It's safe to agree the term "millennial" is overused and can represent a huge range of ages, behaviors or attitudes. The word is omnipresent because they are: With 93 million millennials in the U.S., millennials are the largest generation to come along. That's even bigger than the Baby Boomers at 77 million strong. That's why we are constantly hearing about how to hire millennials, how to motivate them and, of course, how to sell to them.

For decades, brand was everything in the world of consumer goods. To tempt you into buying their products, companies would invest hundreds of millions in advertising campaigns to make their brands recognizable, distinctive and desirable.

When consumers decide to shop, marketers tend to assume they act differently depending on where the purchase will occur - in-store or online. However, it seems counterintuitive for us to develop separate offline and online strategies as today's consumers interact with retail in an omnichannel fashion. It has become the norm for shoppers to conduct research online and use their smartphones in store.

Earlier this month, Amazon created a tremor in the CPG marketing world when they announced the platform will no longer accept reviews from consumers who have received a free or discounted product to facilitate said review.

We appear to be surrounded by brands and products that are looking and trying very hard to be identified as "crafted." Staged as a new idea, the irony is brilliant, given that many of these products or brands are actually just a slap-dash, jump-on-the-band-wagon replacement for an actually interesting piece of innovation. Marketers may be trying to tap into consumers' desire for authenticity, but if it's not genuine, they risk losing more than just sales.

Over the past few months, Emily Canan wrote in this space about the importance of creating a strong brand story in an age of cluttered and sophisticated messaging, and how to reimagine your mission for greater impact and differentiation. Once you've achieved this, you'll need support from your internal stakeholders to carry your brand vision forward. Some companies have taken this to the next level. At Nike, for example, a number of senior executives hold an additional "corporate storyteller" title, tasked with communicating brand slogans such as "Just Do It" to internally reinforce their ad campaigns. Here are a few …

"Good, fast, cheap - pick any two" is a common phrase that defines the constraints on any initiative. If used as a lens through which to view the post-war packaged food industry, "fast and cheap" was clearly the choice of U.S. manufacturers and consumers. Indeed, the USDA reported that we spend significantly less on food than our grandparents did.

Consumer packaged goods companies routinely invest millions of dollars seeking to uncover and define universal human truths that will deeply connect consumers to their brands.

I recently attended the CPG Innovators Conference in northwest Arkansas, hosted by The Supplier Community and wanted to share the inspiration I found listening to the mix of founders from successful companies as well as those from start-ups who presented their new products to attendees. Here are just a few of the main take-aways.

When you think about creating a well-branded piece of advertising, what comes to mind? Audio/visual sync? An easy-to-read logo? A clear view of the package?