David Gutting

Articles by David All articles by David

• Requiem For Positioning Strategy: How The Fox Killed The Hedgehog in Marketing Daily on 11/13/2017
  

  Brands in the middle of the 20th century prospered when they behaved like hedgehogs. But in the second decade of the 21st century there was a shift, and the winners are now foxes.

Comments by David All comments by David

• Millennials And The Purchase Funnel (Cake) by Karl Greenberg (Marketing Daily on 06/24/2014)
  

  I am always amazed when anyone still uses the purchase funnel. It never really existed at all--and it's certainly been dead since our lives are enveloped in networks of all kinds, social, digital, and physical.

• Thank You For Not Tweeting - Or, Super Bowl XLVIII by Catharine P. Taylor (Social Media Insider on 02/03/2014)
  

  Just doing something just because you can do it--i.e., tweet to another brand--kind of sums up where we are in the marketing world today. And beyond that, I think we may finally be seeing the crumbling of the old, iconic brand model. Let this be the beginning of the decline of the Super Bowl as a national marketing event. I'm not sure who the bigger loser was--the Broncos or this self-involved industry we work in.

• The Case For Small Data by Claudia Caplan (MAD on 08/29/2013)
  

  Marketing strategy is as much about small, distinct moments as it is about condensing megabytes of information. Probably more, in fact--though I don't discount the role of Big Data. For me, marketing has always been like courtship. It's the most complex of human relationships, but it's complexity centered on getting something you want.

• Why The Industry Analysts Are Wrong by Jon Bond (Truth In Advertising on 08/12/2013)
  

  I love pieces like this--totally on target. Bond makes a point that's been in the back of my mind for some time, "Digital is a meaningless word today..."

• On the Magical 20% in Mobile Commerce by Chuck Martin (MobileShopTalk on 08/07/2013)
  

  I think we need to start looking at "mobile" as part mindset and part need occasion. While it's true that people are still sitting at desktop PCs browsing the web, that sort of behavior is rapidly declining. Just look at the workplace and how we use computers now. The fact is that online buying on any device still has its challenges--it's still too clunky, too slow, and too cumbersome. If "mobile" can solve that problem, it will not only swallow up the non-mobile purchasing but will eat into the brick and mortar. Seems to me we need a lot more granularity and detail in these studies, and when we get it we'll have a treasure trove of insight to work from.

• On the Magical 20% in Mobile Commerce by Chuck Martin (MobileShopTalk on 08/07/2013)
  

  I'm wondering how these studies define "mobile." Obviously, a smartphone is mobile. Is an iPad mobile? What about a laptop? The edge between laptops and tablets is getting blurred and will get more blurred. Does mobile mean that the interaction is run through an app, not a direct connection to a website?

• Poor Mobile App Performance Could Stifle Retail Sales by Laurie Sullivan (Online Media Daily on 03/04/2013)
  

  What is the hard evidence to support the claim, "Mobile will generate one-quarter of retail sales by 2014?" And what percentage is it generating now? How do we know what that number is?

• So God Made A Whiner by (Mad Blog on 02/07/2013)
  

  I think the most dazzling array of photos attached to text was the 25-minute sci-fi masterpiece by Chris Marker, La Jetee. Other than that, Barbara, I agree with you here.

• Brainy Secrets: Gen Y, Boomers Shop Differently by Sarah Mahoney (Marketing Daily on 11/14/2012)
  

  Here is my issue with brain scan research: how do I know I can trust whoever is reading the brain scans? Are they board certified radiologists? This sort of stuff strikes me as the worst paint-by-number marketing.

• Advertising Loses In A Mudslide by Bob Garfield (Garfield at Large on 11/12/2012)
  

  A number of commenters have made a similar point, so I'll keep it brief. One side wins and one side loses in an election. This one really wasn't that close (though it looked that way). One of the reasons it wasn't is because Obama used millions of dollars worth of TV ads in key swing states to define Romney as an out of touch plutocrat. It worked. Romney's advertising didn't--except in the sense that it put a lot of attention on a product that people had decided was no good. What people think about you has always mattered. It's just that what they think gets into much faster circulation. That doesn't mean that that thinking can't be influenced. It can.

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