Rohit Bhargava's Blog, page 93

The Selfie Silencer And Other Silly Startup Ideas That You’ll Wish Were Real

The greatest word The Simpsons ever offered to the English language was “craptacular.” When Bart Simpson used it to describe Homer’s Christmas decorations, he introduced a much needed concept for us all: something that was so bad it might actually be good.

Today we are in the age of instant startups, where launching an idea from a garage suddenly seems needlessly spacious. Yet with that ease of creation also comes the occasional silliness. Or perhaps not so occasional. According to Bill Gates,...

5 Marketing Lessons From The Alluring #FollowMe Project

About two years ago, aspiring photographer Murad Osmann was in Barcelona on vacation with his girlfriend Russian journalist Nataly Zakharova when she grabbed his hand to pull him forward – annoyed at how often he kept stopping to take photos. He captured that moment from his perspective, and it started a project where he spent the next two years capturing the same pose in dozens of pictures from around the world. Nearly every photo features Osmann holding his girlfriend’s hand, while she pull...

How Cat Videos Are Killing Your Credibility

Real experts don’t talk about cat videos.

There is a strangely troubling trend I have come across recently that seems to be once again afflicting presentations at business events around the world. It comes down to the ubiquitous cat video – and its closely related cousin, the animated cat GIF. Don’t get me wrong. I like a cute kitten as much as the next guy. But there’s a problem with this feline frenzy.

Cat videos are a backward looking cliche about the insignificance of the web whose time has...

And The Best Marketing Strategy At SXSW Is … Kindness

As the three hour party RSVP line outside an Austin bar stretches around the corner, no one wonders why a surprising number of people seem to be wearing red clown noses. To my right, a guy walks towards me with a light up disco ball covering his head. He passes nonchalantly by a woman dressed in medieval armour wearing a helmet with two foot horns. Standing beside them is a gentleman holding a yellow sign declaring his availability as a real estate agent for anyone considering moving to Austi...

The Best And Worst Of 2014 Sochi Olympics Marketing Strategy

Just mention “Olympic Marketing” to anyone in communications and two images will likely come to mind immediately. The first is the predictable 30 second spot focusing on the dedicated Olympian who wakes up super early, braves crazy cold temperatures and sacrifices a “normal” life for their dream. And the second is an army of lawyers ready to threaten any brand that dares mention anything about the Olympics or anything that resembles multiple concentric circles in proximity to one another with...

Why Most Trends Don’t Matter (And 15 New 2014 Trends That Do!)

If you believe the typical trend declarations for 2014 – this is going to be the year of big data, wearable devices, and ubiquitous tablets. These are the facts we have heard over the past two months presented as big insights for the coming year. There are only a few problems with these so called trends, and others like them:

Problem 1: NO OBJECTIVITY – If you sell hammers, declaring 2014 the “year of hammers” isn’t just self serving, it’s probably plain wrong. Great trends should take an unbi...

Everything You Need To Know (But Forgot) About Email Marketing

The most famous crystal bowl in the world takes five years to make. Glass cutters in the five year apprentice program at the renowned Waterford Crystal factory in Ireland learn how to make many different types of cuts for everything from sculptures to wine glasses. At the end of their training, the final step to graduate from apprentice to qualified Waterford cutter is to make a Crystal “Apprentice Bowl” that incorporates every cut they have learned into a single creation.

While making that on...

Best And Worst Of Super Bowl Marketing Strategy 2014

The Super Bowl just ended and now we’re in the moment when all sorts of media outlets will start asking people to vote on their favorites. Choosing the “best” ads based on entertainment value is a fun thing anyone can do – but for several years now, I’ve been taking studying Super Bowl ads from the lens of marketing strategy.

(See my previous recaps and analysis of the 2013 Super Bowl Ads or the 2012 Super Bowl Ads or the 2011 Super Bowl Adsor the 2010 Super Bowl Ads)

My analysis isn’t based on...

What Walgreen’s Gets Right (And Wrong) About New Year’s Resolution Marketing

This is the week to start saving money. Or losing weight. Or spending more time with family. In other words, it is the week for starting on a new year’s resolution. But there is a force outside your control that may help you either keep that resolution or break it … and that force is marketing. This is the season where marketers in many industries start spending money trying to introduce new products and services designed to help you realize that happier and healthier self you have resolved t...

Carehacking And 14 Other Predictions For The Future Of Health Care

Empowerment. Technology. Innovation. ePatients.

These are just some of the buzzwords being frequently used in global discussions about healthcare. Every day there are new media reports about the failures and successes of those leading and shaping healthcare industry. Meanwhile, people battling illness are having deeply personal and unique experiences — far removed from the public eye — that are filled with hope, confusion, worry and fear.

Healthcare is a real time topic for all of us. As a resu...