(This is the first of a 3-part series on Google’s unconventional approach to brand-building.) Google has become one of the world’s greatest brands and it’s done so despite breaking all the branding rules. Common wisdom says that to build a strong brand you need to present your brand in a tightly focused, steadfast manner. But […]
Take a listen to this interview with Jeff Kelley, the founder and head of Sanuk. You know Sanuk as the fun and funky sandal brand made of unique materials like wire mesh and yoga mats. You may also have seen Sanuk’s tongue-in-cheek print ads including cartoons and sponsored athletes including Donovan Frankenreiter and Matt Meola. […]
brand-as-business bit: “Don’t say it, be it” – as in “don’t say you’re cool, be cool” – has to be one of the most well-known principles in advertising. And yet we see so many brands fail to heed it. The most recent offender? Apple. I’m sure there are a lot of people who disagree with […]
brand-as-business bit: What do you get when you bring together Human Resources, Marketing, and Ops people for an event featuring best-selling business book authors, a talent show, a community service project, and lots of stickers, beads, and trail mix?! Summer Brand Camp, an annual “conference” for the restaurant industry staged by People Report / Black […]
In my latest QSR Magazine column, I lay out keys to social media success. Frankly it was a difficult column to write — not only because there are so many media options and new ones are emerging daily (I just learned about Ban.jo and Muuver this week), but also because there are so many ways to use these […]
When you’re ready to make a significant investment in the future and engage outside marketing resources, take care to make a smart decision. To pick the right marketing agency for your firm, there are a few things you should consider. Take a listen: […]
(“brand book bites” are book reviews that highlight the most interesting brand stories in the latest best-selling books. Subscribe to my feed so you don’t miss these regular bulleted briefings on the books I recommend.) – the book: Can’t Buy Me Like: How Authentic Customer Connections Drive Superior Results – a salty read about marketing […]
“An amazing ‘invention’ that didn’t turn out to be an innovation” – that’s how one expert described Tata Motors’s Nano. Indeed, the current predicament of the $2,000 compact car that was introduced in India with great fanfare in 2008 holds some valuable takeaways for aspiring disrupters. […]
brand-as-business bit: How do you create desire? Diamond brand De Beers and Frances Gerety, the copywriter behind the company’s tagline, “A Diamond Is Forever” showed us how. A recent terrific piece in the NYT outlined their approach: appeal to emotions: “Sentiment is essential to your advertising, as it is to your product,” Gerety’s agency N.W. Ayer […]
(“brand book bites”, a new blog feature of mine, are book reviews that highlight the most interesting brand stories in the latest best-selling books. Subscribe to my feed so you don’t miss these regular bulleted briefings on the books I recommend you read.) – the book: Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanatics […]