In a piece for my accounting body (ACCA) I discuss the problem of what to do in respect of brands on the balance sheet. My intention is to help foster a dialogue between (financial) accountants and marketers. I am all about creating discussions between marketers and accountants. A lot of this website speaks to that….
The Danger of Data Mining
Is data analysis leading to bigotry? It is a sensitive subject. Data enthusiasts (and I’d probably be in this camp) hope analysis can get rid of silly ideas. After all when we get better information we will be able to combat old prejudices. I am genuinely optimistic. Still there is a major problem where your…
Eras of Marketing
My first degree was in history and I am always interested in how people classify history. Time is continuous, it just keeps on coming. Yet, human beings often find it hard to make sense when something is continuous. It is much easier to operate with items grouped in some ways. We like to see things…
The Language Of Leadership
Simon Lancaster’s Winning Minds is a very pleasant read. He was a special adviser working in UK politics and wrote speeches for a living which comes through in the entertaining prose style that he uses. His book discusses the language of leadership. The Right Language Matters He talks about how important it is for leaders…
Optimal Distinctiveness And Social Influence
Jonah Berger’s Invisible Influence is in the tradition of informative marketing books based upon behavioral research, think Dan Ariely, Sheena Iyengar, or Chip Heath. He concentrates on optimal distinctiveness and social influence. Some of the details people may know from elsewhere but all of which are interesting. Optimal Distinctiveness And Social Influence One of the…
Why Value Marketing Efforts Even When Perspectives Differ?
Jonathan Knowles notes that different disciplines often come at brand equity from different perspectives. For the sake of clarity, he lays out three ways of looking at brand. He uses exemplars from marketing, finance, and accounting. Although, of course, no discipline is monolithic — many marketers might take the finance perspective, etc… Why value marketing…
Behavioral Economics Sports Bingo
A bit of an unusual post today. It being summer, therefore, here is a behavioral economics sports bingo card. Behavioural Economics Sports Bingo Game I’m looking for some help in assessing my new Behavioral Economics Sports Bingo game. The idea is that when you are watching sports you lookout for interesting comments from commentators, players,…
Buying And Selling Attention
Tim Wu’s The Attention Merchants is an interesting book about buying and selling attention. History Of The Market For Attention I must confess I enjoyed the first half more than the end. The end of the book is a pretty conventional view of where we are now. I don’t think anyone will be surprised to…
Tackling Big Problems With Behavioral Science
Jason Furman (former chair of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers) discusses tackling big problems with behavioral science. He says behavioral studies can help address four major issues in the economy. Tackling Big Problems With Behavioral Science He isn’t joking when he says they are major. They really are. The four he choose are: 1)…
The Failure Of Markets
I very much enjoyed John Cassidy’s How Markets Fail. It is an ambitious piece in which he tries to describe how economic thought has impacted real-world markets. He has a special focus on the collapse of the financial markets in 2007/8 and the economic thought behind the failure to regulate the markets properly. What does he say about the failure…