Relevant articles covering issues and challenges facing senior executives today.

Tough Times Increase Pressure To Meet the Marketing Effectiveness Imperative [PDF]
By Chiaki Nishino and Jay Milliken

Jay Milliken and Chiaki Nishino expose the notion of marketing effectiveness in times of recession, placing particular emphasis on Test and Learn.

Where Do the Best Ideas Come From? The Unlikeliest Sources
By Kevin O'Donnell

There's a "secret sauce," as a friend would put it, to creating a recipe that works for serving up innovation success. But if businesses have trouble getting it quite right, it's because they're short on a critical ingredient: inspiration. (AdAge, July 16, 2008)

“Customer Experience” – Managing an integrated brand [PDF]
By Andrea Hilber and Roland Bernhard

CMOs can no longer invest in traditional marketing channels.  They must focus their marketing dollars on customer touchpoints that create the greatest opportunity to generate sustainable brand value.  *Please note, this article is in German. (Marketing & Kommunikation, July/August 2008)

Innovation Quest: Catalytic Leaders Set the Pace [PDF]
By Kevin O'Donnell

Innovation appears to be the holy grail of our times.  But the innovation quest is long, laborious and not for the faint of heart.  Success requires strong leadership setting the pace: a catalyst and change agent who has the vision, desire and ability to enlist and inspire others to the cause. (Marketing News, June 1, 2008)

Dispelling the Myths About Open Innovation [PDF]
By Jennifer Dominiquini

The concept of Open Innovation is increasingly familiar and many organizations are eager to position themselves to harness its potential.  However, considerable confusion exists around what Open Innovation is and what it isn’t.  This article aims to dispell three of the prevailing myths about Open Innovation.

How to Win the Hearts and Minds of Hispanic Customers [PDF]
By Andrew Pierce and Jorge Aguilar

With the Hispanic population in the US expected to surpass white non-Hispanic inhabitants by 2030, marketers are scrambling for ways to tap into growing spending power while generating loyalty to their brands. Strong, enduring brand loyalty can be built among Hispanics, but not by using tactics that work for white, Middle America. (MarketingProfs, June 17, 2008)

Multiculti Markets Demand Multilayered Marketing [PDF]
By Andrew Pierce

The growth in minority markets is substantial and their potential buying power is even greater.  Marketers who map out the most customer-centric approaches to establish their relevance to these diverse populations will be rewarded with the kind of strong and enduring brand loyalty that drives sustainable business growth.  (Marketing News, May 2008)

The Risks of Being "Green" [PDF]
By Joseph Gelman

In an interview with the financial daily La Gaceta de los Negocios, Joseph Gelman, Prophet partner and director of the company's office in Spain, talks about the challenges facing green brands. *Please note this interview is in Spanish. (La Gaceta de los Negocios, May 20,2008)

RISQUÉ BUSINESS: Sex Sells. Or Does it? [PDF]
By Kevin O'Donnell

Your customers—current and intended—have certain expectations of both your brand and your category. There’s a fine line between outrageous and offensive messaging, and the risk of crossing it and alienating more customers than you entice must be evaluated. (Marketing News, April 2008)

The Marketing Mix [PDF]
By Joseph Gelman

Joseph Gelman argues that the concept of bank branches is still alive, despite claims to the contrary. Banks should therefore take advantage of this situation to transmit the essence of their brand to clients at all points of interaction, particularly in light of the current cash crisis. (Strategic Marketing, July/August 2008)

Beware the Pitfalls of the Green Branding Push [PDF]
By Joseph Gelman

In this opinon piece, Joseph Gelman and Francisco Pinedo from Prophet's Madrid office, discuss the pitfalls of "green" branding in the car industry. (Expansión, April 29, 2008)

The Connection Between Brand and Business Strategy [PDF]
By Joseph Gelman

This issue of Marketing y Ventas features a 6-page interview with Joseph Gelman.  In it, he discusses the notion of the empowered CMO, emotional branding, and challenges facing Spanish brands. *Please note, this article is in Spanish. (Marketing y Ventas, May 2008)

Marketing-Touchpoints - The UBS story  [PDF]
By Inga Schmidt

This article was co-authored with our client, UBS, and has been translated into English from the original German text. It illustrates how active touchpoint management can help in converting prospects to clients, extending relationships to existing clients and therefore driving business results. (Marketing Journal, November 2007)

Learn to Use Communication's Negative Space [PDF]
By Kevin O'Donnell

In the environment where you can reach your customers 24/7, success at building a brand—at solidifying and growing your relationship with customers—is really all about being selective. You need to pick the right time and place or, better yet, let the customer pick for you. (Marketing News, November 1, 2007)

Turning Green Into Gold [PDF]
By Andrew Pierce

In this article, Andrew argues that the question for most companies is not if they will take action to make their brands environmentally friendly, but when and the extent to which they will do so. He then discusses what it takes to successfully make green work as a business and brand builder. (Marketing News, October 1, 2007)

‘Quantilitative’ Research & Beyond: New Platforms for Customer Insights [PDF]
By Andrew Pierce

Web 2.0 is doing a lot more than simply facilitating exciting new ways to establish a brand’s relevance with customers. On the marketing science side, it’s driving an equally exciting morphing of methodologies and the ways we use them. In short, we’re seeing a redefinition of the capabilities in the traditional analytics toolbox. (Marketing News, March 1, 2008)

The CMO Challenge: Exiting the Comfort Zone [PDF]
By Michael Dunn

In this article, Michael Dunn argues that in order to be effective, marketers need to up their game, take on the new media, and be prepared to be adventurous, extending their influence over many of the critical business growth drivers. (Argent, September 2007)

A Shot to the Heart [PDF]
By Kevin O'Donnell

Brand extensions are often seen as a silver bullet to all that ails maturing brands and business categories. Succeed and you may be on the path to substantial organic growth. Fail, and you join the ranks of some 90% of all new market entrants that prove irrelevant to customers. (Marketing News, February 1, 2008)

Countering the Innovation Backlash [PDF]
By Kevin O'Donnell

Kevin O’Donnell believes innovation’s role as a driver of organic growth and a differentiator that adds substantially to a brand’s value remains as critical as ever.  In his inaugural column in the newly relaunched Marketing News, a publication of the American Marketing Association, O’Donnell spells out one solution:  Creation of innovation “systems” that foster actionable creativity. (Marketing News, September 1, 2007)

Build a Brand Consumers Will Actually Want to Control [PDF]
By Scott Davis

In this article, Scott Davis answers questions about customer control: Does the customer really want to be your co-pilot? Does the customer want to do the marketer’s work in building the brand? Make your ads? Design your products? Distribute your message? Maybe not, he argues. (AdAge, 11/27/2007)

Innovation: Brand It or Lose It
By David Aaker

In this article, David Aaker argues that brand strategy is crucially important to an innovation. Without it, the strength of an innovation will be short-lived. 
*Please note, there is a fee to obtain the full text of this article. (California Management Review, Fall 2007)

Marketing Effectiveness in a Recession [PDF]
By Joseph Gelman

Joseph Gelman exposes the notion of Marketing Effectiveness in times of recession, placing particular emphasis on Test and Learn. *Please note, this article is in Spanish. (La Gaceta de los Negocios, July 18, 2008)

Think Big [PDF]
By David Aaker

In this article that appeared originally in the Wall Street Journal, Dave Aaker argues that to win market share, don’t try to influence what brand of product people buy. Change how they use the product in the first place. (MIT Sloan Management Review, September 14, 2007)

Rule-Breaking Brands [PDF]
By Bernhard Schaar and Joseph Gelman

This op-ed article highlights how certain brands have been able to ignore the current trend in advertising towards politically correct messages. Prophet's Joseph Gelman and Bernhard Schaar use examples such as Burger King and Direct Line insurance to illustrate their argument.
(El Economista, September 2007)

Bank branches faced with the cash crisis [PDF]
By Joseph Gelman

In this opinion article published by the financial daily Cinco Días, Joseph Gelman argues that the concept of bank branches is still alive, despite claims to the contrary. Banks should therefore take advantage of this situation to transmit the essence of their brand to clients at all points of interaction, particularly in light of the current cash crisis. *Please note this article is in Spanish. (Cinco Dias, March 20, 2008)

Brands That Transgress [PDF]
By Joseph Gelman

Test and Learn: Prove Relevance [PDF]
By Andrew Pierce

This article discusses the test-and-learn approach to marketing investment and how it helps build marketing credibility while providing a platform for continuous optimization of the overall marketing mix. (Marketing News, 12/15/2007)

Brand Portfolio and Brand Architecture in Single Brand Companies [PDF]
By Teresa Schrezenmaier

In this article, we discuss how single-brand companies can utilize brand portfolio and architecture to maximize business results.