Seeing Store Shelves Through Senior Eyes†

Wall Street Journal, September 14, 2009 — Before walking into a Walgreens drugstore here, Todd Vang donned glasses that blurred his vision, slipped un-popped popcorn into his shoes and adjusted tape that bound his thumbs to his palms.

The get-up was part of an exercise designed to help retailers better understand the physical challenges facing elderly shoppers. Mr. Vang, a 42-year-old Walgreen Co. vice president, struggled to pick up a can of soup. "I can't imagine how this would feel if the store were crowded," he said.

How Walgreens Is Positioning Itself as a One-Stop Shop†

Brandweek, September 8, 2009 — Walgreens is introducing a campaign with a new slogan, "There’s a way,” today (Tuesday). The effort—by agencies Downtown Partners, Chicago; Digitas and Arc Worldwide—seeks to position the drugstore chain as a one-stop shopping destination and healthcare provider for consumers. Walgreens CMO Kim Feil (pictured left) said the campaign stemmed from consumer research, which found that many shoppers see the drugstore as a community resource, but yet, the company wasn’t communicating as such. In the past, Walgreens was much more focused on marketing all of its businesses separately, Feil told Brandweek in a recent interview. The drugstore chain is moving toward its new messaging with a TV spot, breaking today, which centers on the importance of flu... continue reading

How to Kick Off an Innovation Project

To build consumer loyalty, Office Max launched a study of what women look for when they buy office supplies

BusinessWeek, June 24, 2009 — "Life is beautiful. Work can be, too." So ends a fantastical commercial for the office supplies company, OfficeMax (OMX), which aired in cinemas earlier this year.

More than just a new marketing campaign, the ad reflects a new direction for a company that had previously based its competitive strategy on price and location

Insight -Out Design

Hub, June 22, 2009 — The Tropicana “orange and straw” debacle is well on its way to becoming a classic example of redesign gone wrong. The lesson is simple but profound: Good designers always remember that they are designing for real people, not for their firms, themselves, or even their clients. This means that design and consumer research are inextricably linked.

A Cheap Date, With Child Care by Ikea

New York Times, June 11, 2009 — IKEA’S inexpensive, contemporary furniture has attracted frugal shoppers for years, but a different kind of bargain is luring deal hunters to the Swedish retailer as the economy struggles to recover. And this offer doesn’t even require you to use an Allen wrench.

Over-stretched, money-conscious parents are using the store’s supervised play area as their personal baby-sitting service.

Don't Call Me Middle Class: I'm a Professional!†

Wall Street Journal, May 14, 2009 — Not long ago, everyone in America wanted to be a member of the "middle class." In fact, as many as 53% of Americans described themselves that way to pollsters.

But with the information age and the rise of two-career incomes, being just middle class is a little old hat. The new aspiration for most Americans to be a member of the new professional class. Rising numbers — as high as 64% — report that they consider themselves "professionals." The census shows a significant rise over the years, from 4% being professionals and skilled workers in 1910, to 36% today. The numbers have doubled since just 1980.

Companies From Mars, Customers From Venus

New York Times, January 24, 2009 — COMPANIES too often hinder their own success by focusing too narrowly on selling products and not on what their customers actually need, says Dev Patnaik, a business strategist. Businesses could be more successful — and see competitive opportunities faster than their rivals — if they looked differently at what they were doing.

The New Focus Group: The Collective

Forget about return on investment. Companies need to think about getting return on insight

BusinessWeek, January 7, 2009 — There's probably no better time for an organization to ask the question, "What's the return on investment?" Given the economic uncertainty, it's an understandable instinct.

The problem is, traditional ROI, with its focus groups and lab-type settings, is less relevant in a fast-paced digital world. Hyperfocusing on ROI as a key indicator of future success limits the quality of insights that can be obtained when an initiative is launched in a real environment. In the real world, a "mass audience" doesn't really exist (this is especially true on the Web) and brands that deal in niches are rewarded. In the real world, the collective is the focus group.

Usual Folks Need Not Apply†

Emergent Consumers Are Better at Predicting New-Product Acceptance

Advertising Age, May 26, 2008 — We have identified a particular type of consumer whose judgments, unlike those of typical consumers, can influence and predict new-product acceptance. These emergent consumers, as we call them, can actually help create more-appealing and more-useful products and increase the chances of their success.

A C.E.O. Sells the Store

New York Times, March 1, 2008 — Women’s suits. Mickey Drexler has women’s suits on the brain.

It’s a Tuesday afternoon in SoHo in Manhattan, and Millard S. Drexler — Mickey, as he is universally known — is in a Madewell store looking for customers he can talk to. Mr. Drexler, as you may know, is the chief executive of J. Crew — a job he took in 2003 after being summarily bounced from the Gap, the company he had led for 16 years, transforming it in that time from an $800 million midsize retailer into a $14 billion Goliath. Madewell, which he’s visiting today, is a brand-new J. Crew offshoot that sells hip, casual clothes. It’s a little like the way Mr. Drexler started up Old Navy to offer clothes that were less expensive than the Gap’s.

This visit is not some stunt... continue reading