Influence marketing has been anointed as the golden-haired darling of the social media world ever since marketers first figured out that word-of-mouth...

With smartphones, people can snap a #Selfie and share it with their network of friends or followers in an instant; even the Clintons are engaging in the trend.

Most brand relaunches fail under the best of circumstances, and this one is especially challenging. The fact is the MySpace brand, if it is known at all, has become something of a joke among a good of the young people they seek to attract.

There's an opportunity for you, challenger brand, to take advantage of the backlash against soda and create a little niche for yourself. Innovate around where the audience is, from Gen Y- and Z-ers to helicopter parents who couldn't imagine anything as toxic as soda touching their children's lips.

Whether you own a restaurant or any business, it's vital to make sure your team members are supporting rather than subverting your brand. You have many daily tasks to attend to, but your biggest role is to serve as brand steward.

Most ventures fail. Most entrepreneurs make a lot less money than if they worked for someone else. The road to success is often long and lonely -- brutal hours; massive amounts of stress; and a huge amount of personal sacrifice. So, why would you want to become an entrepreneur?

Every product, category and service has a devoted community somewhere online. Do a little research and you'll find them. If the community doesn't exist, you have a great opportunity to create one.

Hoover is classic example of a brand who's success ultimately lead to its demise, as so many of us now say we're "hoovering" when we're using a Dyson. Google is a dangerously long way down this slippery slope.

Last month, the United Nations marked 1000 days until the 2015 deadline of the "Millennium Development Goals," a program started in 2000 with the goal of eliminating the worst impacts of human poverty within 15 years.

We need to make sure our people are ready for any changes, including the most unexpected, even unprecedented challenges, which have become the norm in a rapidly changing global marketplace and society.

When individuals feel they are valued members of a team, the company can adapt to change, increase its competitiveness, and survive the harshest of economic swings.

Whether speaking to an Acceleration Group client or a group of MBAs in one of his e-Business strategy courses, Alejandro Crawford emphasizes two main points about marketing strategies today: What is the same and what is different.