This weekend's business section of the New York Times featured a story exploring what makes consumers happy. A swath of recent research concludes that experiences, rather than stuff, have a greater overall impact and longer-lasting effects on consumer satisfaction. These findings, combined with the consumer spending reset in response to the economic climate, are creating a new breed of consumers who are more interested in creating memories with their limited resources A new focus on spending for the experience shifts commerce toward intangibles like massages, vacations, or family game nights. The challenge for retailers moving forward lies in finding new ways to market the products that begin to fall into the "stuff" category - the inessentials, the nice-to-haves that seem to have less influence over satisfaction in the long run. Read More →

Video is an inherently captivating medium. It's great for story telling, and that's why marketers continue to rely on moving images to generate customer interest in their products or services. Showing is always more engaging than telling. So what kind of story are you trying to share with your customers? Videos can generate awareness, encourage conversion, or keep customers engaged. Mapping marketing objectives to a specific video use case can give your content purpose and refine your message for maximum impact. We'll describe some basic categories of marketing video types and share a few outstanding examples to inspire your own video marketing efforts. Read More →