Insights

As consumer behaviors change and evolve so do those of brands and marketers. No longer do we live in a world of one-way promotional messaging, but one where consumers have the power to interact, change, and mold a brand. In our 60-second guide to millennials, we note that 62% of

Welcome back from another holiday break. What better way to kick off the new year than by legitimizing your holiday binge-watching? Let’s take a closer look at a few classic films and see how you can use some of the most memorable scenes to your advantage. Home Alone “This is

There’s one source of unquestioned authority on anything related to internet search: Google. So it’s worth paying attention when Google CEO Sundar Pichai drops some new insight, as he did in their last quarterly earnings call just over a month ago. Pichai announced that for the first time ever, there

One of the most common questions we hear about connecting with millennials is how to do it without alienating other audiences. We say: alienate them. You can’t target any audience when you aren’t focused. Trying to connect with millennials while catering to other audiences is like playing darts while wearing

The personal brand. It’s important to millennials, but what does it matter to corporate brands, and the people tasked with promoting them? As millennials are building their personal brands, they’re using products and companies to convey something about themselves. Tapping into this phenomenon could be an extremely successful and authentic

We’ve all been there. A client or team member mentions making a viral video and we all slouch down and cringe. Not because the idea of making great video content is scary, but because the goal of creating something that will go viral is a risky one that is out

People talk about the physical world and the digital world as two separate places – but they’re not. They’re one place, called the modern world. Consumers live in this world. And as marketers, we need to transcend bits and atoms, to create magical moments and meaningful conversations no matter where,

There is no question: Taylor Swift knows what she’s doing. As an entertainer, a performer, and – most importantly – as a marketer, Swift is killing it. In only a few years, she has become one of the most beloved and buzzed about musicians in the country. With 50.5 million

Six months ago I shared with you a manifesto of sorts, my personal credo to "Dare Mighty Things." This statement is based on a quote from Teddy Roosevelt and it is a daily reminder for me to be willing to risk much, even if it means failing more often. A

In-store marketing can be the baptismal waters for immersion into your brand. Done wrong, it’ll be completely invisible – or even worse, an absolute annoyance. Done right, it’ll lead your customer to do exactly what you want. So how can you do in-store marketing the right way? Here are a

If you’re like most companies, your sales are a quiet affair. Your customers move through the purchasing process privately, making decisions and buying products without broadcasting it to the world. Take Josie for example. She’s attracted by your latest ad campaign, explores what you have to offer, decides she wants

Millennials are living in the digital world. They are fully immersed – communicating on social media, shopping online, streaming movies – and blurring the line between physical and digital more than ever before. While TV reigned supreme as the top advertising medium for decades, the cable cutting generation is in

As the CMO of a top entertainment brand you’ve got a sharp eye on your metrics. Above all, I bet you’re tracking sales numbers carefully. Sales are important, sure, but they look backward instead of forward. By focusing only on sales, you’re missing an opportunity to drive numbers instead of

The digital world moves quickly. Every day there’s a new trend or term popping up that requires us to determine its relevancy and figure out if and how it applies to our work. These terms change frequently, so we don’t expect our clients to know every current buzzword and be

Anyone who's responsible for the communications and marketing efforts of their brand certainly understands the importance of having a meaningful presence on social media. But if your brand hopes to engage millennials, having a presence is not nearly enough. In a day and age where 81 percent of Twitter users

Imagine if you could double, triple, or even quadruple your branded content and simultaneously improve your brand’s reputation without spending a single dollar. That would be amazing, right? No, this isn’t a sleazy sales pitch for snake oil, and it’s not a fairy tale. There’s a ready gold mine of

Millennials will spend money with brands that speak to them authentically. They will not spend money on brands that talk at them in tired, traditional, and overtly manipulative ways. Too many marketers focus on only the mechanics and wonder why the results don't follow. In order to drive sales among

It’s that time of year when tens of thousands of people from around the world descend on Austin, Texas for South by Southwest (SXSW), a nearly two-week long music, film and interactive festival. For many, it’s one huge party – but for brands, it’s the holy grail of marketing. Attendees

Pinned to the wall, next to my phone, is a quote by Teddy Roosevelt. The first line reads, “Far better it is to dare mighty things.” This quotation is my daily reminder not to be afraid of failure. To be willing to take big risks – even if it means losing a

This is the third, in a three-part series on the “how” of Design Thinking. In the second of this three-part series, Strategy informed us we need bridge. A bridge so beautiful it will make you weep. So let's get started. Picture a large bridge spanning a body of water. Go ahead. Close

This is the second, in a three-part series on the “how” of Design Thinking. In the first of this three-part series about Design Thinking, Tim Smith talked about Discovery and how Skidmore digs under every rock, heads outside to talk to customers and walks a mile in our client’s shoes

This is the first, in a three-part series on the "how" of Design Thinking. This blog began as a question posed during a recent studio planning meeting: "Should we give away our secret sauce?" The idea on the table was to go deeper into Skidmore's Design Thinking process and share

More quantifiable proof: Good Design is Good for Business. A recent study reported in Fast Company proves that companies that embrace Design Thinking outperform those that don’t by a whopping 228 percent.1 You read that right – 228 percent. The analysis, completed by the Design Management Institute, looked at companies

Two events happened in Detroit this week that exemplified the mindsets which exist within two of Detroit’s very different worlds – the sports world and the business world. The first was an announcement by GM that the Cadillac brand is moving to New York. The second was when one of