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Do you remember the joke about a drunk man crawling around on his hands and knees under a street light late at night looking for his wallet? A passerby asks the man if he is sure this is where he dropped the wallet, to which the drunk replies, “I actually think I dropped it across the street.”

I’m a big fan of Google Shopping. As a user, it provides an easy-to-use platform for comparing products and prices at a glance. Instead of clicking through to eight different websites to find the item I want at the right price, I could make my choice before I even leave the search results page. Shopping campaigns are invaluable for any e-commerce retailer.

With the evolution of digital targeting comes the rise of addressable targeting platforms, which enable brands to conduct individually personalized, people-based marketing at scale. Does this trend mean the end of cookies?

Institutional wealth management businesses (401(k), 457, 403(b), 529, stock plans, etc.) contain significant assets but are often only seen as recordkeeping / service-based businesses by senior management. For a variety of reasons, many are ignoring vast untapped potential. One such obstacle is an increasingly competitive and transparent market.

Competition in the banking industry is getting stiffer. The need to innovate is becoming more urgent, as is the need for traditional institutions to plan more effectively. There is tremendous pressure to understand what consumers want. Established players must adapt quickly to defend their market share, remain relevant, stay competitive and grow.

"If you want a career at the cutting edge, go digital. Learn search. Learn site. Learn social." This was the advice we gave (or perhaps received as) young marketers 10 years ago. And it's been a fairly constant refrain since that time - a nearly sure bet given ever-expanding budgets and the proliferation of new digital channels. But it is 2016 and something feels different.