Toy Makers Reach Into Product Attic†

Wall Street Journal, March 3, 2009 — To cope with slumping sales, toy makers are trying to breathe new life into some old brands.

This year, Zizzle LLC is rolling out a doll called P.J. Sparkles that has a tiara that lights up and a dress that can be transformed into pajamas. But the line isn't new: It was retired by Mattel Inc., its original manufacturer, nearly 20 years ago.

Circle of Saturn

Hub, March 2, 2009 — Jill Lajdziak says it’s the retail experience that makes the Saturn difference.

Between the time we spoke with Jill Lajdziak and the publication of this interview, General Motors announced plans to close Saturn. Well, here’s another news flash: This doesn’t necessarily mean the end for Saturn. And it certainly does not change the enlightened view Saturn brings to automotive retailing.

Monster Goes Small While Amp Goes Big†

Brandweek, February 14, 2009 — Monster Goes Small While Amp Goes Big

Feb 14, 2009

CMOs Stuck Around Even Longer in '08†

Embrace of Technology, Business Objectives Helps Increase Tenure Again

Advertising Age, January 26, 2009 — The Dow may be down, but things are looking up for CMOs.

Marketing chiefs are embracing new technology and doing a better job of synchronizing their departments' efforts with overall business goals, and as a consequence their tenure is increasing.

How World of Warcraft Promotes Innovation

This video game demonstrates in its structure and scoring some fundamental principles for training employees to think creatively

BusinessWeek, January 14, 2009 — We are caught in a pincer grip between intensifying competitive pressure and accelerating change in the landscape around us, creating enormous performance pressures. What we know today is becoming less valuable as we struggle with the challenge of innovating faster and learning faster to operate more effectively in these challenging times.

Why Innovation Could Not Save Nortel

Promises and buzzwords could not save the troubled telecom equipment maker from sagging demand for phone gear and a $4.5 billion debt load

BusinessWeek, January 14, 2009 — Two years ago managers of Nortel Networks (NT) unveiled a risky wager to transform the troubled telecom equipment maker through innovation and design. Their agenda included modernizing research and development, creating so-called future-proof gear, and experimenting with emerging technologies ranging form virtual worlds to Web 2.0. "We're not tweaking; we're turning Nortel on its head," John Roese, Nortel's chief technology officer, said last August, describing the changes underway.

Next Big Thing

Hub, January 12, 2009 — Will the Great Recession bring out the best and brightest? A roundtable discussion featuring Michael Mendenhall of Hewlett-Packard, Patia McGrath of General Electric, John Fish of AstraZeneca and Patrick Meyer of Now Inc.

At McDonald’s, the Happiest Meal Is Hot Profits

New York Times, January 11, 2009 — It wasn’t too long ago that McDonald’s, vilified as making people fat, was written off as irrelevant. Now, six years into a rebound spawned by more appealing food and a less aggressive expansion, McDonald’s seems to have won over some of its most hardened skeptics.

Key of IKEA

Bill Agee of IKEA says innovation begins with a culture of courtesy and a sense of community

Hub, January 5, 2009 — It’s not every day that hot, spicy cinnamon is the first thing you smell when you go shopping for furniture. But it is the sweet scent of sticky buns in the oven that greets shoppers as they approach the front doors of IKEA’s New Haven, Connecticut, store.

Bill Agee, marketing chief of IKEA U.S., agrees that sugar and spice is not a bad way to say “hello” to customers, but says it’s just a coincidence. “It’s not planned,” he says. “It’s just that the HVA system wafts out into the parking lot at some of our stores.”As Bill puts it: “At IKEA, it’s this idea that, ‘you do a little and we do a little’ … and together we save.” A Princeton poli-sci major who went into the advertising agency business before joining IKEA about 15... continue reading

Hotel Puts an iMac in Every Room

Springwise Newsletter, November 18, 2008 — Located in the Saint Blaise neighbourhood of Paris's 20th arrondissement, Mama Shelter has equipped each of its 172 rooms with a 24-inch Apple iMac multimedia center. Created by the Trigano family—founders of Club Med—along with Parisian philosopher Cyril Aouizerate and designer Philippe Starck, Mama Shelter combines modern, technology-enabled accommodation with a friendly, communal vibe. By replacing the ubiquitous in-room TV with the multimedia iMac, Mama Shelter not only mimics the same type of shift going on in many homes, it also ups the ante for hotels in urban centers around the world.