Retail:  4-10% of net revenues. Pharmaceuticals:  Up to 20% of net sales. How much should you spend on marketing? know I need to do some marketing but how much should I spend? How much do other companies my size spend? This is probably one of the most asked questions of marketing agencies and consultants.  If you google the phrase, there are 17+ million results.  And yet, we keep asking. So let me see if I can drill down to the heart of it. One of the reasons why it’s on everyone’s mind is because there is no magic answer. No one solution. So what do you think?  MORE >>

consumer electronics retailer Best Buy. Brand protection solutions using invisible codes will be introduced and grow quickly, starting with the pharmaceutical industry (where mobile codes will be part of the secured OTC packaging). Joseph Spiteri, founder and CEO of Mobile Data Systems (MDS), is the third in our series of five innovators in mobile codes. He offers us some surprising predictions for 2011, a year poised for phenomenal growth. But think beyond barcodes and start thinking mobile codes, watermarks and more (!). Android will catch up with and then surpass iPhone sales. MORE >>

For business pros in industries like communications, manufacturing, retailing, financial services and even construction, LinkedIn groups are becoming vertical social networks in their own right. It hosts active groups for finance managers, telecom professionals, people in the construction industry, real estate pros, HR managers, pharmaceutical workers and film professionals. Have you checked out LinkedIn lately? If you thought the world’s largest professional network was little more than a place to post your resume, you owe yourself another visit. And they’re busy. Find People. MORE >>

pharmaceutical company tried to generate new product ideas by tapping suggestions from visitors to its corporate Web site. The McKinsey Quarterly Home McKinsey & Company McKinsey Global Institute china.mckinseyquarterly.com Help [+] Log In Register close Register Member Center The McKinsey Quarterly is the business journal of McKinsey & Company. Register now for immediate access to hundreds of articles. First time here? Read our Quarterly Basics. Forgot Password? work Web 2.0 tools present a vast array of opportunities—for companies that know how to use them. work Web 2.0 MORE >>

To date Kurt has lead or worked on dozens of projects helping clients — ranging from pharmaceutical companies to healthcare technology companies – develop advertising platforms that make use of mobile’s unique ability to support a variety of interactions. “The opportunity to make the experience for consumers better – while delivering helpful information to the retailers and the drug manufacturers — is obviously compelling,&# Kurt observes. Mobile is at the core of an increasing number of healthcare services and solutions. QR codes & campaigns. MORE >>