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Article: By any other name: Beyond Meat grows beyond belief. Linda discusses how to leap forward with business innovations on MultiBriefs: Exclusive.
Article: A climate of change: What should your organization do?. Linda discusses how climate change might impact your business on MultiBriefs: Exclusive.
Article: Two Successful Female Business Partnerships on Life Lessons at 50 Plus. Linda Popky and Lisa Anderson who talk about being co-executive directors of the Society for the Advancement of Consulting (SAC).
Podcast: "We Built This City" - Linda Popky shares stories about her 40+ years in tech marketing in Silicon Valley. She says, "Don't ever listen to somebody who tells you you can't do something." - Listen!
SAC® Press Release: "Careful Preparation Helps Drive Success in New and Emerging Markets" - Linda recommends using what you know to expand outward. – Read release.
Podcast: Linda Popky interviews Erik Pelton who explains why now, more than ever, it's so important to have a strong trademark for key brands. - Listen.
Video: Just a Moment for Marketing: One-minute videos that focus on a marketing tip or anecdote. – View over 100 videos.
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Book Video Trailer How can your message be heard in today's crowded, chaotic environment? Learn more about Linda Popky's new book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters, in this short video trailer.
Harvard Business Review: "Identify the Marketing Metrics That Actually Matter" by Linda J. Popky - Read article
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Marketing Above the Noise
Introducing Dynamic Market Leverage™, an approach to help cut through the clutter, stand out, and effectively build business.
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Top of Mind Thursday February 13, 2020: Going Viral
Over 60,000 people have now been diagnosed with the corona virus that is spreading around the globe, with nearly 1400 deaths. New cases are reported by the thousands each day.
We don’t know yet how bad this epidemic will get. Quarantine has not yet stopped the spread, but quick identification and treatment may allow many, if not most, patients to recover.
Beyond the health crisis, the disruption to ordinary life is just starting to be felt. Millions of people throughout Asia are quarantined or told to stay home and not work. This is creating major disruptions to the supply chain–factories throughout Asia, Europe and North America will be impacted. Workers will not be able to do their jobs, get paid, or feed their families–if food is even available.
Yesterday, MWC (the Mobile World Congress conference), scheduled for later this month in Barcelona, was cancelled because of the virus. Corona virus is not a health threat in Spain, but MWC attracts 100,000 people, including mobile technology providers and wireless carriers from around the world. Asian exhibitors can’t get to the event; attendees were concerned about contagion; the organizers couldn’t guarantee that would not occur, so they opted for cancellation.
The economic impact of cancelled events, production, and travel is not even estimable at this point. But here’s what we do know:
- We are a global society. Regardless of political leanings, most countries are economically interdependent. We need to act in a manner that reflects this.
- We can’t underestimate the severity of global health crises. Viruses know no borders. Preventing infection and treating patients in China saves lives there and around the world, and protects the world economy.
- There must be contingency plans. Events can be cancelled or rescheduled, but supply chains may be seriously disrupted for months or years. The travel industry will likely be thrown into chaos. How will manufacturers and distributors operate in these conditions? What is Plan B? Is there one?
- We disregard existing preventive treatments at our peril. There is no vaccine yet for coronavirus, but there is for influenza–which kills thousands of people each year. There are vaccines for mumps, measles, and many other contagious diseases–yet many people choose not to get them. The science is clear: prevention is always more effective than treatment after-the-fact. The life you save may not even be your own, but that of someone whose medical condition makes them less able to fight off an infection.
Now’s the time to think ahead–while there’s still the ability for protective actions to go viral.
Contact me to find out how you can get heard above the noise.
Check out our marketing thought leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday February 6, 2020: Losing Count
This week the Democratic party held its caucuses in Iowa and the winner was……
Three days later, we still don’t really know. The new app that was supposed to streamline the process crashed and threw the whole process into turmoil.
This seems to have caught the Iowans totally by surprise. But having lived in Silicon Valley for 30 years, I find this disappointing but not shocking.
We love our technology. Many of us can’t imagine how we lived before Fedex, email, Smart Phones, Facebook, Google, Amazon, Instagram, etc. We have new medical devices that save lives and new products that bring us capabilities we never even considered just a few years ago.
But what we can’t ever forget is that all new technology has bugs. No matter how accomplished the developers, there are issues that don’t come out until the new technology is tested under real-world type conditions. The problem is too many times that testing occurs in the real world under stressful situations, rather than in lower risk testing environments.
The result? Something breaks. Sometimes that something is minor; other times it brings a primary caucus to its knees.
We’ve seen this happen so many times that we know this is the way things work. Yet too many times we still try to rush through a new tool to meet a key deadline. The higher risk the situation, the more necessary it is to thoroughly test before releasing the product or process into “the wild.”
Make sure you test well when it really counts. Caveat emptor.
Contact me to find out how you can get heard above the noise.
Check out our marketing thought leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday January 30, 2020: Shattered
The sports world was reeling on Sunday with the news that LA Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant was one of nine people killed in a helicopter crash just outside Los Angeles.
Sitting in a restaurant in Palm Springs, it seemed like all the air had been sucked out of not just the room, but all of Southern California.
Kobe, his daughter Gianna and the other passengers were on their way to a basketball game at a league Kobe had established.
The response has been stunning: sports teams, celebrities, and politicians have all praised Kobe, with NBA teams starting games by standing still for a 24 second violation, in honor of Kobe’s #24. Thousands of people have converged on the Staples Center in LA to mourn Kobe.
While Kobe’s death is certainly a loss, we have to remember that three other families are mourning the loss of loved ones, and this is just one of many aviation accidents that have occurred over the last year.
What’s frustrating about this particular situation is that the NTSB appears to have made recommendations to the FAA for safety improvements to helicopters after previous crashes–but these recommendations were ignored.
Maybe things will be different this time. The loss of a superstar athlete may bring enough attention to change the process. Let’s hope no more lives will be shattered like this.
Contact me to find out how you can get heard above the noise.
Check out our marketing thought leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday January 23, 2020: Going Nuts Over a Loss
Strong brand icons become trusted friends–almost feeling like family. That’s why it was such a shock to many of us to hear that Mr. Peanut, the symbol of Planters Peanuts for over 100 years, is about to meet his demise on Super Bowl Sunday.
It appear the esteemed nut spokesperson will sacrifice himself to save his companions during an ad to be shown during the Super Bowl. While this may be sad for many Mr. Peanut lovers, it’s especially difficult for those of us who grew up in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
You see, Mr. Peanut and the Planters Nuts & Chocolate Company originate from my home town of Wilkes-Barre. For decades, Mr. Peanut stood guard outside the Planters headquarters on South Main Street and in the city’s Public Square. He now resides in the Smithsonian Institute.
Why did Planters decide to kill off such an icon? Perhaps it was to get the kind of attention this announcement is generating. If so, it’s a brilliant strategy. There’s no way Planters could afford to buy the coverage they’re getting with this announcement. And many of us will be on the lookout for this particular ad on Super Bowl Sunday to see exactly what fate awaits this big nut.
Will February 2nd be the real end of 104-year-old Mr. Peanut…or will he rise again to spread goodness for another generation? Tune in and see.
Check out our marketing thought leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com