Search has become less about words and more about meaning. Content and context are everything if you want customers to engage and buy.
Independent Thinking Blog
Customer Experience
These Four 2017 Internet Trends Are About the Findability of Your Brand
Mary Meeker’s 2017 Internet Trends report is full of goodness, including these four takeaways on advertising, commerce, and the findability of your brand.
Is Game of Thrones Right for Your Brand?
A Game of Thrones marketing tie-in probably makes sense if you sell broadswords or raise wolves. If not, is it really the right image for your brand?
Trust Me, You Don’t Wanna Cry
Data disruptions are costly and time-consuming for any business. The good news: take these steps to improve your cybersecurity and mitigate your risk.
2018 Tech Trends to Watch Now
From data-driven diversity to leveraging our know-how to monitor and improve humanity, these 14 tech trends will impact how we live and work.
PR and Marketing Are Finally Converging
The lines between PR and marketing are blurring, and over 50% of practitioners think the distinction will be meaningless within five years.
Every Budget Tells A Story
One of the best courses I took in graduate school was an economics requirement that everyone else had dreaded – and then proceeded to hate. I loved it. The topic was fascinating. So what enthralled my liberal-arts-educated brain? A primer on social security, pensions,...
Personalization or Privacy: Which Comes First?
Consumers want personalization. It's the 21st century equivalent of the place where everybody knows your name. It's why we love Amazon. It's why we use mobile wallets and let our browsers auto-save form data. It's why Facebook is so insistent on wishing me "good...
Three Cybersecurity Steps You Should Put in Place Right Now
Cybersecurity is a very big deal. Just ask the health systems that have had their data hacked. The retail chains that have had customer credit card information stolen. Or even the hotel that paid to remove ransomware after all its guests were locked out of their...
Here’s Why Chatbots Aren’t Ready for Prime Time
It's time to talk about chatbots again. Last year I asked if chatbots would solve customer service. As companies, we want automation to take over simple tasks. But, as consumers, we want something else. We want seamless transactions and brand consistency. We can...