Both bubbles and recessions are largely psychological. We'd all find our sails filling with wind if this year's BTS manages to bring a skittish economy back to life. In the meantime, if you're angling for BTS dollars, keep your powder dry and don't assume that it's all over by Labor Day.

There is a great opportunity for brands to help them quickly navigate the world in a way that is visual, intuitive and contextual to the way their mind works.

For brand-related concepts, even better than just tossing open a contest for anyone, we suggest that you recruit a group to participate based on their vision for the project.

As marketers, we must take the time to understand and respect what motivates an individual to participate in game-play and then construct our campaigns to live harmoniously within this setting.

It is up to us, as marketers, to simply weave these channels together to create an enriching experience for our customers across channels. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking otherwise.

Gen Y is at the beginning of the arc of its economic power. What we see today will be rapidly extended and expanded beyond our current context as technology evolves and the largest generation in American history begins to participate fully in the economic activity of our society.

While a reference to yesterday can certainly add an element of familiarity, finding a way to add value to a Gen Yer's life today is far more important to a brand's success than merely reminding them of their childhood.

The first step is to define the desired objectives for each program and how much risk you are willing to accept. From there, you need to select specific editorially aligned outlets and publishers to partner with and allow them to help set expectations, leveraging their knowledge of their audience base.

Customer service issues that crop up in social media point to earlier failures. Make sure that customer service reps understand the increasing significance of "first call resolution," even if it's at the expense of increased phone call length.

While marketing to Gen Y requires a keen understanding of intergenerational differences, have you tried working with them? The economic downturn has had a profound and negative impact on Gen Y, stalling many a fledgling career. Yet, as the rebound begins, many marketing departments are augmenting their ranks with candidates that belong to their target market.