Consumer marketers who fail to invest in and experiment with social media now might find difficulty in catching up with the competition later

John Wanamaker, the father of the department store, described the classic dilemma in advertising: “I know half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, but I can never find out which half.” Direct marketers have long believed that they have the answer. But do they?

Weeks before the season premiere later this month of the firefighter drama Rescue Me, FX is giving consumers a peek at what's to come.

A&E had consumers rubbing their eyes in amazement when it staged a live event around its new real-life series Criss Angel: Mindfreak. And rightly so.

Comic books and TV shows, blockbuster movies and video games: all provide a well of characters beloved by children and adults a fact not lost on retailers.

A&E had consumers rubbing their eyes in amazement when it staged a live event around its new real-life series Criss Angel: Mindfreak. And rightly so.

Look down. What's on your feet? Pointed shoes will soon be passé. Espadrilles will be the new rave. But you would have known that if you received DSW's Reward Your Style Loyalty Member monthly e-newsletter.

There they were in Times Square, in terrycloth bathrobes and matching slippers, brandishing fliers. Six Apprentices, each trying desperately to help their team win at the task at hand.

Sometimes I am 99% certain that my makeovers will produce a better return on investment than the original ads. But not always. Occasionally what I have blocked out is merely a creative hypothesis that deserves to be tested.

You lose customers every day. But do you know when they are lost? A strong company knows the inflection points for customer loyalty and builds systems to turn customers around and bring them back