My curated marketing and advertising articles from the week gone by: August 16, 2015

Using music to build your brand. When I read this article I was reminded of Titan watches that had music as such an integral part of the brand’s communication. Since then a few brands have jumped on the bandwagon but nearly not enough exploiting it as much as it could. Read the article here http://adage.com/article/agency-viewpoint/brands-music-afterthought-marketing/299905/

Video stats: By now everyone has seen data around the exploding use of video in brand communications. But how big it is and where it is poised to go makes for some compelling reading. This article here captures all the most important bits of information in one place. http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/video-marketing-statistics

This is for the slightly nerdy amongst us. Reports on how a digital campaign performs are always in high demand. And everyone wants it their way. This report shares 5 ways to get customized reports out of Google Analytics. http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/speed-focus-insights-google-analytics-custom-reports/

Retail expectations are changing with the growth of on-line commerce. Shoppers are looking at entertainment when they shop. More details here http://www.globest.com/news/12_1173/national/gs15/Convenience-Quality-Experience-Define-Todays-Shopper-360665-1.html

Shoppers and Technology: We all know how shoppers use technology while shopping. This is the first report I have seen that shows how exactly they interact with the different platforms and their expectations from them. http://independentretailer.com/2015/08/12/shoppers-in-store-technology-trends/

B2b marketing to today’s customer: Unlike earlier where IT companies were the source of information to customers leading to sales and long term relationships, today’s customers are pretty well educated. This requires a different style of marketing. This interview with a VP at Gartner throws some light on how companies need to adapt. Read the full interview here. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vala-afshar/gartner-successful-sales_b_7974120.html?ir=India&adsSiteOverride=in

Managing marketing in the new world: While the basic tenets of marketing remain the same with the arrival of technology has changed how marketing needs to be executed. Mobile. Social media, influencers and so on. I found this article that distils this to 10 key items quite useful. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-marketing/10-new-marketing-concepts-your-company-needs-to-understand-right-now/article25219912/

Marketing to millennials: As the world grows younger..a set of people who have different expectations from the environment around them, and marketing. I found this article featuring 8 things to remember while marketing to millennials quite useful. http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/marketing-to-millennials

Retail going digital: Everyone knows that there is more shopping being done on-line today, than yesterday, and the day before. What are the implications for off-line retailers..and those going on-line? This blog here lists 7 key steps that retailers need to bear in mind in their digital transformation journey. https://econsultancy.com/blog/66820-digital-transformation-seven-important-steps-for-retailers/