The Creative Capital for Hipsters
Choosing where you live determines a number of important things: whether or not you need a car, if you will live in a house or an apartment, and in it’s own way the types of industries you can work in....
View ArticleSpotlight on Trader Joes: hip, cool and off-beat
Poring over the Q2 data of our CultureQ research, I of course found countless insights about those big-name brands I expected to dominate the discussions—blue chip brands like Apple, Ford, and Nike,...
View ArticleMillennials and Libertarian ideals
With the Presidential election fast approaching, politics have been top of mind for many of the Millennials we’ve been speaking to in the US through CultureQ. In research last December, many started...
View ArticleWhat makes a brand a favorite?
Our latest CultureQ study, which was conducted over the summer, is focused on understanding the attributes that distinguish a favorite brand from those of a category leader, and a good brand citizen....
View ArticleBrand Mitt: will he shape the 2012 political debate?
In October 2008, Barack Obama won Ad Age’s Marketer of the Year, beating Apple, Zappo’s, Nike, and Coors. He then went on to win the White House in great part because of his carefully crafted brand....
View ArticleObama: hopeful about America
Hope. What follows it? Especially when you’ve yet to achieve the things you set out to do. Faith. Gratitude. Humility. Action. Although in the run-up to the DNC Barack Obama’s campaigning had lost the...
View ArticleSpotlight on Google: don’t be evil
Quick, answer this question: How many miles is the earth’s surface from the moon? Time’s up. Did you get around 238,857 miles? More importantly, how did you get that answer? Chances are you Googled it....
View ArticleGood Brand Citizenship, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy
October 29th 2012. No power. No cell phone reception. No water – we’re on a well. This is our situation in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. It could have been so much worse. Whole communities across the...
View ArticleMillennials: Humor them
It was Nick Shore’s MTV Insights Article “Q: What’s the Opposite of Nirvana?” that led me to question the role humor plays in the lives of Millennials and explore a bit more about how marketers are...
View ArticleWhat’s next for brands? Seven lessons from 2012.
As we’re awaiting the final results of our end of year study to gain a more in-depth understanding of the Zeitgeist, we’ve been discussing what’s next for brands in 2013 based upon our learning from...
View ArticleEnhancing consumer’s daily lives & their communities fosters brand loyalty
In 2013, we expect to see more leadership brands addressing local issues that are pertinent to their consumers’ lives before they campaign on behalf of global challenges. Why? In many ways,...
View ArticleBrands: nurturing deeper connections is good business
Insights from our CultureQ study this Fall revealed technology brands are setting expectations for brand leaders across categories. From industries as diverse as confectionary, retail, home cleaning...
View ArticleGen Y: Then there’s the reality
Lazy, obese, and pampered. A few choice myths bandied around about my generation (Millennials). And, of course, then there’s reality. Our latest round of CultureQ (December 2012) reveals we’re actually...
View ArticleAmazon: Keep calm & consistently practice good brand citizenship
Poor Amazon. What a difficult few months it has experienced. Back in Summer/Autumn 2012, the brand that defines Internet retailing was riding the crest of a wave. Our CultureQ participants ranked it as...
View ArticleJ.C. Penney: we learned to listen to you
To secure loyalty, a brand’s experience should reflect its consumers’ values, lifestyles and interests, sincerely deliver its promise and credibly reflect its heritage. People want to see themselves as...
View ArticleBrand Citizenship™: a 360 model democratizing CSR
As we’ve again been reviewing participants’ hopes, dreams and fears for 2013 from our last round of CultureQ quant, we can’t help but be reminded that people are seeking greater signs of unity. Our...
View ArticleThe myth of globalization
I’ve just finished reading MegaChange 50: The world in 2050, written by a group of writers from the Economist. As the title suggests, the book gives a view on the trends shaping the world and its...
View ArticleCool observations on hot days
Summer is the perfect time to people watch, catch up on those podcasts you’ve been meaning to review, and indulge in news articles. So, after a summer of reading, researching, reflecting and of course...
View ArticleWorld Z
Gen Z: 15 years and younger. Born after 1997. 68 million of them. Only 54% are Caucasian. As the oldest of this blooming generation approach the end of high school (or according to some demographer,...
View Article3-2-1…Make a difference
The conversation about brands doing good is become more and more mainstream. And, as it is, more and more of our CultureQ respondents are telling us that businesses soon will no longer have a choice...
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