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My curiosity was piqued by the headline of a recent article comparing Siri, the personal assistant application on new iPhones, to Speaktoit, currently available on Android phones – but not because I wanted to understand the differences between the apps.  I was struck by how different the two names are – Siri:  short, cute, a […]

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In a recent post, I described a meeting I led for one of my clients that needed to engage its senior leadership with its brand. And I mentioned that I had started the meeting with a cheeky “What Can Brands Learn from Lady Gaga?” video. Although I can’t show the video here, I did want […]

NBC’s new reality show, America’s Next Great Restaurant, aired again last night — contestants had to pick a chef, design a logo, and feed 1,000 people as a “proof of concept.”   Here’s my recap and takeaways for all entrepreneurs: DLYohn America’s Next Great Restaurant 03.13.11 Episode 2 Recap from Denise Lee Yohn on Vimeo. […]

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Thanks to my column-writing gig with QSR Magazine, I recently got an insiders’ look at a remarkable company, Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp.  You probably know them as Souplantation, the 110+ unit salad and soup buffet concept, or Sweet Tomatoes, the name they operate under outside of Southern California. […]

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A year and a half ago, I wrote “Don’t Stop Retailin’, Blockbuster,” an encouraging post to the then-struggling video rental chain.  Blockbuster had just hired a new advertising agency and CEO Jim Keyes was mapping out his digital media-heavy plan for re-invigorating the business. I offered a different perspective saying, “While Blockbuster’s Keyes may want […]

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Eliminating co-pilots; offering standing-only cabins; asking customers to work the baggage conveyor belt – these are the things Michael O’Leary dreams of.  As CEO of Ryanair, O’Leary loves to propose provocative potential developments for his airline. Does he do it because he’s a rabble-rousing PR machine or because he’s a shrewd businessman – or both?  […]

Political Campaign

Earlier this week I posted some key takeaways from the keynote speakers and panelists at the Southern California Business Growth Conference.  As a panelist on the marketing track, one of the things I said during the “Brand Implementation & Impact: Bring your Brand to Market” session seemed to spark some interest of its own – […]

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02.06.09

brand you?

Personal branding seems to have re-emerged as a hot topic.  The concept introduced by Tom Peters over 10 years ago is now back on everyone’s radar screens […]