Most progressives will agree that we’ve been treated to a cornucopia of PR gaffes on an almost weekly basis during the last 18 months. It could be longer -‑ I’ve become immune to “that” noise, so it was with somewhat sick delight that I started following United Airlines’ recent PR cluster when a gate agent …
Learn More
The monetary value of loyalty programs continues its global ascent. In the U.S. alone, the current stored value of loyalty currency stands at approximately $50 billion, by some estimates. That’s an impressive number. Here’s another: Nearly three-fourths (72%) of all airline loyalty programs have been hacked or defrauded in some way, according to a survey …
Learn More
In the old days, you would drive your car into a convenience store forecourt and, while filling your tank at the gas pump, stroll inside for a soft drink, a slightly stale sandwich and maybe a pack of cigarettes. Once your gas tank was full, you’d pull out a wad of cash or a credit …
Learn More
A recent article in Social Media Today had the arresting headline, “Why Marketers Are Now in Charge of Cyber Security.” Let’s think about that for a minute. Nobody is secure from hacking and data theft, not even Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. After repeated hacking, Zuckerberg now runs around with duct tape on his webcam. 3M …
Learn More
With each day delivering a fresh maelstrom of Twitter trash and nonsense posts, it’s been overwhelming and hard to focus on just one issue. Some of the Twitter outbursts have kept me up at night. In fact, breaking out in cold sweat in the late evening or early morning hours seems to be the new …
Learn More
Each decade, it seems, has spelled the end of an era for old or “redundant” technologies. For those who remember the 8-track, we lamented its loss when cassettes came on the scene (I’m aging myself now). Several decades later, cassettes and vinyl records found themselves on the way out with the arrival of DVDs, CDs …
Learn More
Facebook repeatedly has corrected traffic data that it makes available to its advertisers. In its latest snafu, Facebook reported inaccurate user engagement figures. It appears that the number of people who shared or commented on a Facebook link exceeded the sum of shares, likes and comments for that link. That’s not supposed to happen. If …
Learn More
The New York Times reports that, in an increasing number of areas, “the Lyft and Uber experience for both business and leisure travelers is simply worlds better than turning to a rental car.” I can’t disagree with that. Uber’s ride-sharing service, barely five years old, is valued today at more than $60 billion. (Hertz, one …
Learn More
From the country that brought you 5-pound hamburgers, now this: Two apps that will make it even easier for shoppers to completely avoid tangible, physical interaction with a brand or human. And these two examples (explained in detail below) pale in comparison to what Amazon is doing with its new retail concept – Amazon Go – where …
Learn More
B2B marketers are shifting greater focus – and dollars – to the mobile channel. And rightly so; Statista estimates that mobile commerce sales in the U.S. will double over the next three years, with market share likely to grow from 29% in 2016 to 44% in 2019. But how many marketers go to bed at …
Learn More
With major disruption happening across the financial services and payments sectors — especially as blockchain and Bitcoin gain more traction and visibility — financial technology (fintech) companies are set to make waves in the 2017 payments and finance markets. Fintechs have experienced significant growth this year, in terms of investment and the number of startups proliferating …
Learn More
Just how problematic is the recent rash of “fake news” appearing on social media – and in our daily “trusted” news source feeds? In a word – disturbing. We (media, journalism, digital marketing and the entire PR universe) are seeing only the surface of a deeper, underlying problem. Over the past few years, these nebulous …
Learn More