China will be the focus of many, many boardroom discussions around the world in 2015. Unlike most previous years, the topic won't be whether to double down on China - it will be whether to hold or even reduce exposure to a particular sector or the country overall. With China experiencing lower growth, greater competition, and more volatility, it won’t only be multinational companies having these conversations.

It's a government program. It involves technology. And it's a good thing.

According to ABI Research, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and BMW are still the top three players in the consumer advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) market. They outperform competitors either in terms of the degree and significance of their innovation, or in how effectively they make their systems available to consumers – sometimes in both.

For years, marketers have had two goals. They wanted to truly be able to engage with customers uniquely, based on both their interests and their value to the retail brand. They have also wanted to manage that conversation across every digital marketing channel, unifying email, web/mobile sites, display ad, and social efforts. While widely viewed as two separate goals, they were innately connected – how can you have cross-channel marketing without knowing who, specifically, you are communicating with? 2015 is the year when the promise of cross-channel marketing nirvana is fulfilled, finally.

The tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers arrive year-round by the ton, with peel-off stickers proclaiming "Product of Mexico."