Stuff We’re Talking About
This is the quite simply, the stuff that we’re talking about in the studio: cool links a friend has sent, a trend briefing, a thought from a conference we recently attended or perhaps a recap of the last episode of some terrible reality program we’re hooked on. Take a look at the stuff that we’re talking about.
In 1975 Bill Samuels, Sr., decided that Bill Samuels, Jr., was to become president. His only advice – “Don’t screw up the whisky.” It seems this counsel nearly failed to reach his grandson, and current Marker’s Mark COO, Rob Samuels. Maker’s Mark recently announced that they were altering the recipe of their popular bourbon, reducing [...]
Philter Communications and Mars-Philter are proud to support Movember, if not with facial hair, then at least with our financial donations. To support the real ‘stash in the group, click here. Or read more about Movember, as both a name and an event, from the point of view of our branding and naming partner, Andris [...]
“We’ve been talking about the smartphone being a loyalty and couponing communication device for probably 10 years. It’s now ready to be a reality.”
This week on my ‘things to achieve’ list, I included watching Never Say Never, a documentary film exploring hair flipping heartthrob Justin Bieber. It wasn’t a social experiment to see how many people would gather around the boardroom table to watch The Biebs, as much as it was a study in social marketing of people. [...]
A report from Deloitte has confirmed what many app developers already knew: most mobile apps by brands are a big flop. Rebecca Flavin, CEO of EffectiveUI says “Mobile applications are the sure fire way to extend a brand. It’s time for organizations to understand how to fully leverage the mobile channel and optimize a user-centered [...]
Layaway, a timed program that allows shoppers to pay in installments until the full amount is met, can be a competitive advantage in times of economic unrest (and when credit cards are maxed-out). Created in the 1930s to ease the financial strain of shoppers due to the great depression, layaway lost favor in recent times [...]
The recession taught North Americans a little about the value of a dollar and made most people take a good hard look at their relationship with money. In holiday spending this year we saw very small margins of growth over last. Even with the recession over, it would seem that people are still pinching a [...]
Mom is still in charge of Christmas but this year she has a new assistant, her smartphone. A Bank of Montreal survey revealed Mom is still the Canadian household’s number one purchaser, with her looking after 80 per cent of all holiday shopping. This year’s data did suggest, however, she is going about things very [...]
In 2011 a numbers of U.S based retail chains moved “North of the Border.” The Limited Brands’ Bath and Body Works and Victoria’s Secret established storefronts in Canada and now have plenty of company thanks to a flurry of new arrivals vying for the Canadian consumer’s dollar. J. Crew, Express, Marshalls and Intermix all flocked [...]
Each year members of the Mars-Philter and Philter Communications team attend the Toronto Interior Design Show to look for upcoming trends in design, colour and technology. While the latest innovations tend to reach the trade market first, this consumer show sheds light on what Canadians are buying (or at least, what they’re wishing for). It’s [...]