David Biernbaum

Super Bowl ads are a major investment for advertisers, so I think that getting the ads out early, and allowing for them to go viral, is a good business decision.

The old fashioned vision of the Walmart greeter at the door is definitely part of the Walmart image and tradition, however, it really never served much of a useful purpose for the consumer. The greeters seldom could answer questions beyond the most obvious ones and most consumers were trying...

I'm bullish on cause marketing but only to the degree that the product is able to show how the cause benefits from retail sales in a way that would be completely incremental to what the cause would otherwise raise in funds.

My usual disclaimer -- I am a Starbucks groupie and I frequent one Starbucks or another three times a day, every day of my life, and my clients are very glad that I do, because with each venti cup of java I get a rejuvenated rush of brainstorms and...

No, no, no, let's not pretend that the inventors are not inventing. The real issue is two-fold. First, that inventors and entrepreneurs lack the wherewithal and skill sets on their own to market their new products. Second, that today's SKU-rationalized retail environment discourages invention. The good news is that...

Consumer goods marketers and manufacturers need to be fully prepared for category reviews, and even more so to present new items for category consideration at any given retail entity. In addition to what the author outlines above, marketers also need to fully understand the cost of doing business with...

It would be "ideal" if the retail industry was able to improve pay and benefits for employees, however, it's probably not realistic due to conflicting goals and objectives with regards to bottom-line business, pricing, and profitability. That said, if a given retailer determines that it can attract the cream...

Sincere hospitality is extremely effective to win customers, maintain customers, and most importantly, to stimulate referral and recommendation. Yes, it works! I don't know if it's intentional or coincidental, but I have found hospitality to be highly effective at Starbucks, AT&T stores, Apple stores, and Trader Joe's, just to...

Good retailers that are well run, well managed, well planned, and the ones with good, approachable leadership, will have a successful year to come. The others will not have a good year and the shortcomings will be erroneously attributed to a slow economy. In other words, the opportunity for...

The Sears and Kmart situation reminds me of the last years of Trans World Airlines.