In the thin air of Denver, Colorado, busy attendees of the Shop.org Annual Summit found themselves having to stop and catch their breath. The high altitude of the Mile High City encourages you to let someone else do all the talking, and according to the roster of presenters at the pre-show Digital Boot Camp event, that’s a good thing.

Seven experts spoke but one message kept reappearing: Brands do better when it’s the shopper’s voice that’s heard.  Give people something to love, something great to talk about, and you’ll see amazing things happen to your brand. Andy Sernovitz,… read more.

Gaming has come a long way since Pong – not only in technology, but in accessibility. As the number one video game and entertainment software retailer worldwide, GameStop has fine-tuned a strategy for giving customers exactly what they want, where they want it, across multiple platforms. With more than 6,500 stores worldwide, two sites, a magazine, digital storefront and social sharing platform (through its recent acquisition of Kongregate), GameStop has become a multi-channel powerhouse. So put your Xbox 360 game on pause and tune in to hear President Tony… read more.

Earlier this month, TV quiz show Jeopardy featured two former champions playing against a computer named Watson. While the story of man versus machine is as old as John Henry and the Industrial Age, the ending was a new one. In a Terminator-style twist, the machine dominated the humans.

What, as retail marketers, can we learn from this demonstration of silicon superiority? For starters, Watson is a wake-up call to anyone who may still have a “wait-and-see” attitude toward technology. Sophisticated digital retail experiences aren’t ten years away—they’re right here, right now.

The ball has dropped, and the new year is underway. If there’s one resolution to be made that will benefit your brand in 2011, let it be this: to build and optimize a viable content strategy. According to Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs.com, most brands are already generating content whether they realize it or not. In fact, 90% of B2B companies currently have a content strategy. Ann emphasizes that content should not be created for content-sake, but be specifically designed to engage the customer and tell a brand story. Learn more from Ann as… read more.

Underwriting restrooms in Times Square. Teaching customers how to avoid banking fees. Creating a mobile cold and flu alert service. These are just a few examples of how pioneering brands like Charmin, Bank of America and Vicks  use meaningful marketing to enhance the lives of their customers through relevant experiences. Join us as Bob Gilbreath, Chief Marketing Strategist at Bridge Worldwide and author of The… read more.