industry thoughts from Clarteza

I love Marcel Proust’s quote: “The Voyage of Discovery Consists not in Seeking New Landscapes but in Having New Eyes”. It describes the way we look at business issues.

What we do:

Our team focuses on finding innovative solutions to meet clients’ marketing and business needs. In our work we apply design thinking and we recognize that creativity is a collaborative skill. We function as a think tank of highly specialized experts to evaluate the business issue and create custom tailored solutions. Our lenses allow us to see issues from variety of different angles and, as such, we can better “connect the … Continue Reading

I have always admired great leaders. I’ve tried to figure out what they do, not because they were very successful with their careers, but because they created value. They created value for the team they led, for their communities, and for clients they served.

I studied leadership at school, but mostly, I learned it on the job. I have seen bad leadership and how damaging it is, and observed remarkable leadership and how it lifts organizations.

What I have learned though, is that your leadership style has to match the style and culture you want to create within your organization.

Here’s what leadership … Continue Reading

At Clarteza, we are proud of the consistently creative and unique solutions we offer our clients. Part of our success lies in our process: We apply design thinking and team collaboration, building great solutions through small, iterative steps.

Design thinking is a method that allows a creative and adaptive process to discover the best solution. Our team have been proponents of this approach for several years, applying it in many different facets of our work. Because design thinking is integral to our process, we get the best solutions without losing time, money, or patience.

What is key in our approach is that … Continue Reading

At a certain point of my life I realized that I don’t fit in! I’m sure some of you have felt that way too. After working at big companies for over a decade I realized there might be something I do that’s not conforming to “the rules”. At big companies, I always tried to fix everything, find new solutions, create new departments, and eliminate inefficiencies (and yes this is my pet peeve!). Most importantly, I believed that some rules are meant to be broken. At heart, I was an entrepreneur, but … Continue Reading

In our recent post on qual vs. quant research, we touched on one of the critical issues facing market researchers today, the question of how we use, store and re-use data we obtain from the investments we make in research and information.  The amount of data available to us continues to grow in magnitude and scope.  We have qual data, quant data, syndicated data, social media data, competitive intelligence data, all coming at us all the time in … Continue Reading

This year’s Cannes Creativity Conference was the busiest ever: 11,000 delegates from around the world overflowing the halls of the auditorium, theaters and award shows, with everyone eager to learn and network.

For those not as familiar with this event, the Cannes Creativity Conference is the crème de la crème of advertising conferences. The most aspiring, entrepreneurial, deserving, over-achieving, bright and talented people attend. Everyone learns from each other, relationships are built, and great speakers and coaches share their knowledge and wisdom. And of course, there are celebrities and former heads of state –the most notable presentation this year was given … Continue Reading

We read a lot of press about the information overload and time-pressed nature of consumer lives.  They are inundated with information from more sources, on more screens, more of the time.  The average consumer is exposed to thousands of advertisements per day, smartphones keep them from ever turning off and tuning out, and they live in a society in which there is often simply not enough hours in the day.  As the consumer environment has changed, marketers have adapted by investing more funds in the clutter, to ensure their brands are seen across all screens, across all formats, and across … Continue Reading

As marketers increase the ad spend on social network marketing and encourage marketing departments to spend more time on engaging and interacting with the consumer, it is becoming more essential to understand how new marketing channels fit within the customer experience ecosystem for the brand.  Let’s start by clearing up some of the buzz around user-generated and social media.  

Gray: “User-generated content means I’m losing control of my brand.”

It’s true that brands and companies no longer have direct control over each piece of information swimming around in cyberspace, making many marketers and executives cringe at the prospects … Continue Reading