Dear CMO, do you want to raise your profile at your company? Do you want to take on the biggest responsibilities — digital transformation, customer experience and revenue growth — and reap the highest rewards? Read More
Listen to Ed Catmull discuss managing creativity.
A few years ago, I had lunch with the head of a major motion picture studio, who declared that his central problem was not finding good people—it was finding good ideas. Since then, when giving talks, I’ve asked audiences whether they agree with him. Almost always there’s a 50/50 split, which has astounded me because I couldn’t disagree more with the studio executive. His belief is rooted in a misguided view of creativity that exaggerates the importance of the initial idea in creating an original product. And it reflects a profound misunderstanding of how to manage the large risks inherent in producing breakthroughs. Read More
Tone is key, according to new research, which found that a change in TV ad strategy could have altered the results of the 2000 presidential election.
During presidential election campaigns, voters in battleground states are bombarded with TV ads. Some commercials paint candidates in glowing terms, raving about their impressive accomplishments and sterling character. Other ads go on the attack: they tear down the opponents’ record, disparage their ethics, and generally argue they would be an absolutely terrible leader. Read More
One of the great men of advertising was the late Bruce Barton.
If you don’t know who Bruce Barton is, he’s one of the B’s in the world-renowned BBDO ad agency. Unfortunately, hardly anyone knows about him today. But, in the early to mid 1900’s, he was a household name. Back then, the joke was you couldn’t go anywhere or talk to anyone without hearing his name pop up. In the advertising world he was a contemporary of John Caples. Politically, he was an arch enemy of FDR, and they openly battled each other. He also advised presidents, ran for Congress, and consulted Wall Street power players. Read More
There’s often a misconception in the B2B space that marketing is secondary to sales. In reality, the two need to work hand in hand in order to fire up the lead gen engine. Azadeh Williams takes a look at ways in which sales and marketing can work together better to generate real, tangible results. Read More
Offices, commutes, and gigs have been disrupted — for now.
More than 9 million Americans lost their jobs in 2020, the biggest shock to the labor market since the Great Depression. Even though employment numbers have bounced back, COVID is still shaping how we do our jobs, from the rise of hybrid work to shifts in the gig economy. Read More
The founder and CEO of Modern Health observes that if we assume employees will simply take vacation when they need to manage their mental health needs, we’re setting the wrong tone for future generations of leaders.
Several years ago, a small group of technology companies and startups introduced a phenomenon soon to spread like wildfire: unlimited PTO. It started as a trickle, but soon became a popular way for companies to attract and retain talent and reward employees with well-earned time off. In fact, a 2019 Metlife employee benefits trends survey found that unlimited paid time off was the top emerging benefit that interested the employees surveyed.
FC Barcelona produced the greatest homegrown talent of any club but failed to keep the production line rolling. Business leaders can heed its warnings.
If you had to date the peak of FC Barcelona’s reign in global soccer, it might be November 25, 2012. That night, Barça, which plays in the Spanish topflight La Liga, won 4–0 at little Levante. When Martín Montoya replaced the injured Brazilian Dani Alves after 14 minutes, all 11 of Barcelona’s players on the field had come through the club’s youth academy, La Masia. Even Barça’s coach that day, Tito Vilanova, was a Masia alumnus. Read More
Adam Sefton, digital strategy director of Superunion, looks at tech and FMCG sectors to unearth Facebook’s motives for restructuring and rebranding its business as has been rumored.
The news that Facebook is planning a major corporate rebrand is not that surprising. Mark Zuckerberg told The Verge back in July that he wanted people to come to know Facebook as a metaverse company, not a social media one, and the ‘big blue app’ is simply too well known as the latter to offer realistic flex into the former.
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During the pandemic, people have become more sensitive to the environmental impact of their shopping decisions—and companies are responding.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers might have run low on toilet paper or flour, or might have searched online in vain for an inflatable backyard pool. But there was one thing in endless supply for many stuck at home: time. And given more time to contemplate everyday actions and choices, a lot of people started focusing on the environmental impacts of their purchasing decisions. Before the pandemic, consumers had begun to prioritize sustainability. But in PwC’s June 2021 Global Consumer Insights Pulse Survey, half of all global consumers surveyed say they’ve become even more eco-friendly. Read More
