Steve Olenski

Known as The CMO Whisperer for both his close relationships with many CMOs of the world’s biggest brands and his marketing acumen – Steve is a true unicorn having served in roles ranging from agency creative director to senior marketing roles in companies such as Prudential and Oracle to a contributing writer for Forbes where he established himself as a highly-influential journalist in the marketing, advertising and branding space. The views expressed here are Steve's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Oracle.

Why Music Plays A Big Role When It Comes To Branding

February 10, 2014December 20, 2014 by Steve Olenski

I know, far it be for me to write an article which brings together music and branding. I kid of course for by now you surely know of my love affair with the concept of marrying and meshing the worlds of advertising, marketing and branding with that of pop culture – in this case, music specifically.

Not long ago I read a quote attributed to pop singer Adele in which she says “I don’t make music for eyes. I make music for ears.”

Coming from an artist that makes perfect sense of course.

However, in our world of marketing and advertising — especially in today’s highly visual world where Pinterest, Instagram and other image-based platforms are becoming more popular with each passing day — the need is paramount for the right music to be married to the right brand.

Are Super Bowl Commercials Worth The Cost For A Brand?

January 31, 2014December 20, 2014 by Steve Olenski

I could literally just write that title then leave the rest of this article blank and let everyone chime in and fend for themselves as to where they fall in this debate. This epic debate, which it has become as the cost associated with advertising during the Super Bowl has escalated to super heights, if you will.

Those in the marketing and advertising space surely have opinions, and more than likely strong ones at that as to the merits and benefits of spending gobs of money for 30 seconds of air time.

A few days ago in Forbes, Rob Siltanen, founder and chief creative officer of Siltanen & Partners, a Los Angeles-based advertising agency, in his article entitled Yes, A Super Bowl Ad Really Is Worth $4 Million, stated categorically that he believes “the Super Bowl to be one of the smartest investments a company can possibly make. In fact, the Super Bowl makes more sense today than ever before.”

The Nine Letter Word Every Marketer Needs To Remember At All Times

January 23, 2014December 20, 2014 by Steve Olenski

On December 16th of last year I posted a collection of predictions for the coming year from and for the marketing and advertising world. The fearless forecasters I gathered together shared their insights into what they think lies ahead in the coming year and they did so with a twist. They were asked to not only provide a prognostication but to do so with a pop culture reference attached to it.

It turned out to be a lot of fun and I highly recommend you read it. Not because I wrote it. On the contrary, I recommend you read it for it provides a collection of wisdom from the best and brightest minds today, all in one place.

Now the reason I preface my article with all this is due to the fact that my prediction then ties in precisely what I want to talk about today. My foretelling spoke of the need to go back to the beginning, as Inigo Montoya (my pop culture reference) stated so eloquently in the film The Princess Bride.

Why Marketers And Advertisers Should Not Listen To The Godfather

January 17, 2014December 20, 2014 by Steve Olenski

Far be it for me to question The Don. I mean who am I to dare challenge Vito Corleone? And who I am to infuse pop culture into a given marketing and advertising topic?

Well of course you know by now I live to take pop culture and overlay into our world as witnessed by one of my most recent articles – an end-of-the-year piece which saw some of the best and brightest minds in marketing and advertising come together to share their thoughts for 2014. Of course there was a twist as I asked the players involved to not only include their predictions for 2014, but to overlay a pop culture reference that best fit and aptly described their insights. Read more

Is This The Future Of Mobile Marketing And Mobile Advertising?

December 29, 2013December 20, 2014 by Steve Olenski

Being the pop culture savant I am – as witnessed by my recent article 2014 Marketing Predictions With A Twist (click on the link, you’ll see what I mean) – when I first heard the term “deep linking” I immediately thought of the 1970s flick The Deep starring Robert Shaw and Nick Nolte. I then had visions of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine dancing in my head.

Of course neither of these have anything to do with “deep linking” – a subject which many have wondered aloud as to it possibly being the future of mobile marketing and mobile advertising.

How Lowe’s, Zappos And IKEA Use Technology To Provide Added Value To Consumers

December 10, 2013December 20, 2014 by Steve Olenski

The evolution of technology within the retail and e-commerce space is shaping how consumers behave and interact with brands and savvy, smart retailers know that understanding shoppers’ behavior is key for success. These retailers realize they can utilize technology to capitalize on consumer needs and customize offerings to help significantly increase their bottom lines.

Here’s how companies are using technology to provide added value to consumers.

Has Black Friday Lost Some Of Its Retail Magic?

November 27, 2013December 20, 2014 by Steve Olenski

Ok raise your hand if you knew the term “Black Friday” was first coined in the City of Brotherly Love, my hometown, Philadelphia. It’s ok if you didn’t know that. I was born and raised here and I didn’t even know it.

According to Time Magazine, “The term Black Friday itself was originally used to describe something else entirely — the Sept. 24, 1864, stock-market panic set off by plunging gold prices. Newspapers in Philadelphia re-appropriated the phrase in the late 1960s, using it to describe the rush of crowds at stores.”

As Johnny Carson would say, ‘I did not know that.’

What I do know, however, is the cultural, societal and retail phenomenon Black Friday has become. It has become symbolic for marketers and advertisers across the land as it signals the start of what they hope will be a very fruitful and beneficial holiday shopping season.

Brand Adoption Of Instagram Up 80% In One Year

November 5, 2013December 21, 2014 by Steve Olenski

A few weeks ago Jeff Bercovici of Forbes wrote a piece entitled Instagram Launches Ads, Promises, ‘We’ll Start Slow’ in which he told all us Instagram users that “the honeymoon’s over” and that the “long-promised introduction of advertising to the photo-based social network is upon us.”

In his piece Jeff made reference to a post from the official Instagram blog which says they (Instagram) will “focus on delivering a small number of beautiful, high-quality photos and videos from a handful of brands that are already great members of the Instagram community.”

Well based on the results of the recently released Instagram brand adoption study from Simply Measured,

What Every Marketer Can Learn By Going Lean

October 8, 2013December 20, 2014 by Steve Olenski

I never thought I would be penning a piece using the word “lean” in the title. Being six-foot three and weighing 250 pounds the word “lean” and I are not always in the same neighborhood, or country for that matter. But when I heard about a different kind of lean, one that brands and marketers and business owner of all sizes can benefit greatly from – my naturally investigative mind took over and I knew I had to learn more.

What I found was Lean, with a capital L. Some refer to it as “Lean manufacturing”, “Lean enterprise”, or “Lean production” where others just refer to it as “Lean.” Whatever name you prefer it all essentially means the same thing: maximizing customer value while minimizing waste.