Rohit Bhargava's Blog, page 99

A few days ago, I published the full 96 page report of my 15 marketing trends to watch for 2013 on Slideshare – and published an ebook on Amazon on the trends and how to use them for your business. For the next 48 hours, the ebook will be available for free on Amazon … so check out the presentation below, download the ebook and let me know what you think!

There has been a single pink folder on my desk since January 15th of this year. That day matters to me for two reasons – first because its my birthday, and second because it’s the day when I start an empty folder with the intention of collecting ideas for my year end trend report. Then throughout the year, I steadily add information that I find about products, services, apps, marketing campaigns, new businesses, and any other idea to it.

Some are scribbled on a memo pad from a hotel room. Othe...

As a creative marketing guy, I love a good idea. In fact, I’ve spent many hours sitting in conference rooms brainstorming with teammates to come up with them. So when I first saw Verizon Wireless’ big new campaign called Share America – I was instantly engaged. It is a great concept involving an up and coming band (Hot Chelle Rae), a tour bus, multiple cities, and a concept to unite people across America by inviting them all to sing one of the most iconic holiday songs ever: Jingle Bell Rock....

It is Thanksgiving day and you’re probably thinking about food. Or spending time with family. But one thing you won’t be able to avoid is hearing about all the great retail deals. Thanks to early store openings and a relentless marketing machine promoting all the deals – there is a growing backlash against the commercialization of the holiday. No matter how you feel about it, the fact is that the “thankful” part of Thanksgiving has never been easier to forget.

So before celebrating and talking...

If there is one thing that the media industry proves year after year, it’s that it is dangerous to get attached to a new TV show. Every year audience favourites get cancelled by unforgiving network executives making decisions on short term ratings instead of long term potential. They use existing popular shows to lead into the new shows and make sure to skip any commercial breaks or opportunities to shift your gaze from the show you love to the new one they hope you’ll at least like. Yet desp...

If it seems like everyone has some advice to share about being an entrepreneur, it is because they do. The trouble often starts from trying to figure out what advice to really pay attention to. The method most of us use is to look at someone’s track record. If they have started or sold a business, they probably know what they are talking about – right? Well, not so fast. What worked for someone in launching their business may be the exactly wrong advice for you. The world changes fast, and in...

When I was 17 years old, I wanted to be a playwright. Deciding that I was going to try and learn from within, I landed an internship at the well known Studio Theater in Washington DC. It was 1992, and they were producing a show called Spunk – which adapted several short stories from Zora Neale Hurston. A big part of my job was to help with ushering – which is basically helping people to find their seats. And after my job was complete each night, I would watch the production. I must have seen...

Picture this: your football team is down by two touchdowns and there is only a minute left in the game. Statistically, you know it’s almost impossible that your team will win … but you watch anyway. Of course you might be a diehard fan never willing to give up, but there is another force at work here. The broadcasters calling the game are all talking about how the losing team might actually win. They are sharing obscure statistics of the unlikely comeback that your team had back in 1984. It c...

Groucho Marx once quipped, “I don’t care to belong to any club that will have me as a member.” I always feel his sentiment just a little bit everytime I agree to speak at any event because I am passionate about trying to share the stage with people much smarter than I am. So when Piers Fawkes invited me to speak at the latest installment of his well regarded PSFK conference, I thought immediately of Marx’s words. But then he told me I would only have ten minutes, as most of the other speakers...