From the monthly archives: April 2010

when differentiation isn’t the answer

by denise lee yohn on April 27, 2010 · 1 Comments · in brand communication, business, innovation, marketing, retail

“Differentiate or die” is probably a familiar mantra to all; and there’s a well-established albeit less pithy corollary – don’t sell the category, sell your brand.  After all, given the overcrowded nature of most categories, the hope of success for most brands rests on their ability to stand out from their numerous competitors.  And promoting [...]

marketing myopia

by denise lee yohn on April 22, 2010 · 4 Comments · in leadership, marketing

I’ve been mulling over a debate for the past few weeks and haven’t been able to resolve it, so I thought I’d share it here and get your input. The issue is whether marketers should try to increase the marketing function in the organization or whether they should try to increase the marketing capability of [...]

jeanne bliss on beloved companies

by denise lee yohn on April 19, 2010 · 1 Comments · in business, leadership

Jeanne Bliss, author of two groundbreaking books, Chief Customer Officer : Getting Past Lip Service to Passionate Action and “I Love You More Than My Dog”: Five Decisions That Drive Extreme Customer Loyalty in Good Times and Bad, took a few moments to speak with me about beloved companies — what are they, why are [...]

what at&t could learn from mcdonald’s

by denise lee yohn on April 14, 2010 · 0 Comments · in brand communication, brand delivery, brand perceptions, marketing, retail

I usually try to keep my critiques to categories I’ve worked in, primarily because I think it’s irresponsible for me to comment on what works and what doesn’t when I have little basis for my assessment other than being a consumer.  So I initially demurred when some folks have asked for my POV on AT&T’s [...]

marketers roundtable

by denise lee yohn on April 12, 2010 · 0 Comments · in brand communication, brand delivery, innovation, marketing

Jay Ehret (aka @themarketingguy) of The Marketing Spot was kind enough to invite me to participate in his latest Marketing Roundtable. I enjoyed the chat with Jay as well as Bill Schley of David ID and Harry Hoover of My Creative Team.  Our talk covered issues from the social media bubble to listening to customers [...]

industry reboot

by denise lee yohn on April 6, 2010 · 0 Comments · in business, innovation, leadership

The folks at Booz & Company published two articles a year apart but they are extremely relevant to each other.  One describes six industries needing transformation; the other outlines one that’s already initiated a reboot.  From both, we gain valuable insights about the why, what, and how of business transformation.

scott goodson on cultural movements

by denise lee yohn on April 1, 2010 · 2 Comments · in brand communication, brand delivery, marketing

Scott Goodson, founder of StrawberryFrog, the global Cultural Movement agency, is the newest participant in my series of interviews. I’ve known Scott for many years, ever since we met while I was at Sony.  It’s been a delight to see his agency, which was already breaking new ground back then, grow into a internationally-recognized creative [...]