Ever run or cycled into a headwind? You have to work a lot harder to make the same progress that normally comes a lot more easily. Conversely, running or riding with the wind at your back is a glorious feeling.
On a recent ride, I had plenty of opportunity to consider how headwinds and tailwinds apply to business as I tried to distract myself from all the huffing and puffing I was doing just to maintain a decent speed. (more…)
Those of you who are Star Trek fans would have felt right at home with me the other day. I went to check out the new Microsoft store which just opened at Fashion Valley mall here in San Diego because I wanted to do a compare/contrast to the Apple store in the same mall. My fellow fans would have felt at home in the Microsoft store not because it was a cool look at the future of culture and technology, but rather because it seemed to be the Mirror Universe. (more…)
“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 the category usually only benefits the market leader. (more…)
I’m fascinated by the recent flurry of activity of designer PCs. Having worked at Sony during the early years of VAIO (perhaps the first fashionable PC line, launched with its distinctive violet color and sleek features and all), it’s pretty amazing to me to see how the category has developed. (more…)
Once again I find myself writing a post triggered by a New York Times article on the mobile category. Last Monday it was about the different strategies brands are taking with their mobile application offerings. Today this post introduces some thoughts based on the piece, “AT&T Takes the Blame, Even for the iPhone’s Faults.”
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Yesterday’s New York Times’ article, Apple’s Game Changer, Downloading Now, was a fascinating read. 
I’m not knowledgeable enough about the technology behind mobile apps to evaluate the story as a representation of the programming and development challenges and opportunities of all the different companies. But I found it a provocative report on the different brands’ strategies. (more…)
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…)
Once again Microsoft’s ad strategy is off-base. 
Their newest ad criticizes Apple for being expensive by “documenting” one woman’s quest to find a laptop that (more…)