Today, Marketing Directors should be expected to provide quantifiable evidence that their marketing efforts are contributing to real business outcomes. And, as agency partners, we need to be tracking our work so we can wisely advise you, our clients, where to invest in order to be successful.

What does it take for a brand to earn your loyalty? Meeting all of your expectations? Exceeding them? A loyalty program? There's no doubt that loyalty programs can be of tremendous value to marketers. But, developing the program and getting people to join it is just the beginning of the challenge.

Identifying the right players for your internal marketing team can be a painstaking process, but it’s arguably one of the most important decisions you’ll make. Even the best employees, however, need a clear understanding of your expectations, processes and goals to operate successfully.

Ten years ago, hardly anyone was using the phrase "content marketing." Now, it seems like we can’t escape it.

You see it everywhere you go – someone with their head down looking at their mobile phone, right? You can’t even go to dinner or a meeting anymore without people making sure their phones are visible. Being 100% attentive and in tune with the company around you is now a thing of the past, because the minute that phone vibrates or rings, people jump at the opportunity to check it. And in the words of Eminem, it can leave you screaming “Snap back to reality.”

Is there anything brands want more than happy customers – customers willing to tell their friends about your great company, quality products and exceptional service?

Spring Training 2016 came around and Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon stood up in the locker room and announced, “This year, we’re going to try not to suck.” The simple phrase ended up in hashtags, on t-shirts and was coined as the team’s motivational slogan that carried them and loyal fans through their historic year.

When asked to pen a blog about my favorite Super Bowl commercial, many immediately came to mind.

Puppy. Monkey. Baby. Puppy. Monkey. Baby. That’s the proper formula for an award-winning Super Bowl spot, right?

I find myself drawn to Apple’s award-winning Super Bowl ad, 1984, not for the reasons you may think. Not because, as many people believe, it symbolizes a heroic revolt against tyranny or the celebration of individuality, or the empowerment of the common man, but because of the irony of the message in the context of today’s technology-driven culture.

Have you ever stopped and just listened? Listened to how much sound is around you? Perhaps take a moment right now. Stop what you’re doing, and just listen. There are so many sounds that we’ve become accustomed to in our day-to-day lives that we often just tune them out automatically. The Super Bowl is no exception. The event is wall-to-wall sound. From the gameplay itself, the fans, all the transitions in and out of play, the announcers, the half time show and of course, the commercials. Advertisers have a lot of competition during the Super Bowl. How can we stand out above all the rest, above all that sound?

A Super Bowl ad aspires to capture the hearts and minds of 110 million people watching the game. Newcastle proved you don’t have to actually appear on TV during the Super Bowl to do that.