Forbes magazine just published its latest ranking of the World’s Most Valuable Brands. The results weren’t all that surprising — Apple remains the far-and-away leader at $154.1 billion — and writer Kurt Badenhausen’s summary provides a good topline analysis of the ranking. But there are always interesting data points in these kinds of reports that […]
Here are five juicy things for your brain to chew on from this past month: 1. What Business Are You Leading? (downloadable one-pager) — the four types of businesses, the challenges of each, and how to leverage your brand internally to address those challenges 2. Ford’s Divided Heart (blogpost) — by making its blue oval logo less […]
In elementary school, there was a boy who really wanted me to “go steady” with him (yes, that’s what we called it back then.) He pursued me fervently and eventually persuaded me to say “yes.” Then, he proceeded to instruct me not to tell anyone about our amorous relationship because he didn’t want people to […]
brand-as-business bit: A couple of sound bites connected for me recently. In a recent Bloomberg BusinessWeek piece entitled, “Has CNN’s All-News Strategy Become Old News?,” Alex Sherman writes about the cable networks’ reliance on “the story” to drive its audiences, unlike other networks that balance breaking news with opinions and personalities. Phil Grffin, president of […]
Yogi Berra once lamented that, “The future ain’t what it used to be.” Today companies have a related complaint: “Brand loyalty ain’t what it used to be.” No longer can brands expect long-term loyalty, even from its most faithful customers. As economic pressures mount, competitive landscapes shift, and life simply happens, it may seem pointless […]
Congratulations to Jon Galloway, the winner of the “vote for the best blogpost” celebration I held to mark the 1-year anniversary of my blog! Jon voted for “don’t go changin’ to try to please them,” a post I had written about why brands shouldn’t go chasing after customers. Jon explains his choice: This really resonated […]
Continuing in the series on my favorite brand resources (see fave brand books and blogs)…Today it’s 5 of my favorite brand articles. […]
CNN Money recently featured a list of 14 “brand name companies” that are going bankrupt. Among them were Crunch (the chain of fitness clubs), Tribune Co. (owners of the LA Times and the Chicago Tribune), and Hartmarx (the maker of mens’ suits). […]
One of Harvard Business Review‘s pieces on marketing in these tough economic times left me feeling ambivalent. In “Five Rules for Retailing in a Recession,” the authors outline how retailers can discover that “a larger universe of growth and productivity opportunities is open to them than they might believe.” […]
I walked into a Bruegger’s Bagels shop, I handed the clerk a piece of paper that told him what I wanted, I watched as he filled the bag, and I walked out of there — all in less than 30 seconds. […]