it’s not about the coffee
The following is a guest post by dear friend and consumer expert Brad Bennett. Brad is an ethnographer living the Chicago area. By stepping into consumers’ worlds, he uncovers stories that bring fresh perspective and new opportunities for clients and their brands. Contact Brad at Info AT BBennettCo DOT com.
Starbucks is launching instant coffee. 
What?! Yes, that’s right. They’ve been testing VIA instant coffee in Chicago, Seattle and London and are now rolling it out in Starbucks stores and other venues across the U.S. and Canada. When it showed up in our Starbucks stores in Chicago this summer, I couldn’t believe it. It is one more example of how they’ve lost their way.
Starbucks’ brand is anything but instant. (more…)
corporate reports are brand touchpoints
I’ve been doing research on some companies and have spent quite a bit of time looking at companies’ corporate reports – e.g., annual reports, official statements, corporate presentations, etc. I’m amazed at how many companies completely overlook these reports as touchpoints through which people experience their brands. Often the reports are dry and pedantic or fluffy and full of corporate-speak – they don’t communicate or reflect what is differentiating or compelling about their brands.
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my journey to “brand as business”
Five years ago this month, I became an independent!
Yep – back in September of 2004, I followed the advice of a book title I heard of (“Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway”) and resigned my VP/GM Brand and Strategy post at Sony Electronics, Inc. to hang out a shingle as an independent brand consulting partner. I thought I’d take this occasion to recount some of the milestones on the journey I’ve been on since that crazy moment.
For those of you who don’t know me well, I hope this post will explain why I believe so strongly in “brand as business” – and for those of you who have been my support and guidance, partners and clients over the last 5 years, I hope you will be able to see how you’ve helped get me to where I am today. 
strategic alignment, the zoo way
Last week I had the pleasure of hearing the Director of Vision, Innovation, & Strategy for the San Diego Zoo, 
Beth Branning, speak about “Implementing Organization-Wide Strategic Alignment.” The story of her efforts to drive through the organization the Zoo’s 5-year strategic plan provides some valuable insights and takeaways.
business lessons from the biggest loser
The TV show The Biggest Loser 
started up again this week. The show features contestants who train, diet, and compete in challenges to see who can lose the most weight. I started watching the show last season because a client of mine is a sponsor and I got hooked – not only is it inspirational to see how the contestants’ lives are completely transformed, but also the show teaches some great lessons about competing and succeeding in business. (more…)
reset, a manifesto
The folks at ChangeThis* are considering publishing my manifesto, “Reset: Re-ignite Your Business with the Power of Your Brand“ — and I need your votes to make it happen.
a case against user-generated ad contests
Last week Ad Age announced that Anheuser-Busch InBev is holding an online contest in China in which consumers can pitch ideas for a Budweiser TV spot which will run during next year’s Chinese New Year. The only brief to the aspiring ad-makers: the commercial must include ants (a recurring theme for the brand’s Chinese New Year ads.) I’m liking this idea as much as I did when these so-called “user-“generated content first emerged as an advertising approach a few years ago – which is to say, not much. (more…)
words got in the way
Advertising legend David Ogilvy once said, “Our business is infested with idiots who try to impress by using pretentious jargon.“ Those are pretty harsh words and I’m not sure I agree (entirely), but sometimes I see ads that seem to have been written by folks who are trying to impress vs. persuade or sell. Their words, it seems, have gotten in the way of their points. (more…)