Lately there has been some good discussions about other companies acting like Venture Capitalists, especially ad agencies.  Personally I have major concerns if an agency starts acting like a VC, especially if they are investing in New Media companies.  The potential for conflicts of interest are huge.  First, theses agencies need to be media-neutral.  I need to trust my agency is making a recommendation that is best for my brand…not because their agency stands to profit through my support of a business they have invested in.  Second, they are funding those investments based on fees I paid them and then potentially profiting off media buys I make.  That makes me really uneasy.

However, I do think the future of the agency model could be in Shared IP and equity.  I have no problem with an agency working with a new/small brand and taking an equity stake instead of normal fees.  I think this is a great win/win since the brand saves money and the agency gets tremendous upside based on their work.   But if this new brand is a media property that the agency can then pitch to other clients, I get concerned,  My agency’s neutrality goes out the window and I end up feeling like my agency pimped me out.  Not a good place to be.

Now the people I do think have the right be investing in new media companies are the brands themselves.  A media buy from an established company like P&G can end up making a company.  I think back to the small buy I did with Secret on MySpace.com back in 2004.  My counterpart at MySpace said that because of that deal and the media coverage we generated from it, he ended up getting over 50 calls from major brands who before wouldnt even return his call.  Think if instead of a media buy, P&G had made an equity investment in MySpace?  We would have ended up with a major return on our money when MySpace sold out to News Corp.  Plus, many start-ups could benefit tremendously from the brand building knowledge that a major CPG could bring to the table.  Plus it has an employee benefit because marketers could take a “broadening assignment” to go work at the start-up for a year or two.  They would get a chance to scratch their entreprenuerial itch without leaving the CPG company.  That is a major HR win to keep top talent happy.

Now obviously there are drawbacks here.  First, CPG companies aren’t experts in the world of VC investing but that could be solved by partnering with a leading VC.  Second, a company like P&G investing in a company could potentially keep competitors from buying media on that site.    Third, almost all major CPG’s are publicly traded companies and VC is a hit or miss industry.  But then again, technology companies like Dell are publicly traded but they have been investing in start-ups for years now (though Dell Ventures did close after a few years).

The way I see it, there is tremendous upside for a major CPG company to partner with VC’s in the start-up game….but tons of downside if our agencies are acting as the VC’s instead.

Book Review

• It's time for Brand Managers to think about Marketing With Meaning - October 6th, 2009
• A Dozen Books that should be on every Brand Manager's Bookshelf - July 22nd, 2009
• Buyology: Truth & Lies About Why We Buy - November 5th, 2008
• Paul Gillin unveils the Secrets of Social Media Marketing - October 13th, 2008
• Two must reads on Social Media - September 6th, 2008
• 4 ways Web 2.0 might be flawed - July 21st, 2008
• Don't fight pirates, learn from them - July 9th, 2008
• Taking Tequila Shots on Sunday - July 6th, 2008
• Accidental Branding is a must read for Brand Managers - June 10th, 2008
• Review: The Open Brand - April 14th, 2008
• Can a brand be built by accident? - April 9th, 2008

Brand Management

• Brand Marketers need to watch how gaming is transforming popular culture - March 4th, 2010
• Super Bowl Ad shows Google's move from Tech to Consumer Marketer - February 7th, 2010
• How a Brand Manager can make a big difference - January 25th, 2010
• Don't make the mistake of giving up the Voice of the Brand - January 21st, 2010
• What is the definition of a Brand? - December 23rd, 2009
• Now is the time to become a Marketing Technopologist - December 21st, 2009
• The new job of a Brand Manager is to facilitate conversations & community - December 15th, 2009
• 5 Stocking Stuffers for Brand Managers - December 7th, 2009
• Movieclips makes it easy to share your favorite movie scenes - December 4th, 2009
• Fred Wilson's perspective on the rise of Social Recruiting - November 15th, 2009
• Can Cincinnati be the Silicon Valley of consumer marketing? - October 20th, 2009
• Don't do away with Brand Managers... Just start to embrace marketing again - October 12th, 2009
• Brand Managers Need to Practice Consumer Collaboration - October 10th, 2009
• It's time for Brand Managers to think about Marketing With Meaning - October 6th, 2009
• What's Next in Marketing & Advertising - 2009 Edition - September 16th, 2009
• Harvard Business: 5 Tips for Stranded Evangelists - September 14th, 2009
• Marketers need to realize that we are all publishers now - September 11th, 2009
• On September 24 & 25, Don't Miss the 2009 Cincinnati Digital Hub Conference - September 10th, 2009
• Brand Managers Need To Practice "Everywhere Shopper Marketing" - July 27th, 2009
• A Dozen Books that should be on every Brand Manager's Bookshelf - July 22nd, 2009
• Want a Brand Manager's attention? Think Business Development, not Sales - July 20th, 2009
• A Case of Why Brands Need to "Be Awesome" More Often - July 11th, 2009
• Brands I Love: Knob Creek tells the world "Thanks for Nothing" - July 1st, 2009
• Why Consumer Reviews Matter to Brand Managers - June 29th, 2009
• John Battelle's Thoughts on Online Marketing - June 23rd, 2009
• Why Sharing Matters to Brand Managers and Marketers - June 16th, 2009
• Best Buy's CMO recognizes that "The Future is Digital" - May 15th, 2009
• There is no better time to be a marketer - May 5th, 2009
• A Brand Manager's Call for Change - April 29th, 2009
• 5 Reasons Yahoo Might Buy Twitter - April 11th, 2009
• PepsiCo shows brands how NOT to crash the party at SXSW - March 16th, 2009
• Ads, Brands and ESPN: How W&K looks at Brand Building - March 9th, 2009
• Digital Darwinism will change the marketing ecosystem for Brand Managers - March 3rd, 2009
• Should brands start thinking like start-ups? - March 1st, 2009
• One Year Later: A Recap of Hard Knox Life - February 24th, 2009
• Coming this April: Connect! by The Project 100 - February 23rd, 2009
• Brand Managers need to pay attention to the potential of Mobile Marketing - February 20th, 2009
• Is the "Exclusivity of Creativity" coming to an end? - February 18th, 2009
• Weekly Round-Up: 2-3-09 - February 3rd, 2009
• Did Mitch Joel Miss the Mark On His 10 Twitter Users That Marketers Should Follow? - January 30th, 2009
• Even a Brand Manager needs their 10,000 hours of practice to be great - January 26th, 2009
• A great video to illustrate change in the marketing landscape - January 21st, 2009
• eBay's Holiday Contest SNAFU a lesson for all eMarketers - December 22nd, 2008
• Congratulations Motrin. You just proved why every brand needs to understand Social Media - November 16th, 2008
• Seth Godin: The Marketer's Attitude - November 12th, 2008
• Forrester Research is a tremendous partner for Brand Managers to keep their marketing edge - November 11th, 2008
• Two weeks, two great conferences - October 27th, 2008
• Politics aside, Wassup 2008 is a brilliant marketing video - October 25th, 2008
• Nike continues brilliant "Leave Nothing" campaign with "Fate" spot featuring LT & Polamalu - October 21st, 2008
• Five lessons on brand building from Jim Stengel, P&G's former Chief Marketing Officer - October 20th, 2008
• Maker's Mark uses community engagement to turn the ordinary into extraordinary - October 17th, 2008
• Paul Gillin unveils the Secrets of Social Media Marketing - October 13th, 2008
• Consumer-centricity - October 3rd, 2008
• 5 Principles to Your Best Action Plan Ever - September 29th, 2008
• A Brand Manager's Take on MySpace Music - September 25th, 2008
• Nintendo Wii creates one of the most brilliant pieces of digital marketing I have ever seen - September 24th, 2008
• Hello, I'm a PC and I've been made into a stereotype - September 22nd, 2008
• What I Believe In: My Personal Leadership Philosophy - September 15th, 2008
• Day in the Life of a Brand Manager: 5 Steps for Succession Planning - September 10th, 2008
• Is it a digital revolution...or just an evolution? - August 31st, 2008
• The Art of (Brand Messaging) Storytelling in the Blogosphere - August 28th, 2008
• This One Time at BrandCamp - August 26th, 2008
• Al Ries and I don't see eye-to-eye on Megabrands - August 11th, 2008
• How to close the Brand Gap between strategy and creativity - August 10th, 2008
• My new gig - P&G Digital Brand Strategist - August 7th, 2008
• Has brand building changed in the digital age? - August 6th, 2008
• The Consumer is Boss - July 30th, 2008
• Young people are weird: A lesson on how to build lasting youth brands - July 29th, 2008
• How the Digital Revolution is leaving the consumer behind - July 27th, 2008
• Gillette recognizes true fans - July 11th, 2008
• "Where does he get those wonderful toys?" - July 10th, 2008
• Content Marketing = Brand New Marketing - July 3rd, 2008
• Another stellar video from Nike - June 27th, 2008
• How Should Brand Managers Think About Twitter? - June 25th, 2008
• PR / Influencer Marketing done the right way - June 24th, 2008
• Nike pushes the boundaries of what digital marketing means - June 24th, 2008
• Why should brands care about widgets? - June 16th, 2008
• Can P&G build "real brands" with soul, history & substance? - June 13th, 2008
• What does best-in-class digital marketing mean? - June 10th, 2008
• Accidental Branding is a must read for Brand Managers - June 10th, 2008
• A Day in the Life of A Brand Manager - 6/5/2008 - June 5th, 2008
• What is the future of media? - June 4th, 2008
• Brilliant trailer by Microsoft Advertising - June 2nd, 2008
• EliteXC needs a branding makeover to compete against UFC - May 31st, 2008
• Wii Fit will change the game of fitness - May 28th, 2008
• Brands I Love: Help Remedies - May 28th, 2008
• Klondike does it right by not walking away from a great campaign - May 26th, 2008
• Paid to blog about beer? Talk about a dream job... - May 19th, 2008
• Building Brands Through Community - May 12th, 2008
• Commit to a Personal Leadership Philosophy - May 7th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up: 5-2-2008 - May 2nd, 2008
• Which companies have the right to be VC's? - April 28th, 2008
• A Day in the Life of a Brand Manager - 4/24/2008 - April 25th, 2008
• Jaffe thinks the creative function should fade away? - April 14th, 2008
• TAG Records might just be the answer the music industry is looking for - April 11th, 2008
• Can a brand be built by accident? - April 9th, 2008
• If it looks like a Brand Manager and talks like a Brand Manager, that doesn't mean it's a Marketer. - April 8th, 2008
• Being like Dad isn't a bad thing - April 1st, 2008
• Microsoft makes things right - March 24th, 2008
• How do you measure Social Media? - March 24th, 2008
• What's Next in Marketing? - March 24th, 2008
• Can Starbucks get its groove back? - March 20th, 2008
• Brand Noise - Generations & Cultural Narrative - March 20th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up 3-19-2008 - March 19th, 2008
• Nike - There are no Cinderella stories - March 12th, 2008

Brands I Love

• Have you placed your vote for the People's Choice Awards? - November 24th, 2009
• Etsy shows the power of consumer co-creation - October 21st, 2009
• It's time for Brand Managers to think about Marketing With Meaning - October 6th, 2009
• Brands I Love: Knob Creek tells the world "Thanks for Nothing" - July 1st, 2009
• Aardvark is completely changing how I get answers to questions - May 26th, 2009
• Brands I Love: Which Wich? Superior Sandwiches - September 17th, 2008
• Brands I Love - Refinding - August 3rd, 2008
• Brands I Love: Help Remedies - May 28th, 2008
• Brands I Love: Adidas - Impossible is Nothing - March 22nd, 2008
• Brands I Love: Innocent Drinks - March 12th, 2008
• Thrillist launches in Chicago and Las Vegas - March 11th, 2008
• Brands I Love: Potbelly Sandwich Works - March 3rd, 2008
• Brands I Love: You gotta get a Chumby - February 26th, 2008

Digital Marketing

• BlogWell is coming to Cincinnati to talk "How Big Brands Use Social Media" - March 7th, 2010
• Brand Marketers need to watch how gaming is transforming popular culture - March 4th, 2010
• The impact of the Social Media effect on great content - March 1st, 2010
• What is the "Point of Video" advertising? - February 10th, 2010
• "Hack vs Flack"...a social media point / counterpoint - January 28th, 2010
• Don't make the mistake of giving up the Voice of the Brand - January 21st, 2010
• The Virtual Goods Gold Rush - October 31st, 2009
• Etsy shows the power of consumer co-creation - October 21st, 2009
• Everyone is talking about Augmented Reality these days - October 19th, 2009
• Is there a "must-have" checklist for great content sites? - October 14th, 2009
• Don't do away with Brand Managers... Just start to embrace marketing again - October 12th, 2009
• P&G moves soap opera genre online - October 4th, 2009
• Thoughts on the 2009 Cincinnati Digital Hub Non-Conference - September 29th, 2009
• Want a Brand Manager's attention? Think Business Development, not Sales - July 20th, 2009
• Zappos pushes eCommerce boundaries with Social Shopping launch - July 18th, 2009
• Fluent: The Razorfish Social Influence Marketing Report - July 13th, 2009
• A Case of Why Brands Need to "Be Awesome" More Often - July 11th, 2009
• Don't Count MySpace Out Just Yet - June 30th, 2009
• Why Sharing Matters to Brand Managers and Marketers - June 16th, 2009
• Mad Avenue Blues: "Tech has taken us for a ride" - June 6th, 2009
• All Things Digital: Why Jon Miller Went to News Corp / MySpace - May 29th, 2009
• BusinessWeek ponders "What's a Friend Worth?" - May 23rd, 2009
• What kids think about the Future of TV - May 22nd, 2009
• Best Buy's CMO recognizes that "The Future is Digital" - May 15th, 2009
• There is no better time to be a marketer - May 5th, 2009
• CollegeHumor's take on "Twitter in Real Life" - April 30th, 2009
• The Story of SXSW Interactive '09 through Sketchnotes - April 5th, 2009
• Ad Age announces the 2009 Digital A-List - March 30th, 2009
• PepsiCo shows brands how NOT to crash the party at SXSW - March 16th, 2009
• My take on the P&G Tide Loads of Hope and #pgdigital - March 14th, 2009
• You can't help but marvel at the power of Social Media - March 12th, 2009
• Microsoft's view of the world in 2019 - March 5th, 2009
• Digital Darwinism will change the marketing ecosystem for Brand Managers - March 3rd, 2009
• GE's Plug Into the Smart Grid is plain and simple brilliant Digital Marketing - February 27th, 2009
• 6 Winning Strategies for Brands on Twitter - February 21st, 2009
• Did Mitch Joel Miss the Mark On His 10 Twitter Users That Marketers Should Follow? - January 30th, 2009
• Charlene Li outlines for the Future of Social Networks - January 28th, 2009
• Will Yahoo and Intel finally deliver on the promise of Internet-enabled TV in our Living Room? - December 29th, 2008
• Mashable says brands don't belong on Twitter - December 15th, 2008
• How should Brand Managers approach the Social Graphs of Facebook Connect and OpenID? - December 7th, 2008
• Congratulations Motrin. You just proved why every brand needs to understand Social Media - November 16th, 2008
• Why I'm Loving the new LinkedIn Applications - November 3rd, 2008
• Welcome to the Social World - October 30th, 2008
• Digital Hub Initiative brings a "non-conference" conference to Cincinnati - October 23rd, 2008
• 4 Reasons Digital Matters to Your Brand - October 15th, 2008
• Paul Gillin unveils the Secrets of Social Media Marketing - October 13th, 2008
• A Brand Manager's Take on MySpace Music - September 25th, 2008
• Nintendo Wii creates one of the most brilliant pieces of digital marketing I have ever seen - September 24th, 2008
• Social Media doesn't show any signs of slowing down - September 18th, 2008
• Entourage pairs up with Whrrl in a great partnership - September 8th, 2008
• Alan Wolk & New York Times Describe Social Media's Defining Moment - September 7th, 2008
• Is it a digital revolution...or just an evolution? - August 31st, 2008
• I know, I'm about 4 years late to this party... - August 24th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up: 8-19-08 - August 19th, 2008
• Mobile Marketing 101 from Deepspace Mobile - August 17th, 2008
• My new gig - P&G Digital Brand Strategist - August 7th, 2008
• Has brand building changed in the digital age? - August 6th, 2008
• The Xbox 360 is Microsoft's Trojan Horse - July 22nd, 2008
• 4 ways Web 2.0 might be flawed - July 21st, 2008
• Hard Knox Life on your iPhone - July 12th, 2008
• Digital Marketing is... - July 4th, 2008
• Content Marketing = Brand New Marketing - July 3rd, 2008
• Will Unbuttoned Films be a branded content success for Levi's? - July 1st, 2008
• How Should Brand Managers Think About Twitter? - June 25th, 2008
• Nike pushes the boundaries of what digital marketing means - June 24th, 2008
• Why should brands care about widgets? - June 16th, 2008
• What does best-in-class digital marketing mean? - June 10th, 2008
• Greg Verdino at MarketingProfs B2B Forum - June 9th, 2008
• What is the future of media? - June 4th, 2008
• Weezer creates a great homage to Viral - May 27th, 2008
• Klondike does it right by not walking away from a great campaign - May 26th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up: 5-23-08 - May 23rd, 2008
• Obvious but brilliant point on Word-of-Mouth - May 13th, 2008
• Building Brands Through Community - May 12th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up: 5-2-2008 - May 2nd, 2008
• David Armano on Micro Interactions - April 30th, 2008
• Social Media Skyrocketing According to Latest Internet Trends Report From Morgan Stanley - April 28th, 2008
• Which companies have the right to be VC's? - April 28th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up 4-26-2008 - April 26th, 2008
• Super Brand Advocates aren't new but you need to listen to them - April 23rd, 2008
• Is your WeeMee going to Prom? - April 21st, 2008
• Yet another area the US is falling behind in - April 18th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up 4-18-2008 - April 18th, 2008
• Jaffe thinks the creative function should fade away? - April 14th, 2008
• Microsoft makes things right - March 24th, 2008
• How do you measure Social Media? - March 24th, 2008
• Wired - "Rise of the Instapreneur" - March 23rd, 2008
• Etsy - Buy, Sell, Live Handmade - March 22nd, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up 3-19-2008 - March 19th, 2008
• AOL buys Bebo for $850MM...did they get a good deal? - March 13th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up 3-13-2008 - March 13th, 2008
• IEG Presentation - Youth is a Mindset - March 11th, 2008
• Thrillist launches in Chicago and Las Vegas - March 11th, 2008
• Conversation by Design - March 10th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up 3-6-2008 - March 5th, 2008
• Mobile Advertising is Rising - March 5th, 2008
• Social Media Jobs on the Rise - March 4th, 2008
• What will the digital space look like in 2008? - February 27th, 2008
• Brands I Love: You gotta get a Chumby - February 26th, 2008
• Guess who just bought a professional sports team? - February 25th, 2008

Misc

• A big thank you to all the readers of Hard Knox Life - December 10th, 2009
• Interview with Smart Planet: Using social media to bring the outside in - August 31st, 2009
• Please Give 5 and Live United - June 1st, 2009
• Thank You for Ad Age's "25 Media People You Should Follow on Twitter" - May 30th, 2009
• A new look for Hard Knox Life - May 10th, 2009
• Changes for Hard Knox Life - January 17th, 2009
• Why won't someone develop a decent Twitter client for the Blackberry? - November 30th, 2008
• Upcoming guest writers on Hard Knox Life - September 28th, 2008
• Celebrate the World's Largest Ice Cream Social and Support the Make-A-Wish Foundation® - September 25th, 2008
• Gas mileage be damned... I want the Halo-inspired Hummer HX Concept - September 18th, 2008
• Social THIS! Fantasy Football Week 2 - September 13th, 2008
• Social THIS! Fantasy Football Draft Recap - September 1st, 2008
• Yeah it's an ego trap but still... - August 17th, 2008
• New look to Hard Knox Life - June 22nd, 2008
• Unbelievable trip - March 31st, 2008
• Guess who just bought a professional sports team? - February 25th, 2008

Music / Entertainment

• How to turn a $300 video into a $30 Million movie deal - December 19th, 2009
• The Virtual Goods Gold Rush - October 31st, 2009
• HBO's Hard Knocks puts the spotlight on the Cincinnati Bengals - July 30th, 2009
• CollegeHumor's take on "Twitter in Real Life" - April 30th, 2009
• 5 Reasons Yahoo Might Buy Twitter - April 11th, 2009
• PlaceVine Launches The Brand Integration Service - October 21st, 2008
• A Brand Manager's Take on MySpace Music - September 25th, 2008
• Entourage pairs up with Whrrl in a great partnership - September 8th, 2008
• Gillette and EA Sports launch the Champions of Gaming Tournament - August 29th, 2008
• Benjamin Del Shreve - Great band to check out - May 31st, 2008
• Weezer creates a great homage to Viral - May 27th, 2008
• Liberty City vs New York City - May 14th, 2008
• TAG Records might just be the answer the music industry is looking for - April 11th, 2008
• Viva Las Vegas - March 26th, 2008
• Fusion Table: I want one of these.... - March 18th, 2008
• Finding my voice, finding myself - March 3rd, 2008
• Brands I Love: Potbelly Sandwich Works - March 3rd, 2008
• Brands I Love: You gotta get a Chumby - February 26th, 2008

P&G

• Have you placed your vote for the People's Choice Awards? - November 24th, 2009
• P&G moves soap opera genre online - October 4th, 2009
• Exciting changes in my life... - October 1st, 2009
• My take on the P&G Tide Loads of Hope and #pgdigital - March 14th, 2009
• You can't help but marvel at the power of Social Media - March 12th, 2009
• Support Charity with a Tide Loads of Hope Vintage T-Shirt - March 11th, 2009
• Five lessons on brand building from Jim Stengel, P&G's former Chief Marketing Officer - October 20th, 2008
• Gillette and EA Sports launch the Champions of Gaming Tournament - August 29th, 2008
• My new gig - P&G Digital Brand Strategist - August 7th, 2008
• P&G thanks our agencies while poking fun at ourselves - June 30th, 2008
• Can P&G build "real brands" with soul, history & substance? - June 13th, 2008
• I blog to find the 1 percent - June 4th, 2008
• Partnership with Varsity Spirit featured in LA Times - April 2nd, 2008
• The V Curve of Risk Taking in Brand Management - March 25th, 2008
• What's Next in Marketing? - March 24th, 2008
• Wired - "Rise of the Instapreneur" - March 23rd, 2008
• Why Shopper Marketing matters - March 2nd, 2008
• Time to start anew - February 24th, 2008

Presentation & Stats

• Brand Marketers need to watch how gaming is transforming popular culture - March 4th, 2010
• The State of the Internet [video] - February 26th, 2010
• Why the iPod Touch is the best way to reach teens & tweens - February 26th, 2010
• Twitter's rapid growth continues, now over 1 billion tweets per month - February 14th, 2010
• What is the "Point of Video" advertising? - February 10th, 2010
• Digital Strangelove (Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Net) - October 24th, 2009
• Mary Meeker's Web 2.0 Summit thoughts on the Economy & Internet - October 22nd, 2009
• Great Resource for Brand Managers: Google Launches Internet Stat Center - September 28th, 2009
• Ian Schafer's Great Adweek Keynote: "Social Media is Mature. No It Isn't" - September 26th, 2009
• How Teens Use Media: A Day in their Life Might Just Surprise You - July 14th, 2009
• Fluent: The Razorfish Social Influence Marketing Report - July 13th, 2009
• What Grand Theft Auto Can Teach Us About Connecting with Consumers - June 3rd, 2009
• All Things Digital: Why Jon Miller Went to News Corp / MySpace - May 29th, 2009
• How HBO and Deep Focus created a true Social Media case study - May 28th, 2009
• What kids think about the Future of TV - May 22nd, 2009
• Best Buy's CMO recognizes that "The Future is Digital" - May 15th, 2009
• Long-term potential of the Global Online Media Landscape - May 4th, 2009
• Where is the Future of Advertising headed? - April 26th, 2009
• The Art & Science of Seductive Interactions - April 14th, 2009
• Facebook is 5th largest "country" in the world - April 8th, 2009
• The Story of SXSW Interactive '09 through Sketchnotes - April 5th, 2009
• A Brand Manager's take on Razorfish's Digital Outlook - March 19th, 2009
• The Future of Mobile according to Resource Interactive - March 11th, 2009
• Ads, Brands and ESPN: How W&K looks at Brand Building - March 9th, 2009
• Shut Up and Listen: A guide for better and bolder work - March 2nd, 2009
• Razorfish talks about the symbiotic nature of Web 2.0 - February 26th, 2009
• Screens Are Getting Boring - February 16th, 2009
• The major trends in online media & search in 2008 - February 8th, 2009
• Charlene Li outlines for the Future of Social Networks - January 28th, 2009
• David Armano's tips for Thinking Visually - January 18th, 2009
• eMarketer: Facts and Numbers for Teens / Tweens - November 19th, 2008
• Zappos.com: Building a Brand that Matters - November 8th, 2008
• Why I'm Loving the new LinkedIn Applications - November 3rd, 2008
• Why design should matter for Brand Managers - October 28th, 2008
• Why the Digital Shopping Experience should matter to Brand Managers - October 9th, 2008
• The web is buzzing about personal branding - September 9th, 2008
• Stop writing the obituary, Social Media hasn't killed e-mail - August 18th, 2008
• Mobile Marketing 101 from Deepspace Mobile - August 17th, 2008
• How to close the Brand Gap between strategy and creativity - August 10th, 2008
• You might be surprised where Gen Y is hanging out online - August 1st, 2008
• Young people are weird: A lesson on how to build lasting youth brands - July 29th, 2008
• Digital Marketing is... - July 4th, 2008
• Content Marketing = Brand New Marketing - July 3rd, 2008
• Do you know What Teens Want? - June 27th, 2008
• Why should brands care about widgets? - June 16th, 2008
• Greg Verdino at MarketingProfs B2B Forum - June 9th, 2008
• What is the future of media? - June 4th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up: 5-23-08 - May 23rd, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up: 5-15-08 - May 15th, 2008
• David Armano on Micro Interactions - April 30th, 2008
• Yet another area the US is falling behind in - April 18th, 2008
• Quote of the Day - Yogi Berra - April 15th, 2008
• Redefining luxury today and in the future - April 8th, 2008
• What's Next in Marketing? - March 24th, 2008
• Brand Noise - Generations & Cultural Narrative - March 20th, 2008

Shopper Marketing

• Brand Managers Need To Practice "Everywhere Shopper Marketing" - July 27th, 2009
• Zappos pushes eCommerce boundaries with Social Shopping launch - July 18th, 2009
• Microsoft's view of the world in 2019 - March 5th, 2009
• Why the Digital Shopping Experience should matter to Brand Managers - October 9th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up: 5-23-08 - May 23rd, 2008
• Shopper Marketing and Digital Marketing are one and the same - March 31st, 2008
• Costco Diversion Buying Strategy - March 24th, 2008
• Wired - "Rise of the Instapreneur" - March 23rd, 2008
• Can Starbucks get its groove back? - March 20th, 2008
• Fresh and Easy leaves me underwhelmed - March 10th, 2008
• Why Shopper Marketing matters - March 2nd, 2008

Startups

• Start-ups need to invest in building brands, not just products - February 11th, 2010

Thought Provoking

• Two Years Later - A Recap of Top Posts from Hard Knox Life - February 24th, 2010
• Is it wrong to "aim out of the ball park?" - February 1st, 2010
• Barrier to success...or key to success? - January 19th, 2010
• What Matters Now: Productivity by Gina Trapani - January 8th, 2010
• What Matters Now: Thnx by Gary Vaynerchuk - January 6th, 2010
• What Matters Now: Dumb by Dave Balter - January 4th, 2010
• What Matters Now: Evangelism by Guy Kawasaki - January 1st, 2010
• What Matters Now: Business is a Game by Tony Hsieh - December 30th, 2009
• What Matters Now: Vision by Michael Hyatt - December 28th, 2009
• What Matters Now: Things to think (and do) this year - December 25th, 2009
• Paul Gillin's "Message to Graduates" - December 13th, 2009
• Pondering the concept of holding "Office Hours" in business - December 3rd, 2009
• Sometimes it is better to not have an "end goal" in mind - November 11th, 2009
• Mary Meeker's Web 2.0 Summit thoughts on the Economy & Internet - October 22nd, 2009
• Don't do away with Brand Managers... Just start to embrace marketing again - October 12th, 2009
• And you wonder why a Brand Manager's job is tougher today? - October 7th, 2009
• Thoughts on the 2009 Cincinnati Digital Hub Non-Conference - September 29th, 2009
• Brand Managers and Consumers Rarely See Eye to Eye - July 9th, 2009
• The Generation M Manifesto - July 8th, 2009
• I have seen the future of TV...and it's not your Dad's Prime Time - June 22nd, 2009
• Mad Avenue Blues: "Tech has taken us for a ride" - June 6th, 2009
• Please Give 5 and Live United - June 1st, 2009
• BusinessWeek ponders "What's a Friend Worth?" - May 23rd, 2009
• What kids think about the Future of TV - May 22nd, 2009
• I get up every morning... - May 21st, 2009
• College Students should start on their 10,000 hours of practice to get ahead - May 18th, 2009
• There is no better time to be a marketer - May 5th, 2009
• Where is the Future of Advertising headed? - April 26th, 2009
• The Art & Science of Seductive Interactions - April 14th, 2009
• The Story of SXSW Interactive '09 through Sketchnotes - April 5th, 2009
• My take on the P&G Tide Loads of Hope and #pgdigital - March 14th, 2009
• Microsoft's view of the world in 2019 - March 5th, 2009
• Digital Darwinism will change the marketing ecosystem for Brand Managers - March 3rd, 2009
• Shut Up and Listen: A guide for better and bolder work - March 2nd, 2009
• Could you have a "Google Me" Business Card? - February 28th, 2009
• GE's Plug Into the Smart Grid is plain and simple brilliant Digital Marketing - February 27th, 2009
• Razorfish talks about the symbiotic nature of Web 2.0 - February 26th, 2009
• One Year Later: A Recap of Hard Knox Life - February 24th, 2009
• Screens Are Getting Boring - February 16th, 2009
• David Armano's tips for Thinking Visually - January 18th, 2009
• Business Inspiration for the New Year - January 5th, 2009
• Seth Godin: The Marketer's Attitude - November 12th, 2008
• Visual Map of Walmart's Growth - November 7th, 2008
• 10 bloggers who inspire Hard Knox Life - October 29th, 2008
• Why design should matter for Brand Managers - October 28th, 2008
• Why the Digital Shopping Experience should matter to Brand Managers - October 9th, 2008
• Consumer-centricity - October 3rd, 2008
• Should a leader be tech savvy? - October 1st, 2008
• 5 Principles to Your Best Action Plan Ever - September 29th, 2008
• What I Believe In: My Personal Leadership Philosophy - September 15th, 2008
• The web is buzzing about personal branding - September 9th, 2008
• Is it a digital revolution...or just an evolution? - August 31st, 2008
• I know, I'm about 4 years late to this party... - August 24th, 2008
• Stop writing the obituary, Social Media hasn't killed e-mail - August 18th, 2008
• Networking isn't a dirty word - July 29th, 2008
• How the Digital Revolution is leaving the consumer behind - July 27th, 2008
• 4 ways Web 2.0 might be flawed - July 21st, 2008
• What Hard Knox Life readers want to see - July 8th, 2008
• Taking Tequila Shots on Sunday - July 6th, 2008
• My 100th post - need your feedback - June 29th, 2008
• Have you thought about your User Experience - June 26th, 2008
• Passing of a great man - June 23rd, 2008
• Lessons of the Square Watermelon - June 18th, 2008
• Can P&G build "real brands" with soul, history & substance? - June 13th, 2008
• A little bit of inspiration every day - June 13th, 2008
• Brazen Careerist is speaking up for Gen Y - June 8th, 2008
• A Day in the Life of A Brand Manager - 6/5/2008 - June 5th, 2008
• I blog to find the 1 percent - June 4th, 2008
• What is the future of media? - June 4th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up: 5-23-08 - May 23rd, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up: 5-15-08 - May 15th, 2008
• Obvious but brilliant point on Word-of-Mouth - May 13th, 2008
• Commit to a Personal Leadership Philosophy - May 7th, 2008
• OSG - We all want this marketing measurement - May 5th, 2008
• David Armano on Micro Interactions - April 30th, 2008
• Which companies have the right to be VC's? - April 28th, 2008
• A Day in the Life of a Brand Manager - 4/24/2008 - April 25th, 2008
• Is it good or bad to be blogging daily? - April 24th, 2008
• Super Brand Advocates aren't new but you need to listen to them - April 23rd, 2008
• HELLO, My Name is... - April 21st, 2008
• Jaffe thinks the creative function should fade away? - April 14th, 2008
• TAG Records might just be the answer the music industry is looking for - April 11th, 2008
• Redefining luxury today and in the future - April 8th, 2008
• The birth of a blog - April 8th, 2008
• Future Department - The Next Issue - April 1st, 2008
• Principles of Innovation from Google - March 26th, 2008
• The V Curve of Risk Taking in Brand Management - March 25th, 2008
• How do you measure Social Media? - March 24th, 2008
• Costco Diversion Buying Strategy - March 24th, 2008
• Godin - why bother having a resume? - March 18th, 2008
• Damn I wish I thought of that - March 4th, 2008
• Missing the little things - February 26th, 2008

Weekly Round-Up

• Weekly Round Up: What caught my eye in recent weeks - November 23rd, 2009
• Weekly Wrap-Up: 8-10-09 - August 10th, 2009
• Digital Weekly Round-Up: 6-28-09 - June 28th, 2009
• Weekly Round-Up: 2-3-09 - February 3rd, 2009
• Business Inspiration for the New Year - January 5th, 2009
• Weekly Round-Up: 8-19-08 - August 19th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up: 8-13-08 - August 13th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up: 5-23-08 - May 23rd, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up: 5-15-08 - May 15th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up: 5-2-2008 - May 2nd, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up 4-26-2008 - April 26th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up 4-18-2008 - April 18th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up: 4-10-2008 - April 10th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up 4-3-2008 - April 3rd, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up 3-19-2008 - March 19th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up 3-13-2008 - March 13th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up 3-6-2008 - March 5th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up 2-29-2008 - February 29th, 2008

Youth

• Lessons in Charitable Giving and Cause Marketing for Digital Millennials - December 19th, 2008
• Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup East with special discount for Hard Knox Life readers - October 8th, 2008
• IEG Sponsorship Report highlights my thoughts on Youth Marketing - October 6th, 2008
• Microsoft makes a bold move to understand direction of social networks with their latest new hire - September 22nd, 2008
• Is there such a thing as Consumer 2.0? - August 27th, 2008
• You might be surprised where Gen Y is hanging out online - August 1st, 2008
• Young people are weird: A lesson on how to build lasting youth brands - July 29th, 2008
• Don't fight pirates, learn from them - July 9th, 2008
• Do you know What Teens Want? - June 27th, 2008
• Brazen Careerist is speaking up for Gen Y - June 8th, 2008
• Wii Fit will change the game of fitness - May 28th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up: 5-23-08 - May 23rd, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up: 5-15-08 - May 15th, 2008
• Liberty City vs New York City - May 14th, 2008
• Is your WeeMee going to Prom? - April 21st, 2008
• Gen Y By Any Other Name... - April 16th, 2008
• OMG, what a lame campaign - April 7th, 2008
• Partnership with Varsity Spirit featured in LA Times - April 2nd, 2008
• Being like Dad isn't a bad thing - April 1st, 2008
• Brand Noise - Generations & Cultural Narrative - March 20th, 2008
• Weekly Round-Up 3-19-2008 - March 19th, 2008
• AOL buys Bebo for $850MM...did they get a good deal? - March 13th, 2008
• IEG Presentation - Youth is a Mindset - March 11th, 2008
• Thrillist launches in Chicago and Las Vegas - March 11th, 2008
• Mobile Advertising is Rising - March 5th, 2008
• Join me at IEG's Sponsorship Conference - March 1st, 2008
• Young guys dig Wal-Mart? - February 27th, 2008