This Week In Brand Strategy & Marketing

After a brief hiatus, we’re back with our weekly recap of the interesting and inspiring, with a particular eye for what shifts and ideas brands should be tracking to, evaluating and acting on. Here is a look at some standout business strategy, brand-building and digital media stories that caught our attention this week.

Discussions Shaping Strategy, Creativity & Innovation (or just interestingness…)

• The Rise of the New Groupthink (on the value of – and balance between – individual thought and creative processes, vs. collaboration)
• Strategy Essentials You Ignore At Your Peril
• The Barbarian Group’s Timeline of 2011 Social Media Evolution (a look back at the shifts that serve as the platform for 2012)
• 101 Examples of Social Business ROI
• What Do Consumers Want From Social?
• The Risks of SOPA, According to The Oatmeal
• The IPO Market is Dying (or why many companies prefer to stay private)
• How Google & Co Will Rule Your Reputation: On Our Increasingly Public (and measured) Profiles:
• Millward Brown: The Study of Business Growth

Notable Ideas: New Products, Platforms, Projects and Services

• CES 2012: 10 Things We Learned About the Gadgets of the Future
• Voteforthenet.com
• Nike Fuel: more on the quantified self: a connected, smart wristband to track your personal performance
• Get Ready for These New User Interface Innovations (the importance of UX to the future of marketing)
• Cadillac (and their lead Planner at Fallon) Reinvent the ‘Standard of the World’
• Apple Unveils iPad Textbook Plan
• Zapaday: An open, international news calendar (for global/local news discovery)
• Alienware Launches a $699 Gamer PC for the Mass Market

Digital Media News and Resources

• What the Stop SOPA Blackout Accomplished in 24 Hours
• Wikipedia Traffic Increases During SOPA Blackout
• In Retaliation for Megaupload, Anonymous Takes Down DoJ, RIAA, etc.
• As Big Media Goes Digital, Markets Shrink
• Here’s How Brands Should Use Pinterest
• Twitter Is Adding 11 New Accounts Per Second, Could Pass 500 Million in February
• Mailchimp Introduces Wavelength: a MailChimp database to help you find related (and competitive) publishers
• Foursquare’s ‘Explore’ Feature Now Lets You See Menus and Pricing
• Social Currency 100+: A Collection of Social Currency-Building Initiatives