For years, marketing people have been trying to get a handle on word of mouth: how it starts, how it grows, how to measure it and so on. I know word of mouth has been around since the dark ages, but I honestly never realized what an effect it could have on an individual — until [...]

When apple lovers attempt to describe the Honeycrisp, they tend to blubber and babble before spitting out descriptors usually reserved for a $300 bottle of First Growth Bordeaux and Mahler’s 9th.   Developed by the University of Minnesota, the Honeycrisp’s introduction in 1991 profoundly changed the apple industry, establishing a new ceiling for what consumers were willing to pay [...]