Never go to the grocery market hungry. If you do, you'll come home with much more than you went for, and with some items that you would never buy. That’s because when you’re hungry, everything sounds good, right? And you’re not finished shopping until you’ve grabbed a few of the impulse items at the checkout stand. It’s too easy to grab the Kit Kat and throw it in your cart.

When we discuss targeting capabilities of various digital platforms, clients often use the term ‘creepy.’ People can be a bit uneasy with the realization that they are being targeted with ads based on their own actions, purchases and self-reported information.

A few months ago, eMarketer reported that U.S. adults now spend an average of 12 hours and seven minutes with media each day. This is a double-edge sword for marketers. We know that people are highly engaged with media, but where do you start in reaching them effectively?

You know most of what you need to know about your industry, your customers and your competition. You could look at a survey and predict 90% of the answers, right? That’s the story of my career. I know my clients and their industries very well. But I keep pitching primary research to them. And it’s all so that I can make a buck!

With the constant changes in social media, it’s harder than ever to figure out exactly what you should (or shouldn’t) be doing for your brand. Lucky for you, I’m here to lay it down, with a few simple tips that will make 2018 your best year yet! 

You might agree that a strong brand leads to more sales and customer loyalty. But, how do you know if your brand is weak or strong? I recently wrote about the top 5 factors of a strong brand. Here’s the list that you don’t want to relate to.

When I was 14 years old, my mom went on the Atkins diet. She was not alone. In fact, at the height of its popularity, one in eleven North American adults claimed to be on a low-carb diet such as Atkins. Good for all of those adults willingly trying to live a better life, but no one mentions the casualties. I’m talking about the thousands of children, like myself, who were forced to go without pasta and bread for months on end. Because when mom goes on a diet, the entire house goes on a diet. My mom, like many, held the keys to the food kingdom. This was one of the first times in my life that I realized my mother was in complete and carb-free control.

The phrase “artificial intelligence” can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. For some, it rouses fear of sentient machines vying to control the world. For others, it is an example of incredible scientific achievement. Whether you fear A.I. or revere it, you can be certain of one thing: artificial intelligence isn’t the future. It’s the now.

If you’re reading this blog on a web browser in the US, there is a 30%* chance that you’re using an adblocker right now (roughly twice as likely as in 2014*). It’s pretty clear that internet users aren’t fond of spammy advertising on the internet.

In a world where consumers have virtually all of the control over retail purchases, they still make their choices based on brands. They know what they’re getting — whether it’s quality, price or street cred. There’s something that they value, so they choose the brand that delivers it. Those companies who have the most well-positioned brands are the easiest for consumers to choose from. But, what makes up a strong brand? These are the top five factors:

Have you ever purchased a pair of Toms shoes? Or Warby Parker glasses? Remember when the Honey Nut Cheerios bee disappeared from cereal boxes? Or that one time you were waiting in line at Walgreens and you noticed a large poster of Ben Stiller wearing a red clown nose behind the register?

Developing a marketing plan with data rather than intuition allows you to learn more about your target audience, understand what content and resources are driving these visitors through your website, and identify how to continue earning business from this audience.  The most widely used tool across all websites to gain this data is Google Analytics.  Google Analytics allows you to measure the right metrics, according to your business, and use these metrics to form future marketing strategies, objectives, and tactics.