Our thinking appears in marketing articles and publications around the world

It’s the time of year to assess what stories stood out for better or for worse, for richer and, for some, poorer and those that just left you scratching your head. 2012 did not disappoint from a brand perspective. From the BBC to the NHL. From HP to Lance. From Blackberry to Newsweek. From Tom Cruise to JC Penney. From Hostess to Red Bull and from the London Olympics to Detroit. This was a brand year we will not forget any time soon. There were brands that inspired, influenced and compelled and there were those that just, well, continued to disappoint…think Sears and MySpace again and yet again.

For a few years now, the shiniest new toy in the digital marketplace has been the mobile app.

The proliferation has been amazing: The 1-millionth app went live as 2011 came to a close, and the pace has continued through 2012. The trend, Mobilewalla told theNew York Times, has been 15,000 mobile app releases per week.

Everyone wants to get a piece of this pie. And why not? The thing is that for all the really cool, highly successful apps there are hundreds, (thousands?) of others that are dumb, useless, or a joke.

We hear it all the time among clients, within companies and at meetings. Everyone understands that if you stand still in today’s rapidly changing environment, then you’ll be choking on the other guy’s dust as you fade into irrelevance. The ability to get ahead, much less to transform, is today’s business imperative. But it takes change agents to lead the charge.

All too often, though, stuff gets in the way. The barriers of silos. Resistance to change. A shortage of the right skills for the challenges. The fact is that transforming a business is really hard work.

You can run, but you can’t hide. Especially in a social world.

It’s one of the stark realities that hit home last week with the uproar sparked when the Susan G. Komen Foundation yanked, then reinstated, its funding to Planned Parenthood.

At best, you can hope to influence perceptions. That takes a deep understanding of today’s milieu and how your brand holds up against the increasingly critical guideposts of openness, transparency, authenticity.

Komen failed on all three fronts.

Scott Davis and 7 other visionary marketers reveal their predictions for the marketing industry in the next decade in ANA Magazine.

This article shows why Planning to Win is a market-driven approach that relies on senior business leaders to work together to identify what really matters to driving growth.

In this article Scott shows how important it is for marketers to step forward and demonstrably expand mindsets, skills, and capabilities instead of sliding back into comfort zones.

Customers may not know it, but senior executives are counting on them to help reinvent, reposition, re-ignite, and regain brand relevancy. In this article we use Hyundai, Microsoft, and Domino’s as examples of how to regain relevancy.

In this article, Scott Davis discusses the concept behind Shift 2 from his latest book.  He writes about managing the network opportunity for your business, and the challenges to understanding and embracing these dynamics.

This ANA Insight Brief shares the five steps that marketers can take in order to lift their marketing capabilities to the next level. *Please note, you must be an ANA member in order to access this content.

This article features several Kellogg experts, including Scott Davis, and outlines keys to success for great global brands.

This interview with the Swiss magazine Persönlich was conducted at the 2009 CMO Conference in Zurich. It follows Scott Davis’ first marketing initiative at the age of seven to his latest book and the way the role of visionary marketers should evolve in the future. It offers some interesting insights on good and bad marketers in general and how the crisis-ridden financial services firms could improve their marketing efforts. *Please note, this article is in German.

Senior marketers, ask yourselves: Is marketing’s inability to get the traction it seeks within your organization real or self-imposed? Do you have control over the perception, power, influence, and abilities that marketing can truly bring to the table? Our recent study revealed several alarming findings that point to the need for marketers to start taking back control of the dialogue, and their destiny, within their own organizations.

This executive summary outlines the main concepts from Scott Davis' book, The Shift.

Recession, the rise of digital, and the emphasis on media neutrality are just some developments making new demands on marketers and changing marketing’s role in the company structure. In this Marketing Week article featuring Scott Davis, they discuss the ten best ideas for embracing this change and steering your brand for the future.

Successful companies get it: they report to the customer. But how do you effect a shift away from an out-dated operational focus to one that truly puts the customer front and center? Scott Davis explains that it doesn’t require a re-organization so much as a mind-set shift (plus visionary leadership).

Scott Davis blogs about concepts from his latest book, The Shift, and discusses the shifts marketers must undergo to become Visionary Marketers.

Retailers have always been driven by the seasons. The holidays, of course, and particularly Christmas. Fall and back to school. The ushering-in of spring and summer, with promotions around fun and leisurely pursuits. Since the recession officially reared its head in January of 2008, retailing has added a new season to its lineup: The “season of discontent.”

We have to admit: as marketers we can be good at many things; but marketing ourselves is not one of them. Time and time again in the race to occupy the CEO seat, CFOs win. CFOs are increasingly becoming the CEO’s right hand, and we are watching the CMOs struggle to get a seat at the table.

In this article Scott Davis outlines a marketer's 5-step plan to becoming a growth catalyst.