Three Lessons to Learn from GM

The fact that we might be able to learn a thing or two from GM is proof that even dreadfully dire situations can be salvaged. Sure, $50 billion in government loans helped a little, but a retooled marketing strategy has hastily pulled the company out of the ditch during this not-so-sound phase of modest economic [...]

Work Hard. Fly Right. Speak the Truth.

I’ve spoken before about the need for products to align with a real human need. The beleaguered airline industry has, in response to a volatile and highly competitive business climate, grown further and further away from the business of human needs. The needs for legroom, beverages, carry-on baggage, even bathroom privileges during long waits on [...]

Facebook – a 1970’s phenomenon

McDonald’s “You deserve a break today” campaign is a mainstay of 1970’s pop culture. It ranks number five in AdAge’s top 100 advertising campaigns of all time. “You deserve a break today’s” extraordinarily success lies in a perfectly timed strategy. Economic decline during the 1970’s introduced the dual family income household, starring a time-starved mom. [...]

Still the same. The power of a consistent brand positioning strategy.

Sometimes we have the luxury of starting from scratch. We’re in the process of working with a new client on a new product launch, and I was recently speaking with them about their positioning strategy. “This should be your elevator pitch in one sentence,” I advised. “Every piece of communications we develop, and every aspect [...]

You’re too busy.

In 2000, Wallpaper announced that the corporate status symbol for the new millennium wouldn’t be the latest pricey watch or wildly expensive brief case, but time.
The theory was that if you can’t take a vacation (much less lunch), you hadn’t climbed very high on the corporate ladder. Busy was going to move from being a [...]

2010 - What’s In Fashion

So here we are into the first few weeks of 2010. It’s no 1980’s conspicuous consumption flashback, but it sure feels a bit better. I honestly don’t know anyone who was sorry to see 2009 go. As we march into the third year of the new economy, it’s an ideal time to pause and reassess [...]

The New Normal

My colleague, Katy Miller, and I attended the 29th Annual Economic Outlook Conference last week at the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business. We attended last year as well, just as the economy began to diabolically unravel, and as Riggs Partners began to offer commentary through this New Economy Consumer blog.
Last year’s [...]

The Power of Authenticity

Seventh in a series analyzing seven new economy trends
There is an episode of Sex and the City in which Carrie and the girls attend a baseball game at Yankee Stadium. This scene lives in my memory because Carrie sits there in a rather empty upper deck, rather decked out—in fur.
For you male NEC followers, this [...]

The Power of Connection

Sixth in a series analyzing seven new economy trends

According to Forrester Research, only 6 percent of American consumers agree with the statement: “Companies generally tell the truth in advertising.” No wonder Word of Mouth (in its many forms) has become the marketing rage of the recession.
Word of Mouth marketing, or WOM, is made up of [...]

Knowing the Known and Unknown, Unknowns

Oliver Blanchard, in an article that appeared this month in The Economist entitled, (Nearly) Nothing To Fear But Fear Itself, argues for the necessary distinction between what he calls the “known unknowns” and the “unknown unknowns” of an economic downturn. He warns us—with a certain warmth in his syntax—of the near crippling effect that mass [...]

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New Economy Consumer Trends Localism

A rediscovery of, and intentional support of, all that is available where we live, work and play; an embracing of the diversity and options we hadn't noticed; a return to family (redefined); a focus on "home"

reducism

A distinct and intentional move away from excess, although not counter-cultural; the casting off of that which is superfluous; a focus on purity, essence; making-do, but with high standards for aesthetic design and functionality

Considerism

Supreme homage to value, redefined; every action an investment, whether time or money; the death of impulse / birth of comparative study; choice as a primary concept

D.I.Y.ism

Self-empowerment(!) creating a markedly different sense of control; an attraction to that which is experiential (and valuing the experience); creativity, renewed; the anti-immediate gratification movement

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