Companies need to make money – I get it. And as a capitalist at heart, I generally subscribe to the business practice of charging what the market will bear. But as I’ve learned about the recent pricing decisions of two high-profile institutions of American culture – Starbucks and The New York Times – I’ve wondered […]
As 2009 draws to a close, I thought I’d take a quick look back at significant developments of the past year. And what a year it’s been, hasn’t it?! Last January, I don’t think any of us could have predicted how bad things would get (the economic downtown, collapse of the automotive industry, Adam Lambert’s […]
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. […]
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. […]
To marketers in despair, a rebrand may be like a knight in shining armor. How better to re-awaken the passion for a brand than to create a new name and image?! Despite the promise of a fairy tale ending, more rebrands fail than succeed. Executing a rebrand is fraught with challenges and requires some rather […]
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.” […]
The editor of QSR Magazine, the trade journal for quick service restaurant brands (fast feeders like McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, Baskin Robbins, etc.), interviewed me to explain to QSRs “Why You Win If Starbucks Survives.” […]
Have you seen these? It’s a little newspaper called The Good Sheet, available for free at your local Starbucks counter. […]