Publius Cornelius Tacitus, a Roman historian and politician, was born around 56 A.D. In his book Annals, he described some economic dislocation that occurred in Rome around 33 AD. Read these two paragraphs slowly. Anything ring a bell? Sound at all familiar? It’s always, always, always the same when too much debt accumulates. Eventually, the […]
Lessons From Tacitus Read More »
On several occasions, I’ve discussed 3D printing or directed you to some discussion of it. I’m here to do it again. I’ve gotten some feedback that it wasn’t practical or wasn’t going to happen quickly, but as far as I can tell it’s moving forward. Mattel has announced a $300 3D printer that will allow
3D Printing the Mattel Way Read More »
Recently, some companies have said some intriguing things about the omnichannel and the relationship between brick and mortar and online (for the record, when I say “online” I’m including mobile devices). I’ve also read some interesting things about generational behavior that made me think about the future of brands and retail structure. It’s no surprise
The Evolution Of Marketing & The Future Retail Model Read More »
Lowe’s new in store service representatives won’t need bathroom breaks, vacations, or retirement account. They won’t get sick. Hell, you don’t even have to pay them a salary. And what’s even better, or maybe worse- I’m not quite sure- is that they may be able to help me find the esoteric piece of hardware I
Lowe’s New Customer Service Representatives and the Minimum Wage Read More »
I was recently paging through a couple of Transworld consumer mags (Surf and Skate I think) and something caught my attention. I don’t know what made me notice it, but I suddenly realized there was not one non-endemic advertisement in either mag. Okay, maybe I missed one, but there was no Ford Trucks, Mountain Dew, AT&T or
An Interesting Advertising Observation; What Does it Mean? Read More »
Yes, the scuba diving industry. Maybe nine months ago Fran Richards, former VP at TransWorld and somebody whom I consider one of the best intuitive marketing guys in action sports, called me up and said, “Hey Jeff, I’ve given your name to the guys at the Dive Equipment Manufacturers Association!” “Uhhhhh, thanks Fran, that’s great, I
The Enthusiast Cycle; Lessons From the Scuba Diving Industry Read More »