05.10.10
Don Hubbard, President and CEO of Niven Marketing, comments in Friday’s article in Bloomberg Businessweek:
“To Sell More, ‘Be the Customer’ CEOs do stints as low-level employees on Undercover Boss. Consultants say small companies can improve products and strategy by doing the same, but as customers”
Submitted by: Niven
03.2.10
These days, current global business conditions seem to be loosening the tight economic grip of 2009. Several leading indicators are trending positive; news feels generally more upbeat; and that combination of reality, anticipation and hope are mixing together to carry us into 2010. That’s welcome, and maybe overdue, as we shift our energies and focus to other notable issues that deserve our energies and attention.
The “demanding attention” of an economic recession seems to have diverted the importance of issues like sustainability. At Niven, we’ve tried to be aware of our commitment to corporate citizenship by balancing priorities and staying focused on our own efforts to improve sustainability.
So it felt good seeing an internal report that stated that “since we fully implemented and started documenting and saving plastic, paper, pallets and cardboard in August of 2009 and then added metal recycling in September, we have had over 49,872 pounds picked up.” We also improved our impact on the carbon footprint through the results of these actions. Separately, Niven donated a wide range of useful items to the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Trying to make a difference in our community.
Could we have started sooner and been doing more? Absolutely. And we will. But when you combine that with our other practices, the sustainability effort is genuine and meaningful to our employees and growing in real ways here.
As we all adapt to the world’s “new norm,” let’s keep sustainability upfront both personally and organizationally. It shouldn’t lose to other competing agendas. What’s expensive and wasteful is “not what you don’t know, it’s what you know and don’t do.” Let’s all look to bigger aspirations and actions toward such worthwhile missions. It’s just the right thing to do.
Submitted by: Don Hubbard, President and CEO
11.9.09
“Reinvent Retail.” At Niven it’s really about connecting brands and customers in an engaging and dynamic style. It is a call to action with an understanding that we embrace current evolutionary retail changes and apply new innovative at-retail thinking.
Today we live in an era where consumer shopping behaviors move within and beyond norms, traditions, and brick walls. An educated and engaged consumer – today’s consumer, wants choice, value, and experience all wrapped in a brand promise.
These are very different and exciting times in (and out) of store. At Niven, we help our clients succeed by adapting to change and by taking advantage of dynamic marketplace conditions. It is how, why, and what we do in a proactive and performance – driven manner. Communicating and relating in a way that’s fresh, transparent, and authentic.
“Reinvent Retail” in our world centers on 3 primary activities:
Innovate the Process.
We are in an era of change; where innovation can and should be applied to more than just the creative idea. No constraints to the past. No sacred cows. It’s about smart choices, intelligent design, and practical creativity applied to problem solving each phase of the project at hand.
Simplify the Complexities.
Within the heart of every program are the production and logistical implementation actions, communications, details, and moving parts that must be synchronized, coordinated, and managed to ensure success. A process-driven, yet agile approach that must be streamlined, efficient, and value-focused, regardless of scope and scale. All blanketed with a “service on steroids” mentality driven throughout our organization.
Collaborate with Clarity.
Meaningful relationships are built on trust and the sharing of common goals and successes, both with our internal stakeholders and client partners alike. Niven’s cultural foundation is one of collaboration – a methodology and lifestyle that embraces the pace of today’s unprecedented rate of change. We believe collaboration truly creates the environment for success.
Our internal focus and call to action is “Reinvent Retail.” Interpreting the blur of “old and new” as it morphs to new and exciting spaces. Our reinvention is being your “smart choice” for all those opportunities unfolding.
Submitted by: Don Hubbard, President and CEO
11.9.09
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From all of us at Niven Marketing, we would like to thank you for 30 years of doing work in an industry that we love and with talented people that make a difference. Their humor, passion, insights, dedication and creativity are to be celebrated.
Submitted by: Niven
11.1.09
For those of you that have visited us, you’ve enjoyed the cow in our foyer…now the cow gets revenge.
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Submitted by: Niven
