As bank credit and government loans are getting harder to find for companies with promising ideas but no money, we may be entering a fertile era for peer-to-peer lending. Peer-to-peer lending is the most basic financial concept you can find, and probably the oldest. It is the simple practice of lending and borrowing directly between [...]
Author Archives: Darveau and Ritoux
Le maire Labeaume, ou comment prendre des décisions
July 19, 2009 – 2:18 pm
Quebec City mayor Régis Labeaume is deemed to be reelected in November with a crushing 91% support among voters. Labeaume doesnt’ owe his popularity to his social skills and charisma alone – he’s also a real decision maker, a rarifying species in public administration as much as in the corporate world.
Branding Locally-Made as the Real Premium
July 12, 2009 – 10:57 am
“Made in the USA”, or even better, “Made in Canada”, is definitely a branding that scores high in our opinion as consumers. We are probably not alone. Much has been said about the role of the US housing bubble in the current economic woes, less about the role of China and our addiction to consumption. [...]
Ah non ! Pas encore le Grand Prix !
July 3, 2009 – 4:36 am
Depuis que le grand boss de la F1 Bernie Ecclestone a évoqué la possibilité d’un retour de la F1 à Montréal en 2010, les fantasmes vont bon train en ville. On évoque même la participation de Montréal à un championnat concurrent organisé par la Formula One Teams Association. Le maire Gérald Tremblay est allé jusqu’à [...]
Achat de mots-clés dans Google: surveillez vos coûts!
June 29, 2009 – 7:11 am
Google’s stranglehold of the search market ought to be scrutinized by regulators. Meanwhile, advertizers ought to watch how the spending goes as they may not have price right.
Simplicity in Continuity: the Tropicana Accident
June 14, 2009 – 5:19 pm
All designers will tell you that simplicity is the cornerstone of a powerful brand. But for a simple branding to be effective on the long term, you also have to build on continuity, as Tropicana was recently reminded the hard way. Just a few weeks after introducing its new packagings, Tropicana has been forced to [...]
Underground/Overground – June 9th, 2009
June 9, 2009 – 12:26 am
Today we’re starting a new regular post on this blog – the Underground/Overground review of the week in business & marketing. “What’s that?”, we hear you clamoring. The concept is quite simple: every week, the comrades at Camarade will select and comment for you the news that should have been given more placement, and the [...]
Guy Laliberté: le cirque de la philanthropie?
June 8, 2009 – 5:50 pm
Quebec has always celebrated creativity. But what if creativity is used to cover an empty shell? People will give Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté a lot more respect if he stops staging philanthropy as just another show.
Simple comme Burger
June 4, 2009 – 9:02 am
GM and Starbucks should have followed the example of McDonald’s, which was founded long ago around the four principles of simplicity, control, cleanness and order.
In Praise of the CPO
May 30, 2009 – 9:47 am
Among the string of operational changes brought by the Obama administration, we were thrilled to see the position of “Chief Performance Officer” open for the first time, as part of the Office of Management and Budget in the Executive Office of the President. Jeffrey Zients was given the position on April 18, following the nomination [...]