New England winters historically have often been brutal and cold.  Recently however, it has gotten worse. Our winters have left us with less than desirable amounts of snow and significantly below average temperatures. Summer hasn’t been ideal either. Many days have been in the upper 90’s and for New Englander’s that is quite simply…unbearable. 

As millennials: We think we’re special. Ahem, we know we’re special. We actually do enjoy being social, not just with a screen. We prefer spending our money on experiences over objects. We know what marketing is, and we know what you’re trying to do. 

There are enough creative directors online right now bloviating over which were the best and worst Super Bowl ads this year and why. I'll spare you my own irrefutable opinion and instead skip to some other high-level takeaways.

Super Bowl ads used to be just that: ads. But the best of what we watched yesterday weren't ads; they were fully realized, digitally-driven campaigns, many of which began long before the final two teams were set, and by the time the players took the field, had already been watched, passed-along, praised, or mocked by millions. 

There is a place where snow is uncommon. A place where school is cancelled with only an inkling of troubled roads ahead, where temperatures rarely (if ever) drop below zero and where a “freezing” walk is only seen in a parking lot from the grocery store to the car. What is this place, you may ask, you native New Englander, you cold warrior. 

Mike Robb, head of Corporate PR and Digital at the Cicero Group in London, tweeted a provocative question yesterday: Is social media killing journalism? Robb had asked two highly respected working journalists -- albeit, both too old to be digital natives, and both British -- to respond to the question in a roundtable format. 

Retargeting works better than any other online display tactic when the primary objective is conversion. Frequency matters, as it always has and retargeting is a highly effective method of achieving the right levels. At the same time, we know online privacy concerns are on the rise.

Energy companies that use retargeting need to be thoughtful about how they present themselves to consumers. 

Jelly is the latest social media sensation to hit your mobile device. The brainchild of Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, and his partner Ben Finkel, the app is a questions-and-answer platform that leverages your social media networks to crowdsource knowledge.

The concept is simple: take a picture; add a question and post. 

Content marketing is one of the dominant themes in advertising. And it makes sense. The way we consume media has changed dramatically in the past decade and consumers are savvier than ever to traditional marketing efforts. The creation of content that people genuinely want to engage with and share is a very alluring prospect to marketers in the age of YouTube and DVR.

Everyone wants to be the content, not the annoying message that interrupts or distracts from it. 

A few weeks ago, my fellow KSVer Tucker wrote a great post about the importance of brands taking risks and telling stories. And he’s right. With the help of Pixar, I’ll tell you why.

Every time I watch the first six minutes of the Pixar movie Up, I cry. Sob is more accurate. It’s an incredibly moving story of two people, Ellie and Carl. In the span of the six minutes, you follow their life together. You watch them meet as children, fall in love, get married, buy their first house, make plans for the future. You ride the emotional rollercoaster of their ups and downs, all the way to Ellie’s deathbed. In those six minutes, you forget you’re watching two animated characters. Heck, you forget you’re watching a movie altogether. 

What do you do when your "advocates" aren't actively advocating on your behalf?
The Trade Ally program at National Grid was struggling, with fewer and fewer allies participating. Oh, what's a Trade Ally Program? Here’s a quick primer for those who may be less familiar with the utility marketing world: