Author Archive

It Takes an iVillage: A conversation with Candice Carpenter Olson on the evolution of community

One of the most iconic symbols of the early days of online community is iVillage – and the company’s founder and former CEO, Candice Carpenter Olson, recently visited us at Communispace. It was fascinating to hear about her original vision for iVillage, her philosophy about how women would connect with each other on the web, and her next big idea in the learning space.

One of the most iconic symbols of the early days of online community is iVillage – and the company’s founder and former CEO, Candice Carpenter Olson, recently visited us at Communispace.  It was fascinating to hear about her original vision for iVillage, her philosophy about how women would connect with each other on the web, and her next big idea in the learning space.

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Wallet Half Shut

Understanding the post-recession consumer is a hot topic in the press. Recently, we released a study done in partnership with Ogilvy on this very topic. The study, Eyes Wide Open, Wallet Half Shut, provides a holistic look at consumers in the aftermath of one of the worst economic crises of our time. Next week, Manila Austin and Graceann Bennett will be presenting our detailed findings at an ANA conference for financial services professionals in Boca Raton. In advance of the conference, I asked them about the research and its implications for companies and brands in the financial sector.

Understanding the post-recession consumer is a hot topic in the press. Recently, we released a study done in partnership with Ogilvy on this very topic. The study, Eyes Wide Open, Wallet Half Shut, provides a holistic look at consumers in the aftermath of one of the worst economic crises of our time. Next week, Manila Austin and Graceann Bennett will be presenting our detailed findings at an ANA conference for financial services professionals in Boca Raton.  In advance of the conference, I asked them about the research and its implications for companies and brands in the financial sector.

What did you find most surprising when you were digging through all the data and research?
As stressed out as people are about money—homes being devalued, losing jobs, no raises—that consumers seemed much less interested in the pursuit of money.  They are drawing clear lines and have fallen out of love with the rat race.  They’d trade upward mobility for a secure job, they’d rather work less and have less junk (but more time with their family).  People have realized that striving for money is exhausting, doesn’t always pay out and is not necessarily worth it.

Have people changed the way they relate to money?
Yes; most definitely. They’re thinking much more on a macro and holistic level when it comes to money and how they spend it.  It’s macro in terms of the purchase decisions that go way beyond traditional category decisions—so we see people doing things like putting off buying a new car to support their Starbucks habit in the short term (as opposed to looking more narrowly at how to “trade down” by brewing coffee at home or switching to Dunkin’ Donuts).

What are the new values we see emerging from the “Great Recession,” if any?
The big one is the notion of sustainability on a personal level—people are figuring out how to live more sustainable lives.  The shift we are seeing is people seeking relative peace of mind in making choices that don’t bankrupt the ecosystem, their finances, their health and what matters most.

What advice would you give the financial institutions who survived this ordeal?
One of the things we found is that Americans are even more distrustful of banks than before the recession (which is no surprise), but they also see the media and other Americans as contributing to the mess we’re in and not trustworthy either. The circle of trust has really shrunk.  What is going to matter to people the most is what companies are doing at local and tangible levels.  If banks, investment firms, insurance agencies and other financial institutions can show people they are making a positive impact within local communities then they can rebuild that lost trust (so spending money on local programs that people can see and touch vs. a more abstract communication like a national brand advertising campaign).

Looking down the road five years…do you think the lessons learned from 2009 will still be relevant?
Yes, in the way that we learn to appreciate all those experiences that end up making us who we are.  People are people and will, inevitably, slip back into some bad habits.  However, the new awareness they have won will still be there. And the money-management smarts and strategies people have learned will also continue to serve them (being much less inclined to take on large debt or buying things that don’t add value beyond simple novelty or entertainment, for example).  After all, it isn’t really possible to “un-know” something; and so we don’t see people returning 100 percent to the folly of their old ways.

To learn more about this report don’t miss the Eyes Wide Open, Wallet Half Shut Webinar on Thursday, May 6th 2010.

3 Responses to “Wallet Half Shut”

  1. Paul Dredge says:

    Diane,

    The line “it isn’t really possible to “un-know” something” is wonderfully engaging. I’m not sure it’s true, given the state of my memory sometimes, but your point makes a lot of sense.

    Paul

  2. Richard B says:

    The idea of sustainability on a personal level is very cool. I had never thought of it that way. I wonder if some folks will find greater quality of life and think twice before reverting back as much to their pre-rescission habits.

  3. Chris Campbell says:

    08 and 09 were certainly great wake up calls to all consumers. Brands will need to prove their salt as well over the next 2-3 years with “wiser” consumers and sku rationalization at retailers a current reality

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Transformations in Next-Generation Research

One of the best parts of my job is that I get to spend significant time with Communispace clients. My goal is to meet with at least 50 clients in the course of a year, and when I see them, I often ask these questions: What have you learned since we last met? What is changing in your field? What did you used to think was true that no longer is?

The answers are always fascinating—and recently, we synthesized comments from 100 insights professionals about their “New Normal.” The result is a list of 8 New Rules for Listening to Customers. As follow-up, we’ve gotten reactions from another 200 people, and we are currently getting additional responses from attendees at the recent ARF Re:think Conference in NYC where I’ll be presenting these to a large audience for the first time.

One of the best parts of my job is that I get to spend significant time with Communispace clients. My goal is to meet with at least 50 clients in the course of a year, and when I see them, I often ask these questions: What have you learned since we last met? What is changing in your field? What did you used to think was true that no longer is?

The answers are always fascinating—and recently, we synthesized comments from 100 insights professionals about their “New Normal.” The result is a list of 8 New Rules for Listening to Customers. As follow-up, we’ve gotten reactions from another 200 people, and we are currently getting additional responses from attendees at the recent ARF Re:think Conference in NYC where I’ll be presenting these to a large audience for the first time.

#1: Manage Your Social Media Jitters. In these days of Web 2.0 and conversations, it’s a constant that some consumers will tell you that your data is just plain wrong. Sometimes they are right, as in the case of members complaining last year about changes in Facebook’s privacy policy (which Facebook subsequently changed back). However, sometimes their truth is not reality for others. Example: in last year’s Motrin Moms ad “disaster,” we found that the majority of online moms had never even heard about the problem, and most of them thought that the ad was just fine. We need to listen hard to consumers, for sure, but if your target consumers are not on Twitter, for instance, then you don’t necessarily need to change strategy because of an angry tweet or two. Market researchers told us that their internal customers were just plain jittery and that they needed to be ever more educated about social media in this new age of customer engagement.

#2: Game-Changing Insights Don’t Usually Come From Testing. Time and again, clients bemoan the enormous investment they make in research that proves what they already know. This doesn’t mean that testing is unnecessary, but it does mean that equal emphasis needs to be placed on more open-ended discovery—leading to unmet needs, competitive white spaces, and new texture that can transform organizations. The most recent example of this is the Leno/Conan debacle, in which the data seemed to work, but where NBC completely missed how a generation of late-night TV watchers like to see the news, laugh, and go to sleep—in that order.

#3: Go Beyond the Ad-Hoc-Ness of Research. The notion that every time clients have a question or project they need to recruit a new group of consumers is expensive, slow, and impractical. The result of ad-hoc projects is a constant focus on whom to ask and how to recruit them, with little room left to focus on finding insights. Although many thought that the true value of online research would be related to cost-savings, the bigger benefit is that the web enables you to have continuous conversations with customers. Thus, the focus group gets extended (in case consumers have other thoughts or change their minds), the survey can reveal the “what” and the “why,” people can change their answers, and you have a chance to understand more than a small slice of your customers’ lives. This is reinforced by our new research on post-recession consumers, conduced with our partners from Ogilvy, in which a series of ongoing conversations with consumers gave texture about their lives that we could never have gotten from one project. This new research is available here.

#4: Cutting Edge Technology + Poor Research Methodology = Lousy Research. Just because a technology is new doesn’t mean it will result in the kinds of breakthroughs clients are looking for. Clients told us they were becoming more skeptical about “the shiny new thing” in and of itself—especially when it didn’t help accomplish the goal. Bernie Malinoff of Element 54 has done fascinating research to support this issue, showing how new fangled Web 2.0 surveys are often more difficult and less valid. The days of saying, “Let me see your software demo” will be replaced by questions about the fundamentals: How do you get people to open up? How do you create trust online? How do you learn what people really think?

#5: Don’t Mistake Data for Insight. In 1995, a financial services client told me he estimated that he could fill 12 Manhattan skyscrapers with data that his organization didn’t use. That was before the Internet Age, and thus I’d imagine they could now fill several city blocks. It’s just not true that whoever has the most data wins. Executives are hungry for “something I don’t know,” “something that will change how I think about my business,” or the like. We need to synthesize and report our findings in a way that gets to the core issues. The 70-slide PowerPoint presentation just won’t get read because the author can’t net it out.

#6: Top Executives Would Rather Have Fast Than Perfect. When executives have a burning question, the response in 2010 can no longer be, “If you give me $35,000 and 6 weeks, I’ll come back with a binder full of statistically significant information that will knock your socks off.” Too little, too late. The response that works is, “I can’t give you a perfect answer, but how about if I give you an early read from 50 consumers tomorrow morning?” That kind of response is in synch with the urgent pace of business today—and it’s more likely to add value to the process.

#7: Don’t Underestimate the Power of n=1. This is my favorite client quote, told to us recently by our first client, Tom Brailsford of Hallmark. Tom has several degrees in statistics and math, and he knows that there is safety in numbers. Still Tom is struck by how the big breakthroughs often happen away from the spotlight. His quest these days is often for something different than a pie chart: the lone voice that just makes him say, “Hmmmm…” This is substantiated by scores of clients who have told us that one emotional verbatim can move mountains in the executive suite.

#8: The Future Engagement Will Trump Sample Size. In an age when everyone is a professional respondent, the new currency will be less related to how many people receive the survey or how many consumers are in the online community. Instead, the metrics will relate to engagement: How many people actually participate? How much time will they spend? Will they do more than fill out a quick poll? How honest will they be? How hard will they work to help us understand their lives, dreams, and frustrations? Will they be engaged even if we don’t pay them much? The answers to these are the holy grail of 21st century listening.

I’m interested in your reactions: what you like most, what you like least, and what you think is missing. Post them here, or email me at dhessan@communispace.com, and I will send everyone’s thoughts out in the next month.

9 Responses to “Transformations in Next-Generation Research”

  1. Ted Morris says:

    I’ve always been baffled as to why the kind of innovation in marketing research, as mentioned above, did not come from MR firms in the first place. The MR industry largely ignored anything to do with social media and online communities until late 2008 when the industry saw its growth hit a wall. No wonder, as Coke recently stated, 80% of MR budgets is spent looking backwards, a reflection of the legacy MR culture of selling ‘research by the pound’. By contrast, online community insight firms have been operating in the ‘here and now’ since their origins in the early 2000’s, using an ‘outside-in’ approach to applied marketing without undue emphasis on research ‘technique’.

  2. [...] Generation Research I recently found a wonderful blog post by Diane Hessan discussing the transformations in marketing and advertising research. She has spent the past few [...]

  3. [...] To read the rest of Diane Hessan’s rules for next-gen marketing, please visit her blog at Communispace. [...]

  4. I like point #7, “Don’t underestimate power of n=1″ but probably not in the same way that the client intended.

    In text analytics we can now conduct a census of what is being said in a discussion board etc. So we don’t have to rely on sampling. So while our sample in a given month might be n=5000 that 1 person who said something differently is no longer an “outlier” but may be saying something really important.

    We have to catch what n=1 says, they may be alerting us of a new opportunity or a serious problem which if not nipped in the bud can grow.

    So even in n=10,000 pay attention to each single person, n=1

  5. [...] To read the rest of Diane Hessan’s rules for next-gen marketing, please visit her blog at Communispace. [...]

  6. Diane Hessan says:

    Ted has a great point. Isn’t it interesting, though, how the major players in any industry find it difficult to be the innovators? I think that it’s hard to let go of the business model that works for you, the core competencies you have built, and so on. Look at newspapers. You know what they should do, but how to get there?

  7. Annabel Smyth says:

    #3 I really like your point highlighting the problem that so much of the energy (and money) going into ad-hoc projects is spent on recruitment, to the detriment of the actual point of the research. The fact is that panel recruitment for “traditional” research is an incredibly difficult process, and it’s gotten steadily harder and harder over the last 20 years. Having said that, I do believe there will always be a real requirement for ad hoc surveys, e.g. for pre and post awareness testing, where you need entirely different samples. The good news for ad-hoc, is that I am sure that intelligent, innovative use of web capabilities will help to introduce time and cost savings to the process.

    Meanwhile, even for traditional panels (e.g. TV Ratings or consumer CPG panels) there are usually fixed time-limits on how long a panel member can remain on it. This is because of the belief that by virtue of being on the panel for a long period of time, panellists’ views and/or behaviour may change. Have you studied the implications of this for panel members of online communities? I can understand the value of an ongoing dialogue, but I feel that these panellists would be especially sophisticated, and perhaps even more open to changes in their views/behaviour than traditional panellists.

    #5 Don’t Mistake Data for Insight. Let’s beware the danger of experiencing a “new normal” of senior executives believing that, with all of these great new technological advances, it is now easy to produce Insight. Technology can certainly help to speed up research; to reduce costs; to significantly expand on the depth of information provided by respondents; and to use sophisticated modelling techniques to pinpoint fluctuations or new trends. However, to nit-pick Insight of mountains of Data, we still need lots of the same, old-fashioned resource: intelligent, motivated and really well-trained individuals, who can take time to mull over what are the really key points of relevance to their clients’ market/brand/situation. And ultimately, the best Insights occur when the research practitioner has an excellent, ongoing dialogue with the client, and fully understands their business priorities and issues – it’s still a two-way street.

    #6 Haven’t Top Executives ALWAYS Wanted Fast Over Perfect? It just hasn’t been possible until now. There have always been two opposing forces at work in research: the client/boss wanting the answers NOW, and the research practitioner wanting to use the best methodology to generate those answers. For the incredible new research tools such as online communities to be harnessed effectively, we must:
    · Continue to establish high quality research briefs from the client (perhaps one of the most overlooked aspects of market research)
    · And continue to press for the application of high quality research techniques. Yes, we have amazing new tools, but they still require skilled handling (let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water).

  8. [...] Hessan has some provocative thoughts on the next generation of market research. As always, the solution depends on the problem, but I liked the points [...]

  9. Diane Hessan says:

    Annabel, to answer your questions:

    Re the effects of keeping consumers for long periods of time, here’s one report on it from our research team:http://www.communispace.com/research/abstract/?Type=All%20About%20Communities&Id=6

    Re your comments on item #5, I completely agree! Despite all of our text analytics tools, there is nothing that results in insight better than people who have the ability to synthesize, analyze or find those “nuggets”. You just can’t (yet) automate that.

    Re your comments on item #6, I think executives now understand that fast is often “an early read”, or a way to check on a “hypothesis”, and we need to loosen up and be OK with that rather than assuming that executives will be irresponsible with the data.

    Thanks for the perspective!

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Values Live

Our seven corporate values include: Client Dedication, Excellence, Integrity, Respect, Adventure, Energy and Ownership.

Here is a peek into what those values mean to all of us at Communispace…

Our seven corporate values include: Client Dedication, Excellence, Integrity, Respect, Adventure, Energy and Ownership.

Here is a peek into what those values mean to all of us at Communispace…

2 Responses to “Values Live”

  1. Gina Davison says:

    It’s fantastic to hear the employees speak so enthusiastically about the values at Communispace. It must be refreshing to work in a positive, team-oriented environment where (my favorites) excellence, energy and client dedication are so revered. Communispace sets a great example!

  2. Passionate employees attract passionate customers. It was fantastic to watch the video and see a very diverse group of people raving about the organization. What is even more fantastic is that folks really feel like that about the organization without the camera in front of them. You can hear it in the community in casual conversations and it makes Communispace a very attractive place, especially for a seasoned professional who has seen less passionate environments. It also keeps the corporate cockroaches away (I have written a blog post on that issue).

    That all said, I have recently interviewed with Communispace and though I have lost out to a better qualified candidate (like it should be), I will continue following the organization, because it is definitely the company I would like to work for!

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Yahoo! What The Top Searches of 2009 Might Tell Us

Jon Keller, of WBZ-TV, recently asked for my perspective on Yahoo!’s “Most Popular Web Searches for 2009”. If you haven’t read the list yet, guess what made the Top Ten. What might we have wondered about in 2009? Obama? The war in Iraq? Sarah Palin? Twitter? Mad Men? AIG?

Jon Keller, of WBZ-TV, recently asked for my perspective on Yahoo!’s “Most Popular Web Searches for 2009”. If you haven’t read the list yet, guess what made the Top Ten. What might we have wondered about in 2009? Obama? The war in Iraq? Sarah Palin? Twitter? Mad Men? AIG? 

Most people I interviewed were surprised at the results:  a roundup of pop culture icons—and escapist activities ranging from video games to WWF to American Idol. There are many implications of the results, not the least of which is that as marketers we shouldn’t assume we understand what occupies people’s minds these days, because we’d probably get it wrong. Here’s the link to the Jon Keller piece, where he and I agree that our collective fascination with relatively “shallow” topics is probably more related to needed therapy in stressful times than it is to a Cultural Armageddon. I’d be interested in your thoughts.

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  1. [...] This post was Twitted by CommunispaceCEO [...]

  2. [...] This post was Twitted by paulinechu [...]

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Dishing with Diane: Jerry Kane shares his perspective on the power of social media

Jerry Kane, Assistant Professor of Information Systems, Carroll School of Management Boston College, sat down with me recently to discuss how companies can gauge the effectiveness of social media within their organizations. He provides his professional perspective on the future of social networking.

Jerry Kane, Assistant Professor of Information Systems, Carroll School of Management Boston College, sat down with me recently to discuss how companies can gauge the effectiveness of social media within their organizations. He provides his professional perspective on the future of social networking.

2 Responses to “Dishing with Diane: Jerry Kane shares his perspective on the power of social media”

  1. Joe Wehr says:

    Diane

    Nice interview with BC’s “wiki professor”. Thanks.

    What I wouldn’t do to swap places with my nephew, Joe Wehr, BC ‘10.

    Joe Wehr, BC ‘69

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Dishing with Diane: Jeffrey Rayport on how great brands connect with their consumers

Jeffrey F. Rayport, currently an operating partner at Castanea Partners, formerly the founder and chairman of Marketspace and a Harvard Business School professor, recently paid me a visit in our Boston office. During his visit, we sat down to talk about the transformative power and evolution of digital media; strategies for marketers as we emerge from the recession; and how the greatest brands are delighting their customers by connecting with them at every level.

Jeffrey F. Rayport, currently an operating partner at Castanea Partners, formerly the founder and chairman of Marketspace and a Harvard Business School professor, recently paid me a visit in our Boston office. During his visit, we sat down to talk about the transformative power and evolution of digital media; strategies for marketers as we emerge from the recession; and how the greatest brands are delighting their customers by connecting with them at every level.

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Dishing with Diane: Robin Fray Carey on how B2B companies harness Web 2.0

Robin Fray Carey, CEO of Social Media Today, and I discuss how web 2.0 is transforming the media business and how B2B organizations are harnessing tools and platforms to generate authentic conversations in real time.

Robin Fray Carey, CEO of Social Media Today, and I discuss how web 2.0 is transforming the media business and how B2B organizations are harnessing tools and platforms to generate authentic conversations in real time.

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Offline Community

In 2006, I told the CEO of a major grocery chain that he should consider having a large space in the stores dedicated to customer service and events. He told me I didn’t understand his business, and that every square inch of the store needed to be stocked with product—to maximize revenue per square foot.

I’m not a grocery expert, so I backed off.

In 2006, I told the CEO of a major grocery chain that he should consider having a large space in the stores dedicated to customer service and events. He told me I didn’t understand his business, and that every square inch of the store needed to be stocked with product—to maximize revenue per square foot.

I’m not a grocery expert, so I backed off.

img00019-20090923-1210

Fast forward to 2009… my recent trip to London. Here’s a photo of the inside of one of the most successful retail stores in London.

Of course, it’s an Apple store, but it certainly looks more like a hotel lobby. As my good friend and colleague Jeffery Rayport reminded me a few weeks ago—at a minimum, this is not a retailer that maximizes revenue per square foot by filling its space chock-full of product. All of the pundits have compared Apple’s numbers to several competitors, but the numbers do underscore the power of community and its ability to shape the buying experience: you can increase revenue per square foot by getting your customers and their friends to fill your retail space—instead of walking sideways down the aisles, worried about knocking over stacks of products. Right in the above photo, taken randomly from my blackberry, we see all of the new buzzwords: word-of-mouth marketing, ratings-and-reviews, and more. And, if you look at the photo below, we see true engagement.

img00023-20090923-1214

I’ve shown these photos to many people at Communispace. It helps to create for us a picture of what is hopefully going on in our own communities. Surely, we are increasing peoples’ “purchase intent” or their “customer loyalty” or their NPS score, but hopefully we are also creating much more than that: a meeting place that transforms the relationship that companies have with their customers.

8 Responses to “Offline Community”

  1. Diane,
    Great post, it would be so cool if a grocery store had more of a community aspect. They are common points in every neighborhood.

    I was in the Theater District of Boston a couple of days ago where there is a Stabucks and Dunkin’s literally 10 steps away from each other. Faced with the question of where to caffinate, I took one look at the assembly line of DD and made my way to the living room of the Bucks. I wasn’t playing on hanging out at either but I appreciated Starbucks invitation.
    -Marcus

  2. Martin Reed says:

    Interesting article. Can people get as excited about milk and bananas as they do about Apples, though? Do supermarkets really need to get people excited about staple products?

  3. Diane Hessan says:

    Marcus and Martin, I think you are both raising interesting issues. If it weren’t for my Communispace experience, I’d wonder whether Apple’s retail breakthrough could also apply to grocery stores. However, our consumer communities for grocery brands are some of the most vibrant, interesting and emotional ones we have. People are incredibly energized when they talk about food: shopping for it, cooking it, and of course, eating it. Look at what Trader Joe’s has done — and I actually think they are just scratching the surface.

    I also also think this applies to clothing stores, and I have one great idea (which might be impractical). Right now, I want to save that for a special client. :)

  4. Rebecca Mackenzie says:

    Diane, reading this post, I instantly thought of the Wegmans grocery store near where my parents live in upstate NY. Whenever I visit them, I like to stop there once or twice for some “shopping” — which always turns into an hours-long experience, as they have an in-house coffee shop, pizza, sushi, vegetarian buffett, deli and in-house dining area. The store also has a childcare center and offers cooking classes for the community. I’m surprised more grocery stores haven’t jumped into this kind of multi-faceted food experience business.

  5. Indeed customer engagement starts off with real value in a shops’ products and services combined w/ genuine hospitality. The customer experience & sat would benefit greatly when other segments in retail (or beyond for that matter) would apply the Apple example to make the difference. Think of eg automotive dealerships: the other day I waited for 2 h for my saab to be fixed in a non-heated office that did not have WiFi, being served very dark tea, in isolation from other people waiting. Why not offer services on demand eg a productive workspace, a gaming area for kids, an infotainment area showing footage on the journey of a new car from R&D to factory to dealership and a networking area to get to know other customers in-person and online – to share experiences on the car and the dealer’s service yet also for business networking (?!).

  6. Diane Hessan says:

    Isn’t it interesting how much opportunity there still is in retail? I hate to say it, but when I read Rebecca and Paul’s comments, it all goes back to the basic question of “what business are you in?” Paul the Saab story is a classic auto story because the auto companies think the best-looking car will win! Instead, we all look at the complete car-buying and car-owning experience, don’t we?

  7. Ted Morris says:

    Diane, My first job (25 yrs ago!) was with The Hudson’s Bay Company, the world’s oldest retail department store, based here in Toronto. Our President felt that all merchandise should be on the retail floor, not in the stock rooms. He was quite right at that time. In this day, less floor space for merchandise would leave more room for an augmented customer experience, potentially opening up space for customers to congregate, try out product and meet people from the brands they are seeking to purchase and exchange experiences. Stores should be physical brand hubs, places where people talk and socialize – like the village square of old. Cheers, Ted.

  8. Nahumg says:

    Actually, here in MD (USA), I was told by one of the managers of the local Apple Store, that in the US the Apple stores have one of the highest if not the highest revenue per square foot!

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Dishing with Diane: Brian Collins on the impact of design

Brian Collins, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer at Collins, an innovation-led brand building firm, sits down with Diane Hessan to talk about design, brand steward-ship, generation Y, and Pinocchio.

Brian Collins, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer at Collins, an innovation-led brand building firm, sits down with Diane Hessan to talk about design, brand steward-ship, generation Y, and Pinocchio.

2 Responses to “Dishing with Diane: Brian Collins on the impact of design”

  1. Maureen says:

    Diane,
    Nice interview w/ Brian Collins. I recently saw him speak at MassArt. He is such an inspiration. He is what we should all aspire to be: one who loves what we do and uses it to bring about positive change in the world.

  2. Diane Hessan says:

    Maureen, he IS truly inspiring. I didn’t want the interview to end: I’m sure you can relate!

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