I saw this cartoon and it reminded me of many meetings I was in while working in various marketing roles. As marketers we often have an abundance of information to consider and goals to achieve. Figuring out where to start and how to create a cohesive strategy is a challenge many businesses, large and small, struggle with. In Essentials of Marketing we provide a framework and process for creating a marketing strategy. It all starts with bringing in information from your customers, company, competitors, and external market environment (context). From there the process organizes and filters that information, applies segmentation and positioning approaches, and at that point creating your marketing mix becomes much more straightforward. A diagram of the process is shown below and more information can be found in our book. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the process and then each subsequent chapter dives into detail on one of the components.
Many retailers and producers depend heavily on holiday shopping to hit their annual goals. The challenge is often trying to differentiate your wares and offerings from the multitude of other vendors trying to do the same thing. This Forbes article, 
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Trademarks can be tricky. When companies spend millions to build and maintain a brand they want to make sure that brand is protected. One way to get that protection is to file for a trademark. However, the extent of that protection and even whether the trademark will be granted can be complicated. Can I trademark a common word like “banana”? Possibly. Realize that “Apple” is trademarked. How different do trademarks need to be to be protected? That’s the subject of this GameZone article, “