We’ve all heard the news—PRINT ADVERTISING IS DEAD—and has been for a long time. Egon Spengler, media-astute Ghostbuster, even made the declaration on the big screen more than 30 years ago. We hate to pit the Ghostbusters against our B2B food and ingredient media partners—who are telling us that print advertising isn’t dead, that it… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
Many market research projects begin with a simple request: “Can we get a number on that?” Though few of us have advanced degrees in math, marketers are used to dealing with a lot of numbers. We set numeric goals, evaluate sales figures, review market research data, and report on metrics. We’re not accountants, but we… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
Last year, my (former) physician sent me from his office with a prescription for “eat more bran.” Bran didn’t help. Bran, it turns out, was one of the reasons I had to see the doctor in the first place. As I would learn through self-diagnosis a few weeks later, I have (and have had for… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
Activity trackers have recently been making news with their data collection and aggregation capabilities—most notably, the heatmaps that fitness-tracking app Strava generated and published based on user data from around the world. While the conversation has largely been focused on tracking of military personnel and national security implications, the story has three key components that… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
If I remember correctly, the first book I was assigned to read in high school is The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Arguably a relatively inaccessible piece of literature to expect a 14-year-old to rightly apply to life, it is one that I can now, years later, recognize as applicable to the workplace, particularly… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
Who is the best pet marketing agency? Chances are good that you’re reading this because you searched for “best pet marketing agencies” or something close to it (“pet industry marketing,” e.g.). That would make perfect sense. Though your situation is personal and specific, it’s much easier to start big and narrow from there. This is… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
Mark Zuckerberg recently announced a Facebook update in which posts from business Pages will no longer appear in users’ primary News Feed. While paid posts will continue to appear in the News Feed, an impending drop in organic engagement with Page posts means brands need to revisit their social media strategies in anticipation of this… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
As a student of journalism, “don’t bury the lede” was one of the first lessons—communicate the most compelling and important part of a story clearly, early. In branding and marketing, the mantra also applies; don’t bury the lead! When further extrapolating this thought to leads, it is important to consider that timely delivery of a… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
Holiday marketing may be more ubiquitous than ever, given the ease of publishing content on social media, and yet doing it well has not gotten easier. Social media and digital marketing have increased expectations that brands will do something for any given holiday: after all, everyone else is. Yet the prevalence of these holiday promotions,… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
The Guardian reports that the large UK bookstore chain Waterstones has opened three small branches without the chain’s branding. The three stores are individually named—Southwold Books, Harpenden Books, and The Rye Bookshop—located in small towns that previously lacked a bookstore, and have a smaller footprint than the typical branded store. Waterstones managing director told The… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
Transparency is the biggest trend reshaping the food, pet, and nutrition industries today. We have dedicated significant analysis to the trend on this site, but we also want to make sure our readers are aware of relevant news on the topic, whether we analyze it or not. This post represents our first transparency report, covering the latter… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
The FDA recently announced changes to the Nutrition Facts label, with more details about sugar. Starting in 2018 [1], the FDA will require Nutrition Facts labels to distinguish between sugars found naturally in ingredients and sugars added, both in grams and a percentage of daily recommended value. The FDA is recommending no more than ten… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
With a nationwide GMO labeling bill now signed into law, brands are attempting to sort out what the new requirements will mean for their products. Although the FDA has until summer 2019 to establish the full rules for the law—and even longer to enforce them—the length of supply chains means that brands are already pondering… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
Google vs Market Research As a college student circa 2005, I was brash enough with my newfound power of knowledge that I told my mother that Googling “didn’t count as research.” A few years later my mom asked me, somewhat pointedly, if that were still true, and though I had to admit that Google had… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>
Pet Marketing Insights The above list isn’t a sampler of pet industry trends. Rather, it’s a list of realities that we, as a brand growth firm and full-service marketing agency, treat as basic facts informing our pet marketing insight, strategy, and tactics. What really gets us excited are the deep cross-connections among trends and consumer behavior… Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span>