Essays

  Digital Empathy. Listen closely to real people to develop emotional insights. By Whitney Browne. read >>
  Divining Insight. Let your creative people take a bath in data. By Beth Ann Kaminknow. read >>

 

  First Things First. The Hub Top 20 sets new records. By Tim Manners. read >>

 

  Insanely Great. Remembering Steve Jobs and the NeXT big thing. By John Uppgren. read >>

 

  Radical Basics. One brand’s innovation is another’s price-of-entry. By Spencer L. Hapoineu. read >>

 

  Game Changer. The future of sports is in the hands of fans, not team owners. By Rick Burton. read >>

 

  The Right Question. A different kind of query can produce a fresh set of answers. By Brent Shedd. read >>

 

  Hacking for Humanity. Old-school definitions of hacking are slipping away. By John Gerzema. read >>

 

  Our Hero. It’s innovation that makes our daily lives better. By Tim Manners. read >>

 

  Restless Natives. The more things stay the same, the more they change. By Beth Ann Kaminkow. read >>

 

  Emerging Me-dia. A personal social-media strategy is essential to career success. By David Hollingsworth. read >>

 

  Under The Influence. Friends don’t let friends drive sales. By Tim Manners. read >>

 

  Just One Thing. Simplicity in brand identity is harder than it looks. By Tim Manners. read >>

 

  Straight A’s. You can get straight A’s in marketing and still flunk ordinary life. By Tim Manners. read >>

 

  Blank Canvas. Retail offers a palette of possibilities for brand creative today. By Beth Ann Kaminkow and Michael Lovegrove. read >>

 

  Joe’s Knows. Even checkout can be magical at retail. By Tim Manners. read >>

 

  Failing Forward. Even the most catastrophic debacle can lead to next-generation innovation. By Kipp Cheng. read >>

 

  Idea Club. Ideas worth buying are ideas worth fighting for. By Dino de Leon. read >>

 

  Edison Illuminated. Inventors and marketers must be joined at the hip. By Sarah Miller Caldicott. read >>

 

  When In Doubt. Our questions reveal truths that drive innovations. By Paul Lavoie. read >>

 

  Let’s Party! Let’s Party! Visit iTunes and get the Hub. By Tim Manners. read >>

 

  The Loyalty Diet. A weight-loss app could be the gold standard for building loyalty. By Spencer L. Hapoienu. read >>

 

  Trustiness. A crazy little thing called loyalty. By Tim Manners. read >>

 

  Contrary Brands. Less can be more when it comes to creating meaningful brand distinctions. By Spencer L. Hapoienu. read >>

 

  On Sale Now! Teaching old media new tricks. Please tell everyone you know: The Hub is now on sale at Barnes & Noble and Borders bookstores in the US and Canada! By Tim Manners. read >>

 

Pivot Point
  BP’s Reality. A culture that cares is a cause worth considering. By Tim Manners. (pdf) or (text)

 

Pivot Point
  Outta Insight! The Hub Top 12 reveals both undeniable progess and much work to be done. By Tim Manners. (pdf) or (text).

 

Jason Katz, Catapult
  Playing Favorites. Retailers need more than fun-and-cool stores to win shopper favor.  By Spencer L. Hapoienu. (pdf) or (text)

 

Beth Ann Kaminkow, Tracy Locke
  Embracing the Cause. Retailers and brands must work together for the shopper’s greater good. By Beth Ann Kaminkow. (pdf) or (text)

 

Seth Diamond, Catapult
  Unconventional Wisdom. Meaningful insights are more than just opinions masquerading as facts.  By Seth Diamond. (pdf) or (text)

 

Ken Barnett, Mars
  Shopper Crossroads. The new way forward is at the nexus of brand management and shopper marketing. By Ken Barnett. (pdf) or (text)

 

Beth Ann Kaminkow, TracyLocke
  Popping for Shoppers. The "pop-up" trend is driving retail innovation. By Beth Ann Kaminkow.
(pdf) or (text)

 

Cable Daniel-Dreyfus, Landor
  Beauty in Virtue. Luxury brands can make us look (and feel) good. By Cable Daniel-Dreyfus.
(pdf) or (text)

 

Pivot Point
  Razor Sharp. Remembering the late, great Geoffrey Frost. By Tim Manners. (pdf) or (text)

 

Pivot Point
  Truth, Lies & Loyalty. Loyalty is what we make it. By Tim Manners. (pdf) or (text)

 

Pivot Point
  Call & Response. May the old media rest in peace. By Tim Manners. (pdf) or (text)

 

Dori Molitor, WomanWise
  The Waterford Effect. The ultimate strength of a brand’s identity comes from within.  By Dori Molitor. (pdf) or (text)

 

Pivot Point
  Split Screen. A brand divided against itself cannot stand. Or can it? By Tim Manners. (pdf) or (text)

 

Pivot Point
  Turn it Up. The Hub Top 12. By Tim Manners. (pdf) or (text)

 

Dori Molitor, WomanWise
  The Big Shift. Corporate culture needs to view consumer culture through a new lens. By Dori Molitor. (pdf) or (text)

 

Jim Porcarelli, Active International
 
Making Retail Magic.
An emotional connection at retail pulls shoppers and creates loyalty.  By Jim Porçarelli. (pdf) or (text)

Dori Molitor, WomanWise
 
Purpose to Power.
Serving your consumers means reaching for higher ground. By Dori Molitor. (pdf) or (text)

 

 
Al Silverstein, Active International
  Where’s the Beef? Is Facebook the new Tupperware … or is its marketing potential just another new-media whopper? By Al Silverstein. (pdf) or (text)
 
Kendra Wehmeyer, Landor
 
Reset at Retail.
Difficult times call for creative methods and visionary leadership. By Kendra Wehmeyer. (pdf) or (text)
 
Pivot Point
 
Think Retail. So what about shopper marketing? By Tim Manners. (pdf) or (text)

 

 
Spencer Hapoineu, Insight out of Chaos
 
The Obama Challenge.
One should never waste a good crisis … and by all accounts this one will be a doozy.  By Spencer L. Hapoienu. (pdf) or (text)

 

 
Dori Molitor, WomanWise
  Everyone Matters. You’ve got to give to get … but the best gift is the one that comes from your heart. By Dori Molitor. (pdf) or (text)

 

 
Tim Manners, The Hub
 
Crisis of Relevance. If irrelevance got us into this fix, then relevance can get us out of it. By Tim Manners. (pdf) or (text)