Is it just me, or is the conversation around gender heating up a bit these days? There's buzz from groups that run the spectrum -- from what might be called 'raging feminism" to what might then be called "raging anti-feminism" - talking about organizational leadership and speaker lists to name...

Men "just don't understand," and women and men will "never be able to communicate in a productive manner." I'm not the only one who doesn't buy this line of thinking. That's why I was a bit frustrated to read Maria Shriver's announcement of what sounds like a very interesting,...

Gender parity, or lack thereof, is the talk surrounding both the recent Davos meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and Catherine Rampell's buzz-generating New York Times article about patterns in layoffs (and how men seem to be feeling the brunt). But, I'm not so sure that...

Every four years, we Americans take our well-practiced consuming cleverness and leverage it to make decisions that will have much longer term national and global repercussions than our choices in material possessions. As consumers, many of us have learned to see marketing for what it is, and now demand much...

Sustainable business and the women's market are hot these days. Don't say you haven't noticed.

While both trends could certainly be leveraged for "wily" marketing purposes, the two should actually be taken quite seriously by brands looking for a bigger bang for their budget in these slow economic times.

The...

Studies show that marketers have been missing a huge part of the population. Could it be? Apparently, having so shifted their focus toward women, marketers have lost touch with the male consumer -- but there are several "secrets" to reaching them that will save the day.

Nanette Byrnes's cover...

Quick. What comes to mind when you see a close up of a flaxen-haired young lass with pouty lips and bedroom eyes that includes this caption, "You know you're not the first?" A slightly used BMW, no doubt!

The luxury car brand just made a big mistake by introducing an...

I know the following will be counter-intuitive for marketers, but bear with me. Have you ever considered paying for ad space but then leaving it blank, with a simple one-liner message: "This blank space in your day brought to you by Super Savvy Brand?" Scary, I know.

My personal interest...

I just had an email exchange with a good friend about obligations and expectations, and how people seem to blindly "do what they should" over doing what they want. Would I be offended if she didn't manage to visit me when she was going to be just four hours away...

Re-framing an argument or a position is an under-utilized and under-estimated art. While there's always the option of taking a new look at issues or traditions, most people seem to get caught up in a routine of busy day-in and day-out lives.

Parents of younger children, however, and for...

Let's face it. It is very easy to cite gender stereotyping as the root of all evil. And, to top it all off -- a political season of this significance feeds the frenzy even more. The media love it and isn't it plain old human behavior to seek out conflict...

When law firms are starting to allow more flexible life styles and remuneration plans, you know some volcano is a-rumbling in our 24/7 culture. And, while I more commonly observe and report on consumer rather than workforce behavior, the fact is that those two aspects of human life are becoming...

As in-boxes the world over fill with the assorted year-end "top trends" and "best of" pronouncements, elements of those lists seem to add up to one big trend: that 2008 will be the year of the holistic thought leader.

In order to stay one step ahead of - or even...

We shall see how this plays out when the votes are tallied, but the difference between the female-appeal of the Obama and Clinton marketing pitches may demonstrate a gender-stereotype of the self-inflicted kind: Will women vote along purely gender lines, come November 2008?

Make no assumptions my friends.

Just as...

Lululemon, a very marketing savvy yoga/fitness-wear retailer that I, for...

Who knew the Manolo heels and Keen "Mary Janes" across the country could be so influential? When you look at the trends apparent in today's marketplace, from "green" to "authenticity," it is hard to deny that female consumers are leaving their footprints, whatever their style. But, there is a bigger...

A hugely successful cause marketing campaign should be on that omnipresent "careful what you wish for" list. After all, wonderful as the projects funded or improved reputation with consumers may be, your brand messages may at times seem to be in direct conflict. Today's consumers are ever-more savvy, so corporations...

What began years ago as a clever, effective and shining example of cause-related marketing, Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), may be losing its luster for some consumers -- especially the women faced with pink shoes, lipstick, M&Ms and vacuum cleaners, among so many other random products. According to a

A new Nielsen study shows that the majority of Americans are feeling the pressure to "look good." This, likely, includes you.

Where good looks perhaps used to be considered mainly a young woman's concern -- along with the assumption that her pursuit of beauty was all about attracting men...

A recent New York Times story by Brooks Barnes on developments with NBC Universal/ iVillage caught my eye. The tale of the women-focused web site founded in 1995, and its path since then serves as a good representation of the path the entire field of marketing to...