The dynamic needs of the community are where brands — pervasive, well-known, preferred — come into play. read more >

Wayne Cranford was a student of quality. A master of tone. Not only in the written and spoken word, but also in the way it was written and spoken. read more >

With a pandemic entire countries — indeed, cultures — can be thrown into a type of panic that paralyzes routine activities, including day-to-day commerce driven by consumers. read more >

Consumer Reports published the day after Christmas their list version titled, “The Most Influential Products of the Past Decade.” As they describe it, it’s their editors’ picks for the products and services that defined the 2010s. Here is our abridged and commented-on inventory. read more >

How you feel about the nation’s economy in general, and your personal financial situation in particular, is more to the point of measuring consumer sentiment. read more >

Consumers continually look for convenience and time-savings. Add discounting, and if sales did not grow, a lack of confidence would be replaced by outright fear, and a total lack of economic backbone. read more >

As many know, the pre-op regimen can be extensive. It includes purchasing several pieces of medical equipment to aid in the prevention of possible post-op problems. But where surgery is concerned, some preventive measures before and after surgery are not covered by insurance. Curious. read more >

Setting aside the president’s previous comment that trade wars are “easy to win,” the oft-repeated notion that China, for instance, is paying billions of dollars in tariffs simply does not have the added value of being true. read more >

Most of the districts placed under state control have suffered from fiscal distress, even though the Arkansas Constitution requires the state to provide to all K-12 students an adequate and equitable education. read more >

During this Fourth of July celebratory week, consumers across America will be exercising their independence in the marketplace. We may shop, but we may not. Either way, we will salute in some manner the notion of consumer independence. read more >

With unemployment continuing to be at undeniably low rates, the labor market is tight. Usually tight labor markets — more jobs than available or desirous workers — result in increased wage pressure as businesses increase salaries to attract the workers they want. And that contributes to inflation. But there is no wage pressure. read more >

Where are you getting fresh ideas for your business? Are you better off looking within your industry, or outside of it? read more >

Effective content’s objective is not to just grab attention, but to hold it. Grabbing alone doesn’t support the brand; it supports the ad. read more >

The problem’s not that glass isn’t recyclable. It is. The problem is that glass breaks. read more >

In consumer marketing, if you can unite a wide audience around your product or service through storytelling, you have a diverse market, a market that may protect the company from inevitable economic swings. read more >

Compromise is not a four-letter word. It’s a way to appeal to the greatest number of players or customers. Compromise moves ideas, issues and products toward acceptance. read more >

The top two observations are the coming proliferation in 2019 of Amazon Go and Alibaba Hema. The category is cashier-less retailing. read more >

Recycling is a business; it’s transactional, subject to market pressures and the critical law of supply and demand. read more >

Have you taken advantage of the special two-seek sale going on? Political consumers have. It’s the sale sponsored by our democracy. And if you’re not participating, you’re missing out! read more >

If consumer choice is placed ahead of consumer protection, then caveat emptor: Let the buyer beware. read more >