rehumanize

Show your support.  Let Congress know your point of view on SOPA and PIPA.

Medtronic has selected BD'M to help tell is corporate story, and what a story it is.  From two guys in a garage in 1955, the first pacemaker, to a $16 billion leader in medical technology.  And what's rare about them is their culture – they haven't changed a single word in their mission statement since it was written in 1960, and every employee can recite it by heart.  You don't usually that in companies of this size.

We've all seen the brief: raise awareness, shape new customer behaviors, launch a new product and generate revenue. Historically, this brief has been answered through an advertising campaign.  But in a world in which collaboration and experiences often trump one way communications, gaming is fast becoming a bankable marketing strategy. A while back I attended a thought-provoking presentation by Dr. Jane McGonigal , a leading game designer and researcher, about the social benefits of gaming.  Dr. McGonigal believes that gamers exhibit four personality traits that are essential for problem solving: urgent optimism social collaboration blissful productivity epic meaning Perhaps inspired by Albert Einstein's quote – "Games are the most elevated form of investigation." – her work focuses on ways to harness gamers' collective intelligence and creativity to solve societal challenges, such as imagining a world without oil, or new ways to bring water to sub-Sa

A big issue confronting marketers is the shrinking middle class consumer.  Let's call them the 66%, after accounting for the famed 1% and the 33% of Americans living near or below poverty levels (an even bigger issue). The middle class, a core target for most marketers, is hurting because technology and process-driven productivity increases is eliminating middle management jobs in manufacturing and service industries. In 2011 marketers witnessed what the WSJ calls the "Barbell Effect."  Marketers catering to wealthy consumers fared relatively well.  Sales at Saks and Nordstrom were strong, as were sales for Mercedes, Land Rover, Porsche and BMW.  At the other end of the "barbell," sales at dollar stores and discount chains spiked as the middle class traded down, causing marketers such at Heinz and P&G to focus on discounting and bargain brands. What should marketers do?  I'd suggest CMOs look at what Hyundai has done over the last few years to dri