Walmart & Innovation

I took a quick, very unscientific survey recently. It was a one question survey: When you think of Walmart, do you think of innovation? 100% of the answers were the same… “no”. Walmart is just a big ol’ store with lots of stuff at low prices. No innovation, right? Think again.

How is building a brand like building a boat?

I’ve been building brands for over 35 years. Last year I did something new. I built a boat. A Chesapeake 17 Sea Kayak by #CLCBoats, made of marine plywood, epoxy, fiberglass, and time. It took about three months and I learned a lot about woodworking along the way. I also learned that building a boat is […]

Lessons from Steve Jobs

Albert Einstein once said, “If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.” Steve Jobs took those words to heart. Every innovation he envisioned was at first considered absurd, undoable, and generally far-fetched. Lesson One: If the idea is right and you know it, it doesn’t matter if everyone […]

Ummm….ladies. My eyes are up here.

I was taking a morning walk around the marina in New Bern the other day. Lots of folks were out for their morning coffee. There were joggers, walkers, talkers… It was a busy, summer morning and I encountered what seemed like an unusual number of attractive ladies. As they approached, each one broke into a […]

Vision Needs Purpose and Passion

At Carney & Company, we approach marketing problems differently than every other agency in America. We employ our ReVision™ process to help our clients better identify their problems, build consensus on the solutions, and create a bold, new vision for their future. Our job is to change the future, and this is how we start. […]