The Up-Side Down Innovation Bell Curve | Business Innovation - Stephen Shapiro

The old model of innovation is dead…and a new model has emerged. For months now, I have been writing about the Innovation Bell Curve. If you read between the lines, you quickly realize that it is no longer a bell curve but rather more of a bimodal distribution. Therefore I have re-drawn my frequently used graphic and replaced it with the new innovation bell curve.

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The Art of Choosing - Sheena Iyengar, Columbia Business School

Another great TED presentation. We all think we're good at making choices; many of us even enjoy making them. Sheena Iyengar looks deeply at choosing and has discovered many surprising things about it. For instance, her famous "jam study," done while she was a grad student, quantified a counterintuitive truth about decisionmaking -- that when we're presented with too many choices, like 24 varieties of jam, we tend not to choose anything at all. (This and subsequent, equally ingenious experiments have provided rich material for Malcolm Gladwell and other pop chroniclers of business and the human psyche.)

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Countries are countries, not brands | Opinion | Marketing Week

The World Cup approaches and, once again, the English nation hopes against hope that it can win the tournament and finally end 44 years of hurt. Meanwhile, in South Africa the dreams are just as bold but aimed in a very different direction. FIFA's World Cup presents its hosts with, what they believe to be, their biggest ever opportunity to build a stronger country brand. That is a shame because, despite its growing popularity and firm establishment within marketing, the business of country branding or nation branding is nonsense. Countries are not brands. They are countries. Brand strategy should be reserved for brands. I may have a hammer, but it doesn't mean that every problem is shaped like a nail. Real expertise in a field is to know the limitations of that field and behave accordingly. I can appreciate the attractions of country branding. Selling a brand strategy to a public servant in Finland or Ghana must be a lot easier than pitching to a trained marketer from the likes of Unilever or Ford.

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“Authentic” is dead

It's time to retire the following phrases. They should no longer be used, ever, in any context except derisive mocking: * gapingvoid-yak-yak-yak Fast and easy * Putting customers first * The Holy Grail of * The leading provider of * Legendary customer support Also eschew these words, as devoid of meaning as a yogi's mantra and as useless as a simile that doesn't contribute new information: * gapingvoid-welcome-nobody-cares Authentic * Solution * Genuine * Powerful * Secure * Simple * Innovative * Insight * Disruptive

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Everything You Need To Know About Social Media Marketing In Seven Short Steps

Here’s everything you need to know about social media marketing in seven short steps: 1. The biggest risk with social media is in not engaging in public conversations about your brand. So, do engage yourself and encourage your employees to engage. Ask them not to do things that will embarrass themselves or you, but expect them to. All of us have embarrassed ourselves in public, more than once, so will they. It’s okay. 2. The only solution for negative conversations is more positive conversations. Responding to and resolving negative conversations is table stakes. The only way to win is by inspiring your evangelists to start and spread more positive conversations about you. So, put in place a process to track and resolve negative conversations, then focus on organizing and energizing your evangelists.

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