The Goldilocks Principle: Finding the ‘Just Right’ Spot
February 20, 2020
Much of the human experience resembles a bell curve: things on the upward slope might not be interesting at all, while move too far to the right and things can get downright scary. This is true for brands and products as well. What is a brand’s sweet spot? How can a company assess factors like Read more
A Brand Apart: How Brands Can Stand Out from the Competition
February 5, 2020
Rising above and standing apart are critically important in today’s increasingly crowded market. Going with the flow and being part of the crowd are recipes for a failing brand. But how, specifically, can a brand set itself apart? Be Different We often associate products with a particular feeling or attitude. Mattresses = comfort. Roses = Read more
Adapting and Coping with Cultural Change
January 15, 2020
COPING WITH CULTURAL CHANGE It’s said that death and taxes are life’s only certainties, but we’d like to add shifting cultural attitudes to that list — after all, the things people embrace or reject change over time, often in unexpected ways. And even the most successful businesses need to be able to cope with these Read more
Why Some Stores Thrive In a Tough Retail Environment
December 19, 2019
The holidays and retail shopping go together like hot chocolate and marshmallows. But recent trends have not been kind to retailers. We read about the impending death of retail channels nearly every day. We’re told that brick and mortars retail is in a steep decline, that consumers are buying everything online, and that Read more
Super Powering Your Business: Lessons from Superheroes
December 4, 2019
Super Powering Your Business: Lessons from Superheroes Teleportation, X-Ray vision, time travel, telepathy, regeneration—let’s face it, superheroes are cool. They can do things we only wish that we could. It’s a fun, escapist adventure to see life through their eyes. But even superheroes have their weaknesses, which just makes them that much more endearing. While Read more
Wanting Less: The Simplicity Trend
November 20, 2019
When we think of innovation we often think of more buttons, more features, and greater complexity. But things don’t have to be bigger and flashier to be innovative; innovation can mean making things simpler, too. In fact, we’re sitting at a cultural moment that leans toward the simple. In everything from clothing to housing to Read more
Why is Whiskey Winning?
November 3, 2019
When you look at spirit sales, whiskey is right there at the top of the heap in terms of success. According to the New York Post, in 2016, sales of whiskey were up 7.7 percent, which outpaced the rest of the spirits industry quite handily. With those numbers staying on track, the question everyone Read more
The Flat Internet: Social Media’s Questionable Content
October 16, 2019
The number of people using social media around the globe is projected to hit 3 billion by the end of 2019 — and the average amount of time spent on social media is nearly two hours a day and increasing. People use social media for different reasons, from staying in touch with family and friends, Read more
Science Fiction or Science Fact: Who’s Ready for a Brain Chip?
October 3, 2019
“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” So said the late great Walt Disney. But would he have been willing to have a microchip implanted in his brain? Would you? As it turns out, several companies are currently developing technology Read more
The Promise and Peril of Deepfakes
September 18, 2019
Technology is a wonderful thing, but it can also sometimes be terrifying. It opens so many doors, but those doors don’t always lead to good places. Consider for example the types of technology that compromise your privacy. Not just your browser history, but your face, your voice, your very identity. This is the perilous promise Read more
Turning Customers into Brand Advocates
September 4, 2019
In September of 2016 Walmart acquired Jet.com — one of the fastest growing startups in history — for approximately $3 billion. Much has been written about what constitutes “the secret sauce” behind Jet’s rapid growth (before the Walmart acquisition they’d garnered 3.5 million loyal fans). Jet CEO Marc Lore attributes the company’s success to its Read more
What Drives Positive Product Reviews? – Part 2: A Deep Dive Into Key Drivers
August 22, 2019
As discussed in a recent post, Pathfinder Analytics recently conducted an analysis of online reviews for the Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition product that combined Pathfinder Text Analytics and Driver Pathways modeling. This analysis identified a number of key drivers of product satisfaction; words or phrases that, when mentioned in a review, had a notable Read more
Experiential Marketing: Because Experiences Last Longer than Things
August 7, 2019
There’s often an initial rush of pleasure we get when we buy something new. Maybe it’s a burst of confidence from a new pair of shoes, or the rush of freedom you feel when you get behind the wheel of a new car for the first time. It’s a sensation we all know and can Read more
Coming Distractions: Living in Virtual & Augmented Realities
July 25, 2019
Elon Musk recently revealed his plans to implant computer chips in human brains starting next year—a key milestone towards the science fiction vision of a brain-computer interface that will allow direct communication between a human brain and a computer. But while a viable brain-computer interface is probably still some ways away, advances in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are coming fast Read more
What Drives Positive Product Reviews?
July 11, 2019
There’s no question that online product reviews are a great way to measure consumers’ reactions to a product. But while the average rating score might tell us what consumers think about a particular product, it doesn’t tell us why. And how can a company improve a product or its messaging without knowing why it’s satisfying Read more
The Difference Between Strategy and Tactics
June 12, 2019
Businesses always talk about strategy and tactics, but sometimes the terms get confused and are thought to be interchangeable. It is important to understand that the two terms are different, but both are equally important for successful branding. So what exactly are the differences between strategy and tactics? Strategy vs. Tactics Strategy defines your brand’s goals Read more
Where Did Game of Thrones Go Wrong?
May 29, 2019
As the dust settles on the final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones fan reactions are sharply divided, with some calling the conclusion rushed and nonsensical, while others seem perfectly satisfied with it. But the numbers don’t lie — season eight is generating much lower scores on both IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes than any of Read more
Should A Brand Care About Social Currency?
May 9, 2019
Social currency is a buzzword you may have heard before, but few businesses really understand what social currency is and how they can lever it to generate awareness and sales. But a brand that can translate social currency into sales may have found how to spin straw into gold. Social Currency: What Is It, And Read more
Can Today’s AI Speak English?
April 25, 2019
We can communicate instantly with anyone in the world, which means quick and automatic translation has nearly become a necessity. Over the past 15 years, services like Google Translate have brought machine translation into our lives, and have improved communication across the globe. But even as machine translation technology gets better, there’s still a lot Read more
What Final Twist Does Game of Thrones Have In Store?
April 11, 2019
A Social Media Analysis of Fan Expectations (Note: This article may — or may not — contain spoilers for the final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones.) With the final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones upon us, fan speculation has reached a fever pitch. How will this epic tale, 8 years in the telling, Read more
“Bottoms-Up,” Amazon, and Google: Eyes Wide Open
March 14, 2019
Steve Jobs once famously said: “People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” These words have been quoted and re-quoted thousands of times, often framed as a visionary pronouncement from an idealistic genius. And yet, apart from the perhaps self-deceptive conclusions that many entrepreneurs have drawn from them, they contain an Read more
Emotion Marketing: Using Emotion to Carry Your Message
February 28, 2019
The last time you went car shopping, did you notice something interesting about the front of all the cars you saw? How some cars looked like they had friendly faces, with upward curving grilles and wide headlights to make them look like they were smiling at you? Or how other cars have a glaring headlight and angry Read more
Drinking with Feeling: How Emotions Impact Spirits Consumption
February 12, 2019
MAi Research recently conducted exploratory research to better understand the Millennial consumer’s shifting consumption patterns in the alcoholic beverage category — particularly the emotional aspect of the drinking occasion and how it affects beverage selection.
Introducing Pathfinder
January 25, 2019
Too many solutions and research firms remain very good at answering the questions related to the who, what, when, where, and how. However, they often fail to answer the most important question: the why.
