So much content flowing, so little time to catch it...

To help, I thought I'd summarise each week the themes and posts I found particularly interesting or useful.

This past week served as a good reminder that we're all human, and that loyal brands are built by creating meaningful connections with people.

In search of humanity...
With the remorseless advance of all things digital and Big Data, several posts reflected on the power of treating people as people.

It's More Important To Be Kind Than Clever picked up on the story of an act of kindness by a Panera Bread store manager that zoomed around the internet, to show how human kindness is good business.
What Data Can't Tell You About Customers drew the distinction that knowing about customers (from data) is not the same as knowing customers.
A Human Approach to Customer Loyalty argued for viewing customers as Friends, Acquaintances and Strangers, and approaching them accordingly.
While 12 Simple Ways Marketers Can Humanize Their Brand did what it said on the can, providing good, practical advice.

The era of visual communication...?
A hot topic at the moment, a couple of posts particularly caught my eye.
The Rise Of Visual Social Media gave some interesting thoughts and examples.
While Honest Tea's Unexpected Social Experiment turned out to be a really thought-provoking piece on the potential for brands to leverage live-streaming, as it becomes ever more affordable.

The changing nature of marketing...
Finally, among the plethora of posts on how marketing is changing, dead, or anywhere in between, 3 stood out for me.
The Logic Breathing Life into Oreo's New Branding used Oreo to demonstrate how brands need both to be conversational, and have something to say.
Why Is Jeff Bezos Always Talking To Me? showed how Amazon is using almost personal communication to build its character.
While the excellent Brand Building In A Digital Age cut through the usual nonsense, to give some simple guidance.

All in all, an interesting week, let me know if you found this useful...?