Every good marketing school will teach you to value the brand. But when do you let go of a brand rather than force it into an identity that just isn't true to it's personality? I've seen more and more brands of yesteryear try to reposition themselves -- with little success. Take Oldsmobile for example. The heritage of this brand spans back 111 years. Founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it was acquired by General...

Marketing is too short term. People demand more control over their interactions (with each other, with brands, and with media), and for the most part they get what they ask for. But to effectively engage people, especially in an environment socially charged by technology, the only way companies can realistically communicate with individuals is to do so over a longer time frame. But that significantly changes how agencies and marketers use their staff and keep the creative...

Having past experience with ethnographic research, I certainly can attest to the unbelievable value you get from observing people. I'm shocked more companies don't do more of this, but I guess everyone is still bogged down in quantitative data. The problem is, quantitative data tells you 'what' is happening (assuming that you ask the right questions or know what to look for), but what it doesn't do is tell you 'why' people are behaving that...