When devising a package design strategy, truly owning a single brand color is one of the loftiest goals for CPG brands. On the surface, this seems to be the easiest way to create a brand block at shelf and stand out against the competition. But, employing a single color approach is not without its challenges. Introducing new product extensions and making clearly differentiated variants within a complex offering easier to navigate at shelf are more difficult with this strategy.

Pre-tail seems to be one of the new buzzwords thrown around the CPG category. But what does it really mean, and should we be taking it seriously?

Digital technologies have provided society with unprecedented access to publicly review, rate and scrutinize consumer goods companies, placing increased power in the hands of individuals to act independently and on their own terms. The fact that consumers use of online reviews and recommendations from their friends (and others) are so successful is reflective of the paradigm shift where a new world of trust is emerging; transferring trust from the power of the institution to the hands of the individual. Whilst this level of unregulated exposure can be daunting for consumer goods companies, this type of sharing and trust generation also …

The Olympic Games in Rio may be over, but another battle of the bests is just starting to get interesting. Earlier this month Walmart made an offer to Jet.com - an exciting e-commerce start up - for $3 billion in cash and another $300 million in Walmart shares, making it the largest acquisition of its kind. This play not only bolsters Walmart's own e-commerce capabilities, but also makes a bold statement to Amazon that the battle over this channel isn't over just quite yet.

Whether we love or hate grocery shopping, we all, likely, spend a lot of time in supermarkets and convenience stores. According to the Time Use Institute, the average shopping trip takes 41 minutes. Even though online grocer shopping is growing, a full 83% of shoppers feel the need to walk those supermarket aisles. And, we're not just shopping, we're scouring aisle after aisle for the best deals and sifting through an ever-growing number of products to find what we are looking for.

By 2017, it is predicted that a third of Internet users will be using some form of ad blockers. The problem is no longer coming; it is already here. And while ad blocking may have started on desktop, the real battle will happen on mobile as 22% of the world's smartphone owners are now using ad blockers. The masses are revolting against intrusive ad formats and consumers are growing more accustomed to embracing advertising blindness.

Omni-channel marketing is growing in prevalence among marketers, to the point where it comes up in my client meetings all the time. A few years ago, I'd estimate that less than 20% of marketers I spoke to were actually trying to execute an omni-channel initiative. Based on what I see today, it's probably safe to assume that the number has doubled, and even more marketers are at least thinking about omni-channel, even if they aren't executing it just yet.

I confess. I'm a junkie for the Sunday morning political shows: "Meet The Press," "Face The Nation," "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," "Fareed Zakaria GPS," and "Fox News Sunday."

In late July, I was joined by my kids and a group of friends for Team USA’s Diving send-off in Atlanta. The male teens shared on Instagram, the girl tween posted on musical.ly and the mom (that’s me!) shared on Facebook and posted to Instagram. I think I was the only one to use the suggested hashtag, but the appeal of sharing the content crossed generations.  With The Olympic Games now underway in Rio, your social media feeds are likely full of Rio-related content. (And if you’re like me, you’re loving it and sharing it too!) What makes the …

The Olympics are a marquee television event where advertisers put their best foot forward to engage consumers. And one of the tools Olympic marketers traditionally use to great effect is music.