When Coca-Cola’s globetrotting team of “happiness ambassadors” visited the United States, New York City was probably the only place that would do their energy and enthusiasm justice. Tony, Kelly and Antonio — the three who make up the Expedition 206 team — have brought happiness, excitement and creativity to each of the 145 countries they’ve [...]

You know what’s the cat’s meow? Design that embraces user-created content. I was reminded of how kick-ass this concept is at yesterday’s AIGA Geek Girls Guide luncheon on how to embrace user-created chaos. What’s exciting about designing for user-created content is that it’s not just about allowing fonts to get bigger on websites or creating [...]

Editor’s note: This is John Reinan’s weekly marketing column for MinnPost.com. As the global economy struggles through a long and bitter economic downturn, some of the world’s most important marketing officers are indicating that it won’t be business as usual even after the Great Recession ends. Consumers are undergoing a fundamental and permanent change in [...]

Editor’s note: This is John Reinan’s weekly marketing column for MinnPost.com. It’s long been accepted as marketing gospel that younger is better. Younger people are more receptive to new things; the older demographic is set in its ways. If someone has been using Crest toothpaste for 30 years, they’re not likely to suddenly switch to [...]

I recently had the opportunity to visit Norway, as two friends and classmates of mine from St. Olaf College were getting married in Gjøvik, Norway (the bride’s hometown). My best friend and I took this opportunity to go early and explore more of this beautiful country that our college is so deeply rooted in. I [...]

My daughter recently was diagnosed with wheat and soy allergies (in addition to tree nut allergies that we already knew about). I’ve quickly had to immerse myself in a new way of shopping as I hunt for food items that are free of wheat, soy and tree nuts – which trust me, has been extremely [...]

Memorial Day weekend was a very eventful time for several Ponies. It’s taken some time to recover, but before it gets to be too late (and I forget everything that happened), I thought I’d share a brief chronicle of a trip Scott and I took out east: Thursday morning: Board a plane with Scott and fly [...]

I’ll be keenly interested in the next Twin Cities radio ratings, to see whether KSTP is getting any traction with its new ESPN programming. Here’s the view from one longtime sports radio listener. I usually listen to KFAN in my car on the way to and from work. In the morning, I catch some of Mike “Superstar” Morris’s group [...]

Okay, full disclosure. I worked in Target’s communications department for nearly two years, so I might be a little biased. But if anybody watched the series finale of THE best TV show of all time – LOST – you probably saw a heavy ad rotation from the discount retailer. To be honest, I haven’t loved [...]

As part of a consulting gig 4 or 5 years ago for a major pro sports team, we offered a number of recommendations on how to better engage fans – particularly as losses were piling up and attendance numbers were in decline.  One of our favorite ideas was something called “Sorry You Had To See [...]