((This article, originally commissioned by the Deloitte CMO program, duplicated here with permission)) I’m a maker at heart; I love to build and create. I love to tinker and experiment, and I love to stand back to take pride in the results. While I consider Account Management a creative endeavor, relationships, as a result, are… Continue reading Be a Sam, don’t be a Lara :: The importance of stellar Account Management in the age of Advertising 2.0

Cannes was more fun than usual this year. Sure, my own mood was regularly lifted by the gigantic ball pit that we set up for the Young Lions students, but I wasn’t the only old-timer feeling the difference. For one thing, the festival is shrinking. 2018 saw only 75% of the attendance of 2017 and… Continue reading Here we go aCannes :: 2019

I’ve always been a bit of a fanboy of the Ideation and Design Thinking firm IDEO – and I’m finally taking some courses at their school here in San Francisco. My second class, “Storytelling for Influence” is packed with creative thinkers from all over the world and already proving to be a great experience. This week saw us creating a brief… Continue reading My Experience at IDEO U

Last Tuesday, I was lucky enough to present at the latest AIGA Buzz gathering. My good friend Diana Merkel hosts the event and got me involved late last year. We brainstormed on a topic and landed on “How to establish and build your personal brand”. I’m by no means an expert on this subject but… Continue reading I talked to some Gen Z’ers today, and it was awesome.

This week we’re considering the concept of Users Not Customers as defined by Aaron Shapiro, CEO of Huge. This is not a new concept – you might remember the story of the customer who returned a set of snow tires to Nordstrom – despite the fact that Nordstrom doesn’t sell tires. He was treated as… Continue reading Users Not Customers

Trading brand integrity for short term gain is a rookie mistake. Frequent discount campaigns could be trashing your brand. How did Cancun become a discount destination for Spring Break? In 1988, the average room was around $300 – it was an exclusive, up market resort town. Then hurricane Gilbert came along, trashed the town and… Continue reading Cancun, a study in short gains that wrecked a brand

Remember green washing? Some marketing specialists claim that it stymied the long term acceptance of the Green movement by mainstream consumers. The sentiment was there – in 2007, 9 out of 10 shoppers felt that the environmental impact of a product was important to consider when making a purchase, and 7 out of 10 would… Continue reading The Made in America movement :: Growing up and going strong

Engage an enthusiast in conversation, and by the time they’re finished discussing their passion, chances are you’ll want in. Regardless of the subject matter, it’s nearly impossible to avoid the infectious enthusiasm that pours out of a true aficionado talking about their “thing”. A few years ago, while working for Sterling-Rice Group, I produced an… Continue reading The Bernina 8 Series