a great vehicle for teaching about corporate strategy. Now, according to the Wall Street Journal, McDonald's (MCD) will sell premium coffee drinks made by baristas at most of their 14,000 stores.

How should Starbucks react to the McDonald's threat? Here are some ways:

1. Do nothing. Best implemented with one's nose high in the air, saying that Starbucks customers would never buy coffee at McDonald's. Would work very well for three to six months. Ignores the reality that Starbucks' recent growth has come not from Volvo-driving college grads, but from... continue reading

10 Things You Need to Know About Social Networking

Next year $1.38 billion is expected to be spent on ads on social networks - here's the bang for the buck and the pitfalls

MediaPost Publications, January 9, 2008 — The online population explosion will continue. But not forever: A 2007 report from Datamonitor predicts social net expansion will

peak worldwide in 2009 and plateau in 2012. For now, growth is spurring ever-

increasing spending.

Online To Pass TV Ad Spend in UK

eMarketer, January 9, 2008 — Group M, the media planning and buying agency owned by WPP Group, has forecast that spending on Internet advertising in the UK will surpass spending on TV ads in 2009 - making the UK the first of the world’s major economies to see TV spending overtaken by the Internet.

Widgets: From Hype to Hits

Fast Company, January 9, 2008 — Last year, Newsweek predicted that 2007 would be "the year of the widget." This July, developers gathered in New York for Widgetcon, a conference devoted exclusively to widgets. Whether or not Widgetcon fulfilled Newsweek's prediction, it signaled that widgets were more than a passing fad on the Web.

Hip cafes make way to lobbies

USA Today, January 8, 2008 — As major hotels compete to create hip scenes in their lobbies, they're adjusting menus to deliver more and better food options for guests who like to hang out there.

"The energy they're seeking is that of a cocktail party," says Jody Pennette of CB5 Restaurant Group, a Greenwich, Conn.-based firm that designs restaurants for hotels.

Schultz Returns as CEO of Starbucks†

Founder Is Critical of His Company's 'Self-Induced' Woes and Promises Turnaround

Advertising Age, January 8, 2008 — Starbucks Coffee Co. has returned its No. 1 barista, founder Howard Schultz, to his former role of chief executive to perk up its sales and stock price.

Ex-Harvard President Meets a Former Student, and Intellectual Sparks Fly

A Harvard graduate pitches a Web site, Big Think, as a "YouTube for ideas."

New York Times, January 7, 2008 — In June 2006, Peter Hopkins, a civic-minded and idealistic 2004 Harvard graduate, trekked up to his alma mater from New York for a meeting with Lawrence H. Summers, the economist and former Treasury secretary. Mr. Hopkins, who finagled the appointment through his friendship with Mr. Summers’s assistant, had a business idea: a Web site that could do for intellectuals what YouTube, the popular video-sharing site, did for bulldogs on skateboards.

Filling Big Hiking Boots at an Early Age

Discovery Kids pins some hopes on a chip off the crocodile hunter.

New York Times, January 7, 2008 — A year and a half ago, Bindi Irwin was an 8-year-old growing up in the Australian outback, home-schooled so she could travel with her father, Steve Irwin, to film popular nature shows like “The Crocodile Hunter.” She sometimes appeared on camera, happily petting the occasional wallaby.

Then on Sept. 4, 2006, Mr. Irwin was killed by a stingray’s barb while shooting his show. Rather than retreating into the background, though, Bindi has moved to center stage, in a spotlight just as bright, and sometimes harsher, than the one trained on her father.

McDonald's Takes On a Weakened Starbucks†

Food Giant to Install Specialty Coffee Bars, Sees $1 Billion Business

Wall Street Journal, January 7, 2008 — This fall, a McDonald's here added a position to its crew: barista.

McDonald's is setting out to poach Starbucks customers with the biggest addition to its menu in 30 years. Starting this year, the company's nearly 14,000 U.S. locations will install coffee bars with "baristas" serving cappuccinos, lattes, mochas and the Frappe, similar to Starbucks' ice-blended Frappuccino.

Internal documents from 2007 say the program, which also will add smoothies and bottled beverages, will add $1 billion to McDonald's annual sales of $21.6 billion.

Slogans That Work

Some corporate catchphrases do their job--they inspire the employees and the suppliers to be innovators

Forbes, January 7, 2008 — Can you motivate the troops with a mere corporate slogan? Yes, if there is some substance behind it.

What makes a corporate slogan effective? A recent issue of the Strategy & Innovation newsletter summed up the matter this way: The most effective corporate catchphrases are sticky. In other words they should be understandable, memorable and effective in changing thought or behavior.

The Long Nose of Innovation

The bulk of innovation is low-amplitude and takes place over a long period. Companies should focus on refining existing technologies as much as on creation

BusinessWeek, January 7, 2008 — In October of 2004, Chris Anderson wrote an article in Wired magazine called The Long Tail, a theory he expanded upon in his 2006 book, The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More. In it he captures some interesting attributes of online services, using a concept from statistics which describes how it is now possible for the "long tail" of a low-amplitude population to make up the majority of a company's business.

But those looking to apply the theory to the implementation of innovation within an organization should beware. My belief is there is a mirror-image of the long tail that is equally important to those wanting to understand the process of innovation. It states that the bulk of innovation behind the latest "wow" moment... continue reading

The Rules of Viral Web Success, At Least for Now†

Adweek, January 7, 2008 — The site is undeniably frivolous. Visitors are greeted by a quartet of shimmying elves with cutout photos pasted on their bodies. They are invited to do the same and pass it along to their friends. It is neither a work of fine art nor a technological marvel.

Xerox Gets a Brand Makeover

Once dominant in the copier market, the tech giant has had to wake up to a new world. Its latest brand identity attempts to reflect its newfound nimbleness

BusinessWeek, January 7, 2008 — The venerable Xerox (XRX) brand is far from dead or dying. It is, after all, not just a brand name but also in some countries a verb, like Google (GOOG). That's pretty good company in the world of high tech. But most of Xerox's customers don't put the Stamford (Conn.) copier company in the same class as the Internet search juggernaut. A new brand makeover, Xerox's first in 40 years, kicks off this week in a step toward trying to get customers to think of Xerox in a different light.

Put Buyers First? What a Concept

New York Times, January 5, 2008 — My Christmas story — the one I’ve been telling and retelling these last 10 days — began on Friday, Dec. 21. It was early in the morning, and I had awoken with the sudden, sinking realization that a present I had bought for one of my sons hadn’t yet arrived.

Teens Primed for Mobile Social Networks

After-school trend: MySpace, by phone.

eMarketer, January 3, 2008 — More than six in 10 teens have mobile phones, according to a December 2006 study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project titled "Teens and Social Media."

Pew found that nearly three-quarters of teens have desktop-computer access, making them a tech-savvy demographic.

Ad Houses Will Need to Be More Nimble†

Clients Are Demanding More and Better Use Of Consumer Data, Web

Wall Street Journal, January 2, 2008 — The Web's emergence is forcing ad executives to succumb to marketers' demands that agencies reinvent how ads are created, and forgo their TV-centric approach. Clients are even calling for changes in the way ad firms are structured. But until now, few advertisers have spent more than 5% to 10% of their marketing budgets online. With the growth of online video and social networking, ad experts expect that percentage to jump significantly this year.

Web Playgrounds of the Very Young

Forget Second Life. The real virtual world gold rush centers on the grammar-school set.

New York Times, January 2, 2008 — Trying to duplicate the success of blockbuster Web sites like Club Penguin and Webkinz, children’s entertainment companies are greatly accelerating efforts to build virtual worlds for children. Media conglomerates in particular think these sites — part online role-playing game and part social scene — can deliver quick growth, help keep movie franchises alive and instill brand loyalty in a generation of new customers.