Rohit Bhargava's Blog, page 106

Why Usability & Usefulness Are Cool Again

Not a lot of people know this, but 2002 I did my Masters Thesis on the topic of web usability. It was the "appfication trend" of its day ... a topic that every business was talking about and spending more and more money to get right. Jakob Nielsen was a household name in web development teams - and "Information Architect" and "Usability Expert" were considered careers for the future. Then one day usability started to fade into the background. It became more of an afterthought. When is the la...

The Sexiness of Statistical Insignificance

People love numbers. We respect #1 best sellers. We believe in a product if four out of five dentists like it. And every week there is new Presidential election polling in the US to give the media real time numbers to spend hours "reacting" to in live talk shows. In today's world, numbers are used to prove anything to anybody. Why make an argument when you can find a number to do it for you? If a picture is worth a thousand words, the right number seems to be worth a thousand pictures.

Thi...

Airline Asks For Gas Money, Misses Golden Marketing Opportunity

Business is unpredictable, but its amazing how much time is spent in corporate marketing and PR teams trying to anticipate and avoid any sort of unplanned events. So yesterday when an Air France flight had to divert from landing in Beirut to an unplanned landing in the Syrian capital of Damascus. Unfortunately for them, payments for fuel in Damascus can only be made in cash - so Air France decided to ask their passengers for gas money.

As the story broke in media, which of course it would, h...

Go Daddy Teaches Brands How To Grow Up?

Love them or hate them, there is no denying Go Daddy's sex-based TV commercials designed to create a splash and introduce their brand to the world have been remarkably successful. Every year they have made a tradition out of having ads prepared that are "too hot" for the SuperBowl and get partially banned from airing. Then they publish them online, invite people to watch the full versions on their website and watch the traffic roll in. It is the ultimate awareness strategy, and has worked so...

Olympics Newsflash: Social Media Isn't The Problem, YOU Are The Problem

It is just Day 5 of the "Social Olympics" and already social media has taken center stage in good and bad ways. For anyone who hasn't been as Olympics-crazy as me, over the past few days we have seen athletes thrown out of the Games for racist comments made on Twitter, Olympic level whining about tape delays from coverage in the US, people choosing to stay off social media in order to avoid spoilers, and indignation from social media believers about limiting social media usage by athletes in...

Olympics Newsflash: Social Media Isn’t The Problem, YOU Are The Problem

It is just Day 5 of the "Social Olympics" and already social media has taken center stage in good and bad ways. For anyone who hasn't been as Olympics-crazy as me, over the past few days we have seen athletes thrown out of the Games for racist comments made on Twitter, Olympic level whining about tape delays from coverage in the US, people choosing to stay off social media in order to avoid spoilers, and indignation from social media believers about limiting social media usage by athletes in...

The Best And Worst Of London 2012 Olympic Marketing Roundup

NOTE - To see a full visual roundup of the best and worst marketing, visit myLondon 2012 Olympic Marketing - Best & WorstPinterest Board.

As the world turn its attention to the Games in London today, I'll have to indulge my Olympic passion from afar this time around. I've been a lover of the Olympics since I was in college in Atlanta during the games in 1996. They were a big reason I moved to Australia in 1998 and I was in Beijing in 2008 helping manage the Lenovo Voices of the Olympic G...

12 Big Trends Transforming The World Of Retail Right Now

Last week I had the chance to deliver a keynote presentation at a merchandising event put on for some of the largest retailers in the US by the trade association Shop.org. I shared some trends built upon consumer behaviour and incorporating some startups that are getting a lot of attention right now. I don't share many of my presentations as they are often custom created specifically for events that I participate in, but this is one of the few that I can open up to a public audience. So below...

How Nelson Mandela Used Likeability To Succeed

July 18th isn't really a holiday all over the world, but perhaps it should be. It is the birthday of Nelson Mandela, and our team out of London is supporting an initiative to help this iconic South African leader get the recognition he deserves. So today, you can join people like Desmond Tutu, Eddie Izzard, and Jamie Oliver to make your own pledge for global good in the official pledge book.

Our team is also encouraging poeple worldwide to devote time (specifically 67 minutes in recognition of...

Dollar Shave Club Offers The Cure For Overmarketing

My current razor has three blades, but I am sadly certain that at some point pretty soon that will seem laughably low. The razor blade wars have been around for years - but each year the battles continue with new "innovations." The Gillette Fusion Power razor, for example, now features an "onboard microchip" to help "regulate power." It's no wonder razor blades have been the butt of jokes for years now, but the problem generally has been that most guys just don't have a better or easier optio...