Within a month of each other, two articles appeared in BusinessWeek about luxury brands. The articles, about Coach 
and Tiffany & Co. 
respectively, describe how the brands are dealing with the decrease in demand due to the recession. Each has devised a strategy for lowering its prices without tarnishing its brand. (more…)
Last week I had the honor of guest-leading a session at the University of California-San Diego. 
Although the class was about news-writing, the instructor wanted to spend a day focused on brands and so she asked me to do a brief intro to brands and then lead the group in a brand management exercise. It was an eye-opening experience and I thought I’d share some of my takeaways. (more…)
Two of my favorite brands recently introduced innovations that brought me such delight, I was prompted to think about what was so remarkable about them. What was it about them that not only delivered a great experience, but also grew my esteem of their respective brands?? (more…)
The 40th anniversary of the ground-breaking Apollo 11 mission reminds me of a talk by Jim Lovell,
the commander of the other famous Apollo mission (#13), which I recently I heard. In it, Mr. Lovell declared, “I shouldn’t be here,” and attributed the fact that he was indeed still here to the qualities of the men who worked to rescue the periled spaceship.
The same 5 qualities he described as the reasons why the mission didn’t fail seem to be the same qualities that explain why certain brands manage to overcome even the most threatening challenges: (more…)
Sony’s celebration of Walkman’s 30th anniversary this month has been bittersweet. The headlines of stories covering the occasion speak to brand’s lost luster. Yahoo! Tech declared “Sony struggling as Walkman hits 30th anniversary“; “Sony toils” MSNBC’s headline agreed and added: “Once a pioneer of cutting-edge gadgets, company struggles to reinvent self.”
In the midst of this downcast coverage, I thought it important to discuss the (more…)
An open memo…
To: Richard Block, VP Marketing, Haier America
From: Someone Who Really Wants to See Haier Succeed
Subject: How to Grow Haier Into a Household Name (more…)
Chris Anderson’s new book, Free: The Future of a Radical Price, is on the top of my to-read list. 
Based on BusinessWeek’s review, it sounds like a provocative read about the how economy and technology have evolved the concept of Free. (more…)
New formats of existing retail brands seem to be popping up all over the place. Best Buy Mobile 
(more…)
