I love this. Big ups to Mark Cuban and everyone trying to help SMBs in these unprecedented times. #smallbusiness #smallbusinesslife #smallbizowner #smallbiztips #smbs #smallbusinesstips #smallbusinessadvice …see more

‪Back in the day, the reason Netflix scrapped the Netflix Player (that became the Roku Player) was because the strategy shifted to one of ubiquity. Be on every device rather than compete with hardware. So this deal with Samsung Electronics isn’t really shocking to me as it is an extension of that. ‬ #Netflix #Samsung #streaming #strategy #strategicthinking …see more

I am all for this. One of the key things missing in some companies is knowledge sharing. When knowledge is shared, everyone has more context. And when everyone has more context, they make better business decisions. This also helps to build that mega-critical element of business - company culture. Inspired our time Netflix , friend/colleague, Gary Kenji McMath and I established "Lunch and Learn" sessions (we gave a few as well) at a previous employer. It was a great way for people who were not exposed to certain parts of the business to gain insights into how and why decisions were being made - context. I highly recommend doing a form of this. #knowledgesharing #companyculture …see more

For those espousing that the one off-brand TV ad made by Peloton Interactive recently is going to damage their brand, think again. As consumers, we are forgiving and forgetful. Want proof? Practically everyone I ask these days hasn't even heard of Netflix 's Qwikster decision let alone remember it? And believe me, at the time it felt the company's brand might implode due to the outrage. We went back to executing against the brand position and sure enough, life got back to normal. So slow your roll, it's one ad. And it'd have to be a magnitude worse than it was to have any long-term impact. Also, would be helpful if Peloton would just say nothing and move on. Any response looks weak and keeps the "controversy" going. #peloton #advertising #marketing #netflix #qwikster #businessdecisions #brand #communications #pr …see more

T-Mobile announced that CEO, John Legere is stepping down. It will be interesting the see what happens with the T-Mobile brand, something he has been a large driver of. Especially now that they and Sprint are set to merge. #tmobile #sprint #merger #brand #brandmerger #brandmanagement #business …see more

I saw a fair number of people dunking on this thinking that somehow it was a bad idea for Nestlé 's DiGiorno brand to renege on their slogan of "It's not delivery, it's DiGiorno." Except that is precisely why this works. First off, it is intentionally a short-term marketing stunt. One that has received a lot of earned media, which I'm guessing means that it has already achieved its goal. Much in the same way we once turned the Netflix DVD mailer from its signature red to green as a co-promotion with DreamWorks Animation for Shrek. Again, lots of earned media (brand building, as well since it demonstrated a love of movies) The consistency is what allows this kind of stunt to work. Btw, I'm not using stunt pejoratively either. #pizza #nestle #netflix #digiorno #brand #marketing …see more

Excellent, quick read on why startups should avoid automation from Netflix co-founder, Marc Randolph . Can’t wait to read his book.

When I wrote in 2014 that 'the internet will mesh with the very fabric of reality' we were a ways off. After reading about the alleged capabilities of 5G, I think it might finally happen. Which is equally terrifying (hacking) as it is exciting. #5G #iot #interenet #internetofthings #futuretech #futurethinking …see more

Just a gentle reminder that, unless you have the brand awareness of Nike , it is always a good idea to add a call-to-action with a URL or app store icon so you can track the performance of your OOH (out-of-home) advertising. #marketing #brand #brandmarketing #ooh #cta #helpcustomers #marketingtip …see more

The reason to do tie-ins like these with HBO 's "Game of Thrones," is because psychographics of the audience overlaps with your target consumers and the partnership will elevate your brand. I'm not entirely convinced that all of these deals fit those criteria. Also, there is a saturation point at which the partnership is not viewed as unique and interesting by consumers. I suspect that the tipping point is well below 100 partnerships. #cobranding #marketing #hbo #gameofthrones #marketingpartnerships #advertising #tieins …see more

I’ve been mulling the seeming “race toward the generic” happening with brands over the past few years. Companies are looking and sounding like each other more and more. And while this excellent piece by Tom Roach at BBH London is more skewed toward advertising, the same applies to brand. In fact, to me, the root cause of the advertising dilemma is due to companies not doing the brand work up front to understand what role they need to play in peoples’ lives. #brand #advertising #marketing #racingtowardthegeneric #sameness …see more

This is mind-numbingly bad. Not only did Chevrolet give free advertising to both Toyota North America and Honda of America Mfg., Inc. by saying their names and showing their logos but the entire basis for the ad was a rigged survey (which, sadly, is less surprising). Nicely done, Chevy. #marketing #advertising #tvadvertising #chevy #honda #toyota #truthinadvertising #brand #secondplacebrand …see more

Uber launches a subscription with a much clearer value prop for consumers - pay a monthly fee ($14.99 in select cities, $24.99 in Los Angeles) and your ride prices are fixed and not affected by surges. Oh, and there’s no limit to the number of rides customers can take each month. Easy to understand. This stands in stark contrast to Lyft 's rather strangely convoluted subscription wherein you pay $299 a month, get 30 rides at the rate of up to $15 but pay the difference if you go over $15. Um, yeah, they're basically saying to consumers, "you do the math." #lyft #uber #ridesharing #valuepropositions #subscription #marketing …see more

Not terribly surprising after seeing WhatsApp Inc. founder Jan Koum quit Facebook over a disagreement about privacy and advertising earlier this year. And for those of us who use and enjoy Instagram , we could see Facebook 's advertising fingerprints suddenly all over the UX. From the sharp increases in the volume of oddly targeted ads by wannabe influencers to the increasing monetization of Stories, so this seemed inevitable. I don't hate on the fact that Facebook is an ads business and as such needs to make that model work for everything they make or buy (not an endorsement on their allowance of data use by 3rd parties though nor their "we just created it" shrug to handling bad actors). Nor do I hate on Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger for leaving. I'm just going to miss the Instagram of old. #socialmedia #facebook #instagram #startups #whatsapp …see more

It’s interesting to see the ongoing acquisitions in direct-to-consumer spaces whether it’s CPG or, in this case, mattresses. Btw, Tuft & Needle has no outside funding which means their acquisition by Serta is a huge win for it’s cofounders. #directtoconsumer #acquisitions #mergers #tuftandneedle #serta #funding #consumables #mattresses …see more

Nice peek inside Trader Joe's formula for success from Denise Yohn . #traderjoes #companyculture #culture #managementstyle …see more

I have to agree with Justin Bariso , this was a bad idea through and through (though I'm sure it made them feel great at the time). If nothing else, at no point should you ever spend marketing $ and mention your competition by name.

Alex Shapiro writes about how the COVID-19 crisis is changing the comms playbook in enterprise IT markets. https://lnkd.in/e3ax2Ua #marketing , #siliconvalley , #enterprisemarketing , #publicrelations …see more

The first 18 months of being an ambassador to Silicon Valley have been frustrating reports Denmark's Casper Kringle . I sympathize because the problem with Silicon Valley is that there is no there there. Therefore there's no interface for "TechPlomacy" (a dreadful term like "ideation".) https://lnkd.in/enaBm4B #siliconvalley …see more

San Francisco has been at the center of many media innovations stretching back to gold rush days when it had a dozen daily newspapers. Join me for a discussion about the future of content marketing and corporate media — this eve in North Beach, San Francisco! Media Salon Tuesday April 17 - 811 Sansome St SF 5.00pm to 9.00pm Can Every Company Be A Media Company?! - Lessons and insights in an age of fractured media and trust I'll be interviewing Ken Kaplan from Intel and Fred Davis co-founder of Wired magazine. You will go home with plenty of great ideas! …see more