Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny – all brand promises gone awry.  But our parents had it right. These major disappointments were merely preparation for the big stage; preparation for our move into the real world where companies and their brand promises often disappoint. Broken promises, whether expressed or implied, can destroy confidence and loyalty. Worse, it can create general apathy. Take the current Washington debacle...

There is something just plain fun about the idea of participating in a “flash mob.”  A phenomenon that reached popularity in the mid 2000’s, flash mobs were originally used as a form of artistic expression or performance art. As popularity increased, businesses sought to capitalize on this trend, incorporating flash mobs into their marketing efforts. Companies like T-Mobile and Ray-Ban organized these events to increase visibility...

Cherry Garcia, Chunky Monkey, Chubby Hubby – have I lost you yet? Of course not! We all know these as top-selling Ben & Jerry’s flavors. What most don’t know, however, is that all of these flavors were developed by B & J fans. Yes, an excellent example of crowdsourcing. Ditto for Dunkin’ Donuts. When the company wanted to highlight the “mixology” of its Coolatta drinks, it asked consumers to help them develop a custom...

As a “newbie” to the South by Southwest festival (SXSW), I had the opportunity to experience what many attending the conference take for granted and others might have a hard time imagining. Here is what I saw… Thousands of individuals – laptops, tablets and iPhones in hand – checking in on Foursquare, tweeting, texting, sharing on Instagram, posting to Facebook – basically engaging with every type of social channel to...

Back in the days when we were carving our messages on stone tablets, undoubtedly some mother spoke these admonishing words, “Don’t put anything in writing that you don’t want everyone to read.”  And undoubtedly the writer rolled his or her eyes. Flash forward a few thousand years. The eyes are still rolling, but the message has morphed as the tools have changed. And now I have writer’s block… for the third time while starting...