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I once heard a CEO describe the mentality of many new marketing executives as similar to a dog peeing on a fire hydrant: they are both too focused on engaging in mostly futile attempts to establish ownership. The analogy is slightly off putting, but not all that inaccurate. In that context, this unearthed print ad … Read more
Millennials are being blamed for the recent woes of casual dining restaurants like Buffalo Wild Wings and Applebees and even more established brands like Harley Davidson – but is that really fair? This article looks at some of the reasons why the revered motorcycle brand may be suffering and whether the brand is actually failing to appeal … Read more
This week IKEA will release its new 2018 catalog, and this timely piece looks at how a small internal army of hundreds of photographers, art directors, copywriters, proofreaders, prop masters, carpenters, photo retouchers, programmers and CGI specialists make the catalog globally relevant. From zooming in on kitchen photos (because Chinese kitchens are smaller than American … Read more
Storytelling can shape consumer perception, but it may also have an underappreciated downside. When journalist Amy Wu was invited by Iowa Select Farms to tour their pork production operations, she noted that taking a consumer into a farm to show “food transparency” is a good idea in principle, but it doesn’t change the fact that … Read more
The tenure of most Chief Marketing Officers is woefully short, but this fact is often dismissed as a symptom of changing leadership or sometimes ineffective results. New research points to the fact that CMOs often suffer from vaguely defined job responsibilities and confusion between whether more strategic thinking or focus on commercialization (or a hybrid) … Read more
In a world where luxury consumer demand is changing, how can one f the world’s most iconic luxury destinations stay on top? It turns out Monte Carlo has a fairly sophisticated strategy which hinges on being about more than just gambling and opulence. The city is launching music and art festivals, charity galas and even … Read more
On the surface, this announcement that KFC is partnering with Huawei to launch a new smart phone may seem like a random move. The phone will be branded in KFC signature red with an engraving of Colonel Sanders on the back to celebrate the brand’s 30 year anniversary in China, but that’s not really the … Read more
As we head into a time when both America and Canada celebrate their national birthdays – this week’s newsletter takes an inside look at some of the most significant ways that Canada is celebrating it’s 150th anniversary as a country. In contrast to the “melting pot” of America which has often been criticized for how … Read more
What if you could craft your own story in a television episode? Netflix is experimenting with letting kids do exactly that in a new episode of The Adventures of Puss in Boots by giving them half a dozen choices in the episode that each send the story in a different direction. It’s a bold experiment … Read more
The most famous portraits in history are all painted from the torso up. That was the interesting insight from Ogilvy that led to this campaign for shoe polish brand Kiwi which recently won big at the Cannes festival. By commissioning artists to draw the bottom half of famous paintings like the Mona Lisa – this … Read more
Non-Obvious Thinking is my upcoming book about the 4 secrets of becoming a non-obvious thinker - coming 09/24!
Rohit Bhargava is a trend curator, founder of the Non-Obvious Company and the 3-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author of ten books.
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Rohit is the author of 10 books on trends, the future of business, building a more human brand with storytelling and how to create a more diverse and inclusive world.
