Consumers (70%) said they will avoid buying a product if they don’t like the company that makes it. They now consider themselves rightful investors in the companies they choose to support. We found consumers (67%) increasingly check product labels to see who the company is behind the product. They want to know where their money is going and who they are supporting when buying their goods.

Lego Man in Space!

How much is being spent on the Super Bowl?

Impressive: She can say any word backwards in three seconds.

Stocking is the new planking.

And last, a little art: Woman at the Window

Chatter is a weekly collection of links to articles that Medallia employees found relevant, interesting, or just plain fun.

Culture, like brand, is misunderstood and often discounted as a touchy-feely component of business that belongs to HR. It's not intangible or fluffy, it's not a vibe or the office décor. It's one of the most important drivers that has to be set or adjusted to push long-term, sustainable success. It's not good enough just to have an amazing product and a healthy bank balance. Long-term success is dependent on a culture that is nurtured and alive. Culture is the environment in which your strategy and your brand thrives or dies a slow death.

All the awards aren't that important. I mean, I am happy about them ... but our customers are what matter the most.

The Page Turner

Eyebombing: Humanizing the world, one googly eye at a time.

"Shoulda thought this one through a little bit more."

Amazing: Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival 2012.

The Bark Side has us really anticipating Super Bowl ads!

Great product idea: Serve snacks, hide what's left behind

If each and every day we strive closer to perfection on delivering the flawless product exactly as the customer wants in an environment of caring, there's some amazing payoffs. ... [O]ne of the things that really comes from it is this amazing sense of purposefulness that shuts off our self button, that turns us on to otherness which connects us to something larger in ourselves and ultimately delivers happiness internally and externally.

Source: To Find Happiness, Forget About Passion

Passion Profile is a semi-regular feature of the Medallia Blog that highlights uniquely passionate people. Although the subject matter may be irrelevant (though often interesting in its own right), we believe that consistent exposure to passionate individuals is valuable.

The problem—in Blockbuster's case, at least—was that the very features that people thought were strengths turned out to be weaknesses. Blockbuster's huge investment, both literally and psychologically, in traditional stores made it slow to recognize the Web's importance: in 2002, it was still calling the Net a “niche” market. And it wasn't just the Net. Blockbuster was late on everything—online rentals, Redbox-style kiosks, streaming video. There was a time when customers had few alternatives, so they tolerated the chain's limited stock, exorbitant late fees (Blockbuster collected about half a billion dollars a year in late fees), and absence of good advice about what to watch. But, once Netflix came along, it became clear that you could have tremendous variety, keep movies as long as you liked, and, thanks to the Netflix recommendation engine, actually get some serviceable advice. (Places like Netflix and Amazon have demonstrated the great irony that computer algorithms can provide a more personalized and engaging customer experience than many physical stores.) Then Redbox delivered the coup de grâce, offering new Hollywood releases for just a dollar.

While most employees appreciate public acclaim and the occasional monetary award, the highest achievers want something more. They want bigger problems. They want an opportunity to tackle mean, hairy challenges and make a significant contribution to the company.

In THE SUPPORT ECONOMY, authors [Shoshana] Zuboff and [James] Maxmin observe that companies haven't kept pace with the culture at large, because people no longer want jobs—they want support to fulfill their dreams. IBM is a company that gets it. The company recognizes outstanding research scientists by bestowing on them the lifetime status of "IBM Scientist." Along with this title comes several years of time and seed money to develop leading-edge science and technology for the company.

This is one reason why Google has been rated the number-one company to work for. Far from discouraging risk-taking, the company actually demands it. You can’t "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful" without overcoming a few obstacles.

What wicked problems exist at your company? How can you turn hairy obstacles into high-status rewards? Who out there looks hungry for a challenge?

The Be Disloyal disloyalty card — created by digital creative agency Antics, blogger Cortadito.sg and eight of Singapore’s independent coffee shops — was designed to encourage consumers to discover different coffee venues while bringing businesses together to grow as a vertical. From September until the end of this month customers can pick up a disloyalty card from one of the eight participating cafés. The card is stamped each time they purchase a coffee from one of the other seven cafés and, once the card is full, they return to the original café to receive their free coffee.

"I've just developed techniques and methods to cope with the fear."

Bearded Dragon playing Ant Crusher.

Top Ten Reasons Why Large Companies Fail To Keep Their Best Talent.

"Can you limit your sitting and sleeping for just 23 1/2 hours a day?"

And finally, let's take this offline.

"I believe that businesses acting as businesses, not as charitable givers, are arguably the most powerful force for addressing many of the pressing issues of society."

People come to the Apple Store for the experience — and they're willing to pay a premium for that. There are lots of components to that experience, but maybe the most important — and this is something that can translate to any retailer — is that the staff isn't focused on selling stuff, it's focused on building relationships and trying to make people's lives better. That may sound hokey, but it's true. The staff is exceptionally well trained, and they're not on commission, so it makes no difference to them if they sell you an expensive new computer or help you make your old one run better so you're happy with it. Their job is to figure out what you need and help you get it, even if it's a product Apple doesn't carry. Compare that with other retailers where the emphasis is on cross-selling and upselling and, basically, encouraging customers to buy more, even if they don't want or need it. That doesn't enrich their lives, and it doesn't deepen the retailer's relationship with them. It just makes their wallets lighter.