Creating Loyal Brands : Themes Of The Week...

So much content, so little time...

A weekly round-up of the themes and posts I found particularly interesting or useful.

This week took on an almost meditative flavor, with conversations around purpose, around experience, and around what the future has to offer.

What do you stand for...?
With the seemingly never-ending stream of shiny new marketing toys, several posts reminded us of the importance of standing for something.

Let's Forget the Tech and Fall Back in Love with the Idea reported on P&G's challenge to advertising creatives to connect with consumers using ideas so big, they'll work on any platform or medium.
Why Your Marketing Campaign Sucks entertainingly urged companies to forget talking about features, and instead to demonstrate a point of view.
While Purpose is Good, Shared Purpose is Better argued that companies should not just develop a purpose that aligns their values with the value they offer, but one that is also shared with their customers - and provided some great examples.

I get so experiential, baby...
With the connected world bringing an explosion in the frequency and variety of interactions between brands and customers, several posts explored the implications.

The Future of Business is Shared Experiences featured an excellent interview with Brian Solis, on why he believes customer experience is central to creating competitive advantage in the future.
Watch Your Step demonstrated that in a world of frequent interactions, it's how a brand behaves, rather than what it says, that determines how customers view its value.
While My Favorite Quote From SXSW - 'I Don't Like The Word Social' made the point that rather than thinking social media, the future demands businesses to focus on the key principles of 'social business': customer centricity, holistic experience, and word of mouth.

The future's bright...
The crystal balls were out in force, looking at many different aspects of what the future holds for marketers.

The 12 Trends That Will Rule Products In 2013 provided an excellent set of insights into the forces shaping the marketplace for products and brands.
The Future Of Retail offered a tremendous slide deck, looking at the forces disrupting the retail industry, and how it is starting to change.
IBM CEO Predicts Three Ways Technology Will Transform The Future Of Business argued that key shifts in technology will transform the way businesses are run.
The Rise of the Marketing Technologist: The CMO of the Future suggested that the CMO would a hybrid of a CIO and CTO, grounded in marketing strategy.
While What the Marketing Agency of the Future Will Do Differently explored how agencies will need to adapt to the new realities of marketing.

Finally, with the pace of change seemingly endless, We Are All Part of the Work/Life Revolution offered some degree of comfort.

Have a good weekend.