Add to Technorati Favorites

Friday, February 29, 2008

Stay Tuned!

The LinkedIn Group "Shopper Insights and Marketing Professionals" is growing faster than I could have imagined. There are some really interesting and eager members. In order to realize the vision for creating real community and giving you the information you need to succeed, I am in the process of developing a new website. The new site will feature (as a start):

Interesting Blog Authors on subjects you care about

Cool Trends in: Design, Consumer Psychology, What's Next, Communication, Metrics/Measurement.

New technologies and methods related to Shopper Marketing and Shopper Insights

Shopper Marketers telling their storoes from all over the world

The "Guru" of the Week Feature

Marketplace (Books, essays, job listings, eventsm etc.)

Social Networking/Idea Forum


I am moving quickly to get this started, it's gotta be awesome though, so give me a little time.

This is a great time to be a marketer. We can bring joy to EVERY shopping experience, that is my goal. You are some of the smartest people in the business world, we can do this.


Jason Buschlen

Phrases I Wish Were Banned from the Business Vernacular

Although I've certainly been guilty of it myself, I hate lingo. It shows a lack of creativity in using words, also most people say ise the lingo without even realizing it. Here are some phrases that should be banned:

"At the End of the Day..."

"And Oh By the Way..."

"I'm working in the [such and such] "space"... (I think this started in the tech field, where they all wanted to actually be in space.)

"Organic Growth"... (Most of us are not involved with organic anything, unless you live on a farm or have an infant.)


What are your favorite phrases to hate?

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Rescued from the Sea of Sameness

The problem with the old way of doing category management, in my humble opinion, is that it treated all retailers and shoppers the same; creating a homogeneous retail environment, a Sea of Sameness.


I don't think what we are doing now will necessarily go away; things like critical thinking, POS sales analysis and Space management. However, the convergence of category management and shopper marketing is fast becoming a reality.

Here are my thoughts:

- Ability to make shopper segmentation actionable in the retail environment

- Willingness on the part of manufacturers to embrace a shopper centric retail environment (meaning one-size fits all will not be effective)

- People with the ability to think in "symphony", be great designers and master storytellers, as Dan Pink says in his book a Whole New Mind.

What skill sets do you think shopper marketers need to have to rescue themselves from this sea of sameness?

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Latent Design Aspirations and the Future of Shopper marketing

Fashion, Technology, Small Appliances; all have caught on to the importance of great design. Design creates an emotional connection between the product and the Consumer.
Great design will permeate CPG and retail in ways that will make lives better and our jobs as marketers more exciting. I'm hearing a lot lately about two things that really go hand - in - hand: Design Democratization and Brand Storytelling. While once in the realm of the industries mentioned before, I do believe that we will see design become a greater influence in the everyday things like food and cleaning products. Take this one step further, design and storytelling can probably will in some cases a joint effort between manufacturers and retailers. One major retailer I know is pushing manufacturers to create products just for them. What if we took that a step further and recreated the entire section of a category to accomodate the design of new products? Today in many instances a product is well designed and the brand certainly delivers an emotional connection. Many times it is completely lost when stuffed on a crowded retail shelf. What if we were better integrated so that the product design and the retail experience were in-synch with each other. This seems like a way to create real customer loyalty for both brands and retailers.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Thoughts from THE Conference on Marketing

I had the opportunity to attend THE Conference on Marketing last week (thanks Maria!!!) It was, without question, one of the most rewarding experiences I've had. My wife, Kyra was also able to come with me. Instead of just hanging out by the pool or going shopping, she came with me to the conference. It was great for her. She is a stay at home Mom and it really ignited a passion in her to restart a business idea she started working on a while ago. So cool!
This was unlike other conferences, the relationships built there seemed more real and authentic; less schmoozy. Maybe it was because Keith Ferrazzi kicked it all off. If you haven't read Never Eat Alone www.nevereatalone.com , be sure to pick it up; it's a must read. Keith said all business relationships are personal relationships, just in a business context. He led the group in a series of exercises, each one leading to more openness and authenticity with total strangers. My expeirence in the Fortune 500 has only seen pockets this authentic realationship dynamic Keith describes. Everyone is longing for real connection, talking shop and only revealing the surface doesn't allow for it. I'm going to change how I engage with the people in my world; it's risky, but I do think the payoff is a richer life.
Malcom Gladwell was great. He talked about innovation. He related innovation to two prolific artists, Picasso and Cezanne. Picasso's early work is his most coveted today; he had the instant hit. Cezanne, on the other hand, perfected his craft over many years and nothing he produced before the age of 50 or 60 will ever be seen in a museum. The U.S., he said, is hooked on the Picasso approach. We want the big hit now. I think this is driven by Wall Street pressures, public companies live from quarter to quarter; it stifles long term innovation because they need to hit a number now. That's how we get the 20th variety of pickle, where the only real difference is how it got cut! Gladwell had lots of great Cezanne-esque examples of innovation. Wonderful things like Fleetwood Mack and...Viagra, would have never come to fruition in a Picasso oriented organization.
I highly recommend attending next year's conference. Krista Vaquez and her counterparts at IIR do a fabulous job.

Don't Taze Me Bro! This is is just what I think should happen.

First of all, I think Shopper Marketing is the New Marketing; just like Red is the new Black. (A sales lady once told me this while I was buying a new Coach bag for my wife) Shopper Marketing is not a path to simply get another display on the retail floor (although that certainly can happen). I think if brand marketers do not change their paradigm on this point, the competition will take advantage of that weakness.
Shopper Marketing is the blend of the retailer's strategy fused with the brand's, or should I say category's. It's about moving the marketing spend closer to the point of purchase. The way we are measuring return now seems wrong to me. We take a very short term view and it is predicated on merchandising support, not other important metrics like awareness. Thank goodness for the P.R.I.S.M. project. http://instoremarketer.org/?q=node/5779 Hopefully, this will help all of us change our point of view on what Shopper Marketing is and what it isn't.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Let's Have A Talkfest

Well, I first must admit, this is my first attempt at blogging. Really, it is very much "me", because writing is a long-lost passion of mine. There are a lot of cool business things I want to write about, but you may also find other interesting topics as well on this site. Hopefully, we can create a community of passionate visionaries shaping the future of shopper marketing and shopper insights. I am on a personal mission...that is to invigorate the people around me to foster a love for consumers, tell great stories about them that lead to innovative design and communication. I want part of our legacy to reshape grocery shopping into an enjoyable experience for all.

So let's start talking!

What are you passionate about? Why?
What is keeping you awake at night?