Participation in “alternative work arrangements” has declined slightly over the past decade or so, leading the New York Times to declare that the hype about it has been overblown. The Times story is based on the US government’s first assessment of gig employment, which was a qualitative survey, so the numbers are dependent on what questions were Read more…
When Bayer closes its huge takeover deal later this week, Monsanto will cease to exist. But the issues that dogged it may not. Monsanto became the poster child for opposition to genetically modified organisms, or “GMOs.” It’s a complicated issue, since famers have been grafting plants together for thousands of years; broccoli is Read more…
Corporate values are all the rage these days. They’re worthless unless companies are willing to sacrifice for them. I say this because it’s just too easy to spend money, especially on topics that marketers have identified as important to customers. “Doing good” has been a function of communications outreach for Read more…
All the emails you’ve been getting recently about your online privacy are a great opportunity to assess your situation. The good news is that you can opt-out. The bad news is that you can’t. The GDPR (for General Data Protection Regulation) is legislation passed by the EU intended to help Read more…
I kinda like Best Buy’s new ad campaign focused on its employees as problem solvers. I wish they’d gone further. A 30-second TV spot entitled “Talk the Talk” has a politically correct smattering of customer types asking for help choosing electronics gizmos, and the company’s cheerful (and patient) blue-shirted staff Read more…
Ford’s recent announcement that it will effectively exit the passenger sedan market suggests a deeper shift in the ways we will get around in the future. “May car sales are flat. The sedan heads toward irrelevance,” declared a headline in the Los Angeles Times almost a year ago. It hasn’t Read more…
With Sir Martin Sorrell gone from the integrated marketing services company he assembled and led for over 30 years, there’s talk that it’ll be broken up in the face of competition from digital tech and management consultants. I’m ready to lead a unified WPP out of this crisis. Here’s my Read more…
Recent events in Philadelphia revealed that Starbucks needs to address issues of racial bias in its stores. It also showed that it doesn’t have a clear company policy on handling visitors who haven’t bought something, called nonpaying customers. I’d never heard the term before. I thought customers were buyers of Read more…
Since some of the people in the US Congress who grilled Facebooks’ Mark Zuckerberg a few weeks ago don’t “get” social media, they have no business questioning it? “You need to experience the platform to understand what you’re talking about if you do want to challenge the validity of what Read more…
P&G plans to purchase Merck’s consumer health business. I think it says something about the way forward for its consumer brands. The Merck products sound like drugs, with names like Neurobion and Nasivin; the former is a B vitamin tablet that is based on a prescription injectable, and the latter uses a chemical Read more…