Marketing Matters

The Buy Local Food Movement: What Manufacturers Can Learn from Agricultural Marketing

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 17:36:50 +0000

THE BUY LOCAL FOOD MOVEMENT

WHAT MANUFACTURERS CAN LEARN FROM AGRICULTURAL MARKETING

For the past 3 years, every Wednesday afternoon, I run a local Produce Stand in our neighbourhood that…

- Author: steven singer

New Balance Footwear: Still Making Athletic Footwear in America

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:59:54 +0000

NEW BALANCE FOOTWEAR, STILL MAKING ATHLETIC FOOTWEAR IN AMERICA

Some of you who read my blog must think I'm a starry eyed idealist to believe that it still makes sense to make small, lightweight, intricate products in North America. Sure you say. I've given some local examples in my blog of companies like Custom…

- Author: steven singer

"Own the Podium" What Canadian Manufacturers can Learn from our Winter Olympic Success

Thu, 13 May 2010 21:06:37 +0000

"OWN THE PODIUM"

WHAT CANADIAN MANUFACTURERS CAN LEARN FROM OUR WINTER OLYMPIC SUCCESS STORY

Arguably, the overwhelming success of the Vancouver Winter Olympics and our Canadian athletes should be a shining example of what it takes for Canadian…

- Author: steven singer

Facebook in the Factory: Manufacturers Want Social Software, Too

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:02:53 +0000

Factories may not be the first place you'd expect to see demand for social technologies. But social networks are changing how manufacturers view their operations.

In a recent survey of 268 manufacturers, 63% of respondents said that enterprise resources planning (ERP) software will provide its highest value when integrated with social computing…

- Author: Yvette Nanasi

My Crowdsourcing Experiment (Part 2): Success!

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:06:57 +0000

Winning crowdsourced logo design by Greg Scott

Two weeks and 122 logo design submissions later ... success! I actually found the perfect new logo design for my company, Integrated Website Solutions Inc., and I couldn't be happier with the results of my crowdsourcing experiment!

Crowdsourcing this project allowed me to tap into a rich pool of…

- Author: Sarah Sturtevant

My Crowdsourcing Experiment - Part 1

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:23:41 +0000

I'm now one week into my quest to find a new logo for my company using www.crowdspring.com, a well-known crowdsourcing website.

For the uninitiated, crowdsourcing is a way for anyone to tap into a large pool of skilled workers and international talent at a reasonable cost. You can crowdsource anything these days from graphic design, research and…

- Author: Sarah Sturtevant

Is The World Flat or Round? It all depends on the Price of Oil

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:33:22 +0000

IS THE WORLD FLAT OR ROUND?

IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE PRICE OF OIL

In my last blog, The Last (Man)-ufacturing Standing Strategy, I argued against Canadian manufacturers liquidating their factories and becoming strictly importers and distributors from Asia.

To me, maintaining your ability to make product on this side of the pond makes good sense as…

- Author: steven singer

Why not try crowdsourcing?

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:26:38 +0000

Jeff Howe is a writer at Wired magazine and a Neimann Fellow at Harvard who coined the term "crowdsourcing" in 2006. In this video he explains the basic concept behind crowdsourcing and its impact on the way companies do business.

What is Crowdsourcing?

Wikipedia, which is itself a crowdsourced online encyclopaedia, says "crowdsourcing" as a…

- Author: Sarah Sturtevant

Leverage Your Company’s Online Listening Posts (Part 2)

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:21:32 +0000

There is a cost to participating in social media. Although social sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook are "free", before jumping on the social media bandwagon, a company must understand the supporting costs involved in 1) launching a presence and 2) maintaining a following on these sites.

Costs include the dedication of staff to this…

- Author: Sarah Sturtevant

The Last "(Man)-ufacturing" Standing Strategy

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:05:26 +0000

THE LAST "(MAN)-UFACTURER" STANDING STRATEGY

When you enter the lobby of Custom Leather's 60,000 sq. ft. men's belt manufacturing company in Kitchener's new Bingeman Industrial Park, the unmistakable smell of leather greets you. For me, this smell takes me back to my early days of selling cutting dies to Kaufman, Greb, Bauer, Savage, New…

- Author: steven singer