QVIews

Following up with people you met at a conference is always going to be challenging. Surely the whole point of beginning a personal relationship is negated by sending out a one-size-fits-all followup email and/or package. In her column at ClickZ, Karen Gedney discusses a followup model developed by 2Value Consulting and its principal Ranan Lachman.…

Keep an eye out for a new fashion clothing boutique called American Apparel. It’s SO cool because there are no labels on the clothing, and the stores look like art galleries, and the owner tauts his commitment to American immigrant-made clothing for which he pays a living wage (although he not too welcoming of the…

Marketing results data is often proprietary, but Apple Computer is proud to share the results of designing its new Apple Stores for a better customer experience. Thanks to Tim Manners of Reveries Cool News of the Day for spotting this story and to USA Today’s Jefferson Graham for such a thorough analysis. Not surprisingly, this…

At the Advertising Technology conference in New York last week, the theme was "Marketing in the Age of Consumer Control." We learned many useful new concepts to help us in sharing marketing tasks with our now more sophisticated customer base: 1) The best brands will be those whose customers tell the best stories. 2) CGM:…

Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal had a front page article (subscription required) about environmental activists who’ve gone to work for corporations they formerly fought, in hopes of steering those companies from within to a more consistent and effective approach to protecting the environment. At the Net Impact conference, we heard from an environmental activist who now…

At the Net Impact conference last week in New York, one of the speakers was Harriet Fulbright, widow of the Senator William Fulbright for whom the well-known Fulbright Fellowships are named. Ms. Fulbright pointed out that social capital comes in two types: 1)  Bonding – the social capital arising from connected or like-minded people who…

The Art of Possibility by the Zanders (he’s the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic) must be some book. I haven’t read it yet, but I just added it to my wish list. This book was featured years ago in Fast Company, and just last week the leader of Creative Leaps recommended it. I’d love comments…

This year’s Net Impact conference was a big, energizing experience. Held at the Columbia Graduate School of Business (my alma mater), we had hundreds of speakers and professionals as well as students. Everyone was overflowing with information, and unlike the Ad Tech conference I attended at the beginning of the week, there was no hype!…

At the Net Impact conference yesterday I saw a presentation called "Fair Trade Coffee: A Sustainable Development." Speakers from Green Mountain Coffee and Pura Vida Coffee emphasized that an important part of their marketing program is communicating how farming families are sustained by the higher prices paid for certified Fair Trade coffee. The quality of…

I haven’t been blogging because I’ve been in New York City at two conferences. It’s not that there isn’t a lot to say, it’s just so hard to figure out what to say first. Conferences are extremely important to my ability to innovate because they force me to change my perspective. And the first thing…