Rohit Bhargava's Blog, page 82

How To Pause The Internet (And Other Non-Obvious Insights) | Issue #19

There was plenty of big business news this week, from Disney’s long awaited opening of its signature theme park in Shanghai to Microsoft’s unexpected acquisition of LinkedIn. Chances are you have seen plenty of news about both – so true to the theme for this weekly email I won’t be spending much time on either. Instead, this week’s underappreciated stories will take you inside the first AI produced script, several new products designed to help us pause the Internet (and why we need them), pre...

4 Brilliant Exposés, The World’s Ugliest Color And Other Non-Obvious Insights | Issue #18

This week I was intrigued by a combination of fascinating new research and refreshingly honest exposés. The ANA published a controversial report on media rebates and I read insightful in depth articles abouteverything from how the NYT and WSJ best seller lists really work to the true difference between Uber and Lyft. Along with these insider accounts, there was a telling new research announcement from Twitter and comprehensive new brand reputation tracking platform that you probably haven’t h...

What Whole Foods New Brand Says About You (And Other Non-Obvious Insights) | Issue #17

In my quest for interesting ideas to share with you this week, I found several stories that really got me thinking. Dos Equis’ new search for a campaign spokesperson to replace Jonathan Goldsmith, the “Most Interesting Man In the World,” reminded me of just how beautiful and rare it was for brand to have a 75 year old hero. Whole Food’s new 365 concept store and luxury retailer PIRCH offered divergent views of why experiential retail works, and my favorite Kickstarter project discovery this w...

The Creepy Things Uber Knows About You (And Other Non-Obvious Insights) | Issue #16

It seemed like the theme of the week was reduction through small tweaks as Twitter announced a long awaitedsmall tweak to eliminate photos and videos from the allowable 140 character character tweet limit, the FDA made small changes to the iconic nutrition facts label after two decades, Victoria’s Secret made a change to finally discontinue its once popular print catalog and forgotten social media darling Foursquare charted its own brave new course with a chatbot announcement. Yes, there was...

Branding Secrets Of Lin Manuel Miranda, Inside The Hyperloop and Google’s Vision For The Future | Non-Obvious Insights #15

This week was filled with big news about big brands. Google revealed its upcoming roadmap of innovation. Fast Company interviewed the creator of the wildly popular musical Hamilton on how he built such a powerful brand so quickly. Slate offered a glimpse into the secret brilliance of Under Armour’s non-lifestyle basketball shoe inspired by Steph Curry. Amazon announced plans to focus on private label brands. And Hyperloop, the world’s most promising public transportation innovation, had a big...

Game of Thrones Fights Piracy, Why Writing Skills Matter, and Lockheed Martin’s School Bus To Mars | Non-Obvious Insights #14

I am sitting in an airport lounge in Zurich and putting the final touches on my selections for the most under appreciated stories of this week navigating through stories about perhaps the greatest underdog sports story in soccer history, YouTube’s ongoing plans to kill the cable television industry and Budweiser’s slightly desperate attempt at relevance byrenaming its beer for the US election season. My five selections this week, however, span from an amazing virtual experience from an unlike...

Why Ugly People Make Less, Emoji Sculptures, CBS Bets On Star Trek, And Jet Blue’s Amazing Mother’s Day Ad | Non-Obvious Insights #13

I have been on the road again this week, first in Miami speaking to a smart group of senior marketers at The Marketing Forum – and then in Atlanta for a private event with the Coca-Cola team behind the pioneering Journey digital magazine. The experience reminds me again how lucky I am to get the chance to network and learn from so many pros … and share those insights with you every week! For this new edition of the week’s underappreciated marketing stories you will read about everything from...

Google’s Stealth Incubator, Buzzfeed’s Secret, Apple’s Woes And The Color Of The Year | Non-Obvious Insights #12

My mind has been on startups and new ideas lately, as I spent most of this past week at Collision in New Orleans learning about what is new and listening to several dozen startup pitches. And so the stories this week are also influenced by this lens as I feature articles about Google’s latest move to encourage side projects, Apple’s predictable fall and a new VR immersive experience of a situation most of us hope to never find ourselves in. All that and a wonderful new book I expected to disl...

Zika Killing Billboards, Facebook’s Tip Jar And HBO’s Ambitious Hologram Strategy | Non-Obvious Insights #11

This past week it was hard to escape the dominating headlines of the US political primary – and the announcement of a coming change to the faces on the $20 dollar bill. Outside the mainstream news, though, were several relatively quiet stories that contained potentially huge implications for marketers and business overall – from a new billboard that might actually save lives to a fascinating evolution in how virtual reality content may be produced. All that and more in this week’s most undera...

Smart Wine, Driverless Race Cars, Rhode Island’s Marketing Flop and the Truth About Blackberry | Non-Obvious Insights #9

Some weeks have more happening than others and this week’s list of the most under appreciated marketing stories was tough to curate. Interesting stories like Samsung’s new patent on “smart contacts” or Medium’s big announcement about the future of publishing narrowly missed the list – while stories like the Internet firestorm over Nest’s choice to decommission Revolv and Nvidia’s driverless race cars had potentially wider ranging implications. As in previous weeks, my goal is only to bring yo...