Recently, I attended an advertising event and spoke to a new acquaintance who introduced herself as a "digital marketer" for a software company, but noted "We're not quite ready for video." I could only shake my head, because the reality is that, in this day-and-age, if you consider yourself to be in digital marketing and aren't actively integrating video into your plans, you're a walking oxymoron. Digital is video, and video is digital for any savvy brand marketer today.

It seems like just yesterday that sports properties and their brand partners were beginning to discover mobile video as a synergistic platform to enhance their activations. Today, it seems almost impossible to find a sports-related social media or online posting that doesn't include at least one video.

Marketers have long understood the power of music. As early as the 1920s, when commercial radio was in its infancy, advertisers began experimenting with jingles. General Mills even went so far as to commission a Minneapolis barbershop quartet to perform as the Wheaties Quartet and sing-wait for it-"The Wheaties Jingle."

Everyone wants to earn their fair share of the $2.4 trillion of spending power moms hold in the palm of their hands. One in five moms is a Millennial and according to an extensive study by Goldman-Sachs, the average age of first-time mothers is closer to 30 years old than ever before, meaning they are on the older end of the millennial age bracket. Millennial moms are older, more experienced and more educated (a record number hold college degrees) than previous generations when they become a mother, factors that should be taken into consideration - but, as marketers and retailers, …

A few years ago, Dunkin’ Donuts launched a new kind of advertising in South Korea. The marketer pitched its coffee to bus riders in Seoul by pumping the scent of fresh coffee when the chain’s jingle played. The experiment prompted a 16% boost in visits to Dunkin’ Donuts stores near bus stops and a 29% jump in coffee sales. When you think about it, this type of olfactory marketing isn’t new. If you’ve ever walked by a Cinnabon bakery, you are deeply familiar with that company’s smell. Many hotel chains now have signature scents, too.  For most marketers, vision and sound have been the …

In a world gone digital, one thing seemed a safe bet to remain analog: the allowances that teens get from their parents for doing chores, getting good grades or as their weekly "walking-around money." However, thanks to Amazon, even these cash payments are poised to move online.

Recent advertising revenue forecasts have shone a spotlight on the struggling consumer goods industry. It's an industry - like many others - that is going through a time of immense change. Companies operating in this sector are curbing spending due to a confluence of weak economic growth, technological disruption and a radical change in consumer behavior which is making many rethink how they sell to consumers.

A picture is worth a thousand search queries. At least that's what Pinterest, Google and Amazon would like you to believe. Why type in a description of what you're looking for when you can just aim your camera at your object of desire?

A few weeks ago, I was speaking with a friend who squarely fits into the Boomer market. He's still working and hopes to retire in the next decade or so. We were discussing his plans for the Thanksgiving holiday. This conversation jogged his memory, and he said aloud, "That's right. I need aluminum foil. I'll have to go to the dollar store." Being curious, I asked him why he chooses to buy foil at the dollar store instead of at a big-box retailer or grocery chain. "Well, because it's only a dollar there," he replied.

Innovation permeates. Health tech ideas emerge on a daily basis that help predict, prevent, and even control health in new and unexpected ways. Artificial intelligence personalizes relationships in ways we've never imagined possible and provides data that can be leveraged to link patients, healthcare providers, and communities to their health outcomes, and so much more. Wearables will continue to grow to help drive routines and keep people accountable for their health. AR and VR allow customers an empathetic experience and are now available in a group setting. And voice-activated devices will take our healthy living to whole new levels.