Google Search and the undecided voter in the US Presidential election

Who searches Google? Is the question to ask when we think about the all-important undecided voter, in this US Presidential election. According to Business Insider quoting a study, by Politico and George Washington University, the undecided voter is estimated to be a single Protestant white young women 18-29 years old without a college degree whoContinue reading “Google Search and the undecided voter in the US Presidential election”

Unsustainable Food Packaging Innovation: Shrink wrapped peeled bananas

When Billa Supermarkets in Austria decided to unpeel bananas and shrink wrap them there was enough consumer outrage against the German owned Billa supermarket to withdraw the unsustainable food packaging innovation.  It also turns out the Billa Supermarkets call themselves environmentally conscious and the unpeeled bananas became a matter for Facebook protest right on theContinue reading “Unsustainable Food Packaging Innovation: Shrink wrapped peeled bananas”

Sustainable innovation in the supply chain: over 2 kilos of trash/person/day

According to the EPA in 2010 each person in the US put out Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)- popularly known as  garbage/trash  equal to 4.43 lb or  over 2 kilos per day. If you look at the number of garbage cans on the weekly trash collection days- you know that the number has not decreased andContinue reading “Sustainable innovation in the supply chain: over 2 kilos of trash/person/day”

How the Internet affects business: top of the sales funnel and an instant reference- “value” check

Most organizations that are not pure-play internet (like Amazon.com) do not seem fully understand how the Internet affects their business. The  top of the sales funnel and an instant reference- “value” check are two ways the internet affects your business: Internet can fill top of the sales funnel: And this can be huge. Between searchContinue reading “How the Internet affects business: top of the sales funnel and an instant reference- “value” check”

Campbell’s Soup focuses on millennials with Moroccan Style Chicken Soup

Sounds like Chicken Soup for the soul– but this time the 140 year old Campbell's Soup is trying to reach millennials for whom mere Chicken Soup is not enough. Leading the transformation at Campbell Soup is CEO, Denise Morrisson who had spoken at the Yale Conference last year. Millennials  (Gen Y)  are far more openContinue reading “Campbell’s Soup focuses on millennials with Moroccan Style Chicken Soup”

The Smiley Curve of Innovation-celebrating the American spirit 4th of July

This is the July 4th weekend in America and celebrations are  underway – and it's a great time to think about the Smiley Curve of Innovation. The Smiley Curve came to my attention reading Fareed Zakaria's great book "The Post-American World," and here are some thoughts on "The Smiley Curve of  Innovation " this AmericanContinue reading “The Smiley Curve of Innovation-celebrating the American spirit 4th of July”

Why and how does Orbitz steer Mac users to upscale hotel rooms?

Orbitz the travel website is being criticized for segmenting the market between those who arrive at their website via Macs compared to PC's. The question is why and how does Orbitz do so? But first the marketing logic of "why" for this segmentation. The Mac user is distinctly different from the PC user in thatContinue reading “Why and how does Orbitz steer Mac users to upscale hotel rooms?”

Company website deals don’t seem to reach distributor salespeople

Just as  gas gets cheaper and Auto sales rev up for the July 4th holiday it is surprising that salespeople at auto dealers don't seem to assume that a customer is very likely to have checked on the website offers of the manufacturer. This disconnect between company website and distributor salespeople  is amazing because todayContinue reading “Company website deals don’t seem to reach distributor salespeople”

Making value explicit in innovation: Gillette razors last five weeks

If you spent 1 Billion $ in product development in a low-tech category like shaving razors with a powerful brand like Gillette, the shaving experience should be enough.It was true till the economy slowed. And Gillette market share dropped 3% between 2010 and 2012. And now Gillette is apparently revealing a razor industry secret, i.e. how long a shaving razor lasts according to Fortune. If you are wondering, its five weeks….

Organizational bases of power: what’s up and what’s down with the Internet ?

"Power" in distribution channels is a fascinating topic and so is the notion of organizational power on which Jeffery Pfeffer had a book out that this blog discussed in an earlier post. But this post is about the six bases of power (see the lower part of the Wikipedia page)  that seem to be changingContinue reading “Organizational bases of power: what’s up and what’s down with the Internet ?”