Does the Lean Startup Transform Bootstrapped Marketing?
There’s a new idea emerging for entrepreneurs with a drastically new approach to marketing: the Lean Startup. I just learned about it from an entrepreneur, who hardly contain his passion for the idea. A...
Why Twitter Is Irrelevant to a 17-Year-Old Girl & Social Trends
Over Christmas, I attempted to sell Twitter to my 17-year old sister. Three years prior, I successfully encouraged her to sign up for Facebook, arguing that her early adoption will make her the idol...
4 Brilliant Examples of Internet Branding Success
Lately, I’ve noticed quite a few corporate design follies–millions of dollars spent to re-package (Tropicana), re-logo (Pepsi), and re-color (Packard Bell) companies. Designers are absurdly serious about such changes, claiming a shift from orange...
Murketing: Rob Walker on Why We Brand Ourselves
Last weekend I witnessed Rob Walker, of Murketing and Buying In fame, give a talk on personal branding. He was to speak to the proliferation of personal branding, how we are managing ourselves just...
The Hardware Startup Revolution & Its Growing Impact
In light of Internet Week and Walkabout NYC, Undercurrent’s office has been buzzing about local startups. The roster of tech startups that are opening their doors on 5/18 are a familiar ilk: SaaS companies,...
Was Napoleon Dynamite Popular Just Because of Hype?
The Netflix prize looks to be nearing completion since its 2006 announcement. Teams have competed to improve Netflix’s “suggested movies” algorithm by 10% (using your prior rentals, it predicts films that you might also...
Online Marketing Lessons from Bonobos.com & Startup Growth
I discovered Bonobos, an online men’s clothing startup, on Craigslist while perusing marketing jobs (I applied for a position for which I was grossly under-qualified, and subsequently rejected). Fortunately, I began to observe the...
Why Vitamin Water Ignores Targeting & Why It Works
In Marketing 101, I recall the professor inculcating us with one marketing principal that we should never forget: STP (segmentation, targeting, positioning). Vitamin Water, with its recent marketing, cleared the first step (as illustrated...
What Fantasy Sports Addicts Really Know About Strategy
With fantasy b-ball beginning next month, I can taste the fantasy grind. Checking stats thrice daily. Watching games while stats update. Monitoring of the waiver-wire for pick-ups. I curse myself for wasting so much...