Stephen Palacios — 21 July 2008
A recent article in Ad Age, “Consumer Chasm: Distance widening between consumer types,” put forth an interesting notion regarding the growing importance of consumer segmentation in the corporate organizational structure:
“The emergence of the title of chief marketing officer elevated the marketing function to a level of importance equal to that of finance and the chief financial officer. Within the C-suite, we may see the creation of a new position under the CMO: consumer-segments communicator.
That person will be the one who keeps everyone in the firm up to speed on the different and fast-changing channels through which each segment of consumers can be most efficiently reached, queried and persuaded.”
Why is this particularly of interest to multicultural marketers? Because it is the encapsulation of the debate on whether separate infrastructures (strategies, departments, and agencies) are required to effectively reach the two largest and fastest growing consumer segments in the United States, namely: Hispanic and African American.
Ironically, without highlighting Hispanic marketing, this article underscores a point of view I’ve been advocating a lot – that multicultural, and specifically Hispanic marketing is now relevant on a much larger corporate scale. The evolution of Hispanic marketing in conjunction with the evolution of the Hispanic market itself (to one of power, influence and acculturation), gives enlightened Hispanic marketers the advantage.
Let’s review why this evolution has created the optimal foundation for segment marketing competence…
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Posted in Hispanic Markets | Innovation & Design
Steve Diller — 20 July 2008
In the last decade or so, it seems like marketing departments have come to see "ideating" as a core test of their coolness and creativity. Since few of us in business maintain parallel careers as artists, this expectation creates anxiety about corporate managers' capacity to be creative on demand. The success or failure of an ideation session often seems focused on whether people's inner creatives were liberated, that the session had been fun and cool, and that the experience produced novel, far-out ideas. While I enjoy creative thinking exercises as much anyone, I think these expectations are way out of whack. The thing is, when it comes to success in the marketplace, creativity isn't what matters. Relevance is what matters.
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Posted in Innovation & Design | Innovation & Design
LiAnne Yu — 7 July 2008
Here at Cheskin, we often use examples to help our clients consider all of the elements that contribute to a great brand experience. Nike, Apple, Starbucks offer more than just a product to their customers - they create the conditions for meaningful experiences. Disney is one such brand that is more than any park or cartoon character or toy. Disney represents a sense of Wonder.
But what does this really mean? Last weekend I had the privilege of visiting Disneyland again for the first time in many many years. Disneyland holds a special place in my childhood memories as it's the very first vacation i remember taking. Sitting on my parent's living room mantle is a faded photo of a four-year old LiAnne being hugged by Minnie Mouse. For my mini-me, D-land really was the happiest place on earth, and for many summer vacations after that I wanted no less than to dress up as a princess and walk along Main Street USA hand in hand with Minnie or Tinkerbell or Cinderella. On this recent trip I wondered: Would I be less enchanted as an adult now that I had more of an awareness of the artifice?
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Posted in Meaningful Experience | Innovation & Design
Lee Shupp — 8 June 2008
Veeeery interesting article in the New York Times today entitled "Moving Mountains with the Brain, Not a Joystick." We discussed brain/computer interface possibilities on the "Kill Your Mouse" panel at South by Southwest Interactive this spring, but I can't say that I thought I'd see a commercial application of it this fast!
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Posted in Innovation & Design | Innovation & Design
Lee Shupp — 8 June 2008
This blog is a tribute to Bo Diddley, who was a musician, cultural icon, and astute innovator. I salute the man, his life, and his music. I also salute his ability to innovate, and his marketing genius. Now, you may ask, what does Bo Diddley have to do with innovation and marketing?
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Posted in Innovation & Design | Innovation & Design
