Fab Ford Fiesta Movement
We’ve heard a lot about the Ford Fiesta Movement campaign. You know the one: Ford gives 100 savvy social media types a Fiesta for free for six months so they can share their experiences online. Sure, it’s a hip move given all the hype around social media. But will the rubber hit the road? Will it translate into sales? Well, the Fiesta hasn’t even launched yet and won’t until the summer of 2010, so it’s still a bit early to say whether this campaign is a slam dunk. But, oh boy, it’s no air ball! Consider this: content generated by this class of 100 has resulted in more than 4.3 million video views on YouTube, more than 540,000 p

Fire in the Brand Belly
I’ve had a lot of time to think about my business life over the past several months. And I’ve come to an important conclusion: business is so personal. I say that because our lives are… right now! Whether you’re at work, at home or at play, those are your moments. How do you want to spend them? Put differently, in what state do you want to spend them? Do you want to be in a bored state, dulled and numbed into just another number at your place of work (because a number is exactly what you’ll be if you allow yourself to fall into that state)? OR, do you want to be in a state of constant exhilaration because you can’t get enough

What Would You Have Done in Adidas’ Shoes?
Put yourself in Adidas’ shoes for a moment. You’ve invested millions as a sponsor of the University of Central Florida’s men’s basketball program. And then, one of its players, who happens to be Michael Jordan’s son Marcus, refuses to wear Adidas basketball shoes in an exhibition game. Why? Because he wants to wear a pair of Nike Air Jordans in honor of his father… understandable, right? Reasonable though? Smart for Adidas? Umm… I’m

Meet the Boom and Y Online, or Bust!
I was reading from Kenneth Gronbach’s The Age Curve: How to Profit from the Coming Demographic Storm, a work in which he argues that changes in marketing and business today are based on the size of the generations we are selling to. Based on his analysis, only the Baby Boomers and Gen Yers are attractive groups. Why? They’re huge. They represent the greatest opportunity, and they are, in their own ways, significant consuming forces. Gen Xers, he says,

Social Media: Where Negatives Are Positives?
If you read my previous post (What is Socialnomics?), then you know I had the chance to review the book Socialnomics, in which author Erik Qualman offers a number of insights and observations on social media. One of those insights I’d like to share is his counsel for individuals and businesses to accept negative comments originating from social media and, in fact, to “relish the critical feedback.” Qualman feels the way he does for various reasons, which he articulates in both the book and on his blog. See