F1 Racing is Fast, But is it Swift?

This weekend Formula One (F1) racing makes its only US stop of the year in Austin, TX for the 2016 US Grand Prix.  This marks the 5th year in a row of the US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) track, which opened in 2012 after a 5-year absence of F1 in…

Read More

Affinities are All About Content, Context and Location

The Internet of Things will undoubtedly benefit from affinity-based targeting in more ways than one. But IoT is about so much more than having a refrigerator that automatically re-orders your favorite brand of yogurt. At the FutureM conference in Boston last September, speakers from Kraft and Dunkin’ Donuts indicated that they are looking to solutions…

Read More

Are You Ready for Some Football (Brands)?

With the exception of tonight’s Giants / Vikings game on ESPN, week 4 of the NFL 2016-2017 season is in the books.  Though my team, the Panthers, is not having the same success as last year, the networks carrying the games are still doing well and charging premiums for commercials during NFL broadcasts.  As detailed…

Read More

What Walmart and Jet.com Already Have in Common

The back-to-school season kicked off this year with a big announcement: Walmart, arguably the biggest player in retail, has acquired Jet.com, the e-commerce site known for its unique pricing method. Both companies emphasize saving consumers money, but the approaches are fundamentally different. According to the announcement, Walmart views Jet as a valuable addition to their own…

Read More

Top Affinities of US Swimming Stars

Though the sport does not receive broad attention in non-Olympic years, swimming is consistently one of the most viewed sports during the competition.  And this year, as in the last three Olympic Games, Michael Phelps is the big story on the men’s side.  Yesterday’s victory in the 4x100m relay increased Phelps’ record for the most…

Read More

Affinities Both Make and Validate Spokesperson Talent Decisions

Social affinities can be used to make the right choice between many eligible spokespeople Social affinities represents two sides of the same coin: reaction and receptivity – consumers will react to the marketing messages around them using social media, but what ultimately counts for marketers is which brand, TV show, or celebrity will make the…

Read More