What Did You Do Last Week?
March 4, 2025
Topics: Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, leadership, workplace culture, purpose, Mission, DOGE Email
The recent DOGE email controversy reveals a crucial leadership lesson about employee engagement and motivation.
Middle Managers Are Dead; Long Live Middle Managers – How AI Is Changing Organizational Structures and Priorities
January 3, 2025
Topics: Business, Leadership
Keywords: middle managers, AI, Organizational Structure, Workforce Automation, Leadership Evolution, Managerial Burnout
AI is disrupting traditional organizational structures, raising questions about the future of middle management. While some predict its decline due to AI’s efficiency in task automation and decision-making, others argue that middle managers are more critical than ever to translate strategy, drive team collaboration, and lead change. What’s clear is that this role must adapt—and with the right tools and support, middle managers can become the central force driving AI integration and organizational success.
Operationalizing Culture: Lessons from Hostelworld’s Innovative Performance Management
December 3, 2024
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: culture transformation, Operationalizing Culture, Performance Reviews, Organizational Change, Hostelworld, Gary Morrison, Incompass Labs
Operationalizing a new organizational culture is key to implementing a new strategic direction. Hostelworld’s story provides a compelling example of driving the cultural transformation needed to shift their business.
Customer Centricity: It’s More Than a Mindset
September 10, 2024
Topics: Customer Experience, Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Customer Service, Strategy
Keywords: customer experience, customer centricity, customer culture, customer centric, customer obsessed
For your company to become truly customer-centric, it takes more than wanting, thinking, or talking about it. Customer centricity requires a completely different orientation to everything you do as an organization.
Cracks in Amazon’s Foundation: The Challenges of Maintaining Core Values
August 6, 2024
Topics: Corporate Culture, Leadership
Keywords: culture, corporate culture, brand culture, organizational culture, leadership, core values, leadership principles, Amazon, Jeff Bezos, Andy Jassy
Are core values mere suggestions, subject to change when convenient, or should they be unwavering principles set in stone?
Don’t Cancel DEI; Create True Trust
June 4, 2024
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: culture, employee engagement, organizational culture, Trust, DE&I, Employee Trust, Diversity Equity Inclusion, DEI Backlash
Why do most DEI efforts fail? Most companies rely on DEI programs and targets—such as employee resource groups (ERGs) and hiring quotas—without addressing the fundamental values and culture of the organization.
Fostering Employee Fandom: A New Frontier in Talent Management
May 7, 2024
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Loyalty, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Loyalty
Keywords: loyalty, brand loyalty, customer loyalty, brand-culture fusion, FUSION, employee loyalty, Employee Retention, Employee Turnover
Should employers strive for employee loyalty – or is employee retention enough?
Does Spirituality Belong at Work?
April 2, 2024
Rotman Magazine
Topics: Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: accenture, employee engagement, leadership, spirituality at work, faith at work, DEIB, spiritual well being, spiritual values, Cotopaxi, PayPal, Davis Smith, Ellyn Shook, Milind Makwana
To foster authentic belonging, leaders must acknowledge that employees can only truly belong and show up as their authentic selves when all aspects of their lives are valued — including spirituality and faith.
Achieving Brand-Culture Fusion: The Imperative for Fulfilling Brand Promises
March 5, 2024
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Culture, Marketing
Keywords: advertising, marketing, culture, branding, brand building, brand-culture fusion, FUSION, brand power, brand, Brand Promises
Brand power comes from keeping – not only making – promises. To keep your brand promises, your brand and culture must be aligned and integrated.
Use This SWOT to Assess Yourself
February 12, 2024
Smartbrief
Topic: Leadership
Keywords: self Assessment, SWOT, SWOT analysis, SWOT assessment, Self leadership, Self awareness
Improve your leadership skills by personalizing the traditional SWOT analysis to focus on self, the world, others and time, says Denise Lee Yohn
Seek Out a Mentor In the New Year
December 5, 2023
Smartbrief
Topic: Leadership
Keywords: leadership, Growth, coaching, mentor, mentoring, mentorship, personal development
All leaders, at any age and level, can benefit from mentoring – both getting a mentor and being one.
Do You Use Your Core Values, Or Just Talk About Them?
November 7, 2023
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: company culture, leadership, core values, Amazon leadership principles, Values, operationalize your values
Only talking about your core values isn’t enough. By definition, core values must be used. Otherwise, they’re neither “core” (defined as central and foundational) nor “values” (principles that guide behaviors).
Wisdom That Wins In Football and In Business
October 10, 2023
Smartbrief
Topics: Business, Leadership
Keywords: leadership, football, follow-through, consistency
With the NFL season in full swing, it’s a good time to apply some maxims from football to the business world.
What Great Employers Do
September 6, 2023
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, culture, employee engagement, #WGBD, organizational culture, leadership, employee experience, EX, FUSION, what great employers do, leading an organization
Great employers look beyond cool tools and big data to create a sustainable, productive, and engaged work environment.
Surprising Leadership Lessons from “Yellowstone”
August 8, 2023
Smartbrief
Topics: Corporate Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership, Loyalty
Keywords: customer loyalty, leadership, Employee Motivation, differentiation, Yellowstone, employee loyalty
The popular TV show Yellowstone has taught us that leading doesn’t always involve what we think it does.
Leadership Lessons from Ted Lasso
June 13, 2023
Smartbrief
Topics: Corporate Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: leadership, Ted Lasso, coaching, leading
Ted Lasso, the leading character in the popular Apple+ series by the same name, provides an excellent model of exceptional organizational leadership.
Link Culture To Performance Through Metrics
May 2, 2023
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: culture, culture-building, culture assessment, Performance, Metrics, KPIs, Culture Metrics, Culture Measurment, OKRs
A new report provides tools and frameworks for measuring and tracking the link between culture and performance.
“Succession” Lesson: Using Your Own Product
April 12, 2023
Smartbrief
Topics: Customer Experience, Leadership
Keywords: customer experience, #CX, leadership, leadership habits, leadership practices, Succession, Eat Your Own Dog Food, Dogfooding
Succession, the popular show on HBO, conveys helpful business insights including the importance of you using your own product.
Engaged Employees Create Better Customer Experiences
April 5, 2023
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Customer Experience, Corporate Culture, Brand Delivery, Culture, Customer Service, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: customer experience, customer service, leadership, employee experience, EX, EX & CX
Companies should find ways to connect employees and customers regardless of whether “customer service” is in their job description.
Want to Change Your Strategy? Change Your Culture First
March 7, 2023
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Leadership, Strategy
Keywords: culture, brand leadership, core values, brand-culture fusion, FUSION, strategy, brand, Values
Use three criteria for the core values of your organizational culture to drive strategic change.
Layoffs Are the Leadership Litmus Test
February 14, 2023
Smartbrief
Topics: Business, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: leadership, Employees, Layoffs, Humanity, Leader, RIF
Laying off workers is one of the most painful tasks a leader can ever do, but Denise Lee Yohn says in this video if you do it with “compassion, empathy and integrity” you will pass the leadership “litmus test.”
Do Brands Matter in the Age of Influencers & Algorithms?
January 10, 2023
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Delivery, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Marketing, Social Media
Keywords: culture, branding, brand building, organizational culture, FUSION, brands
The way we connect with customers is changing — and therefore, the way we use brands and do brand-building must change too.
Are Your DE&I Efforts Missing This One Critical Component?
January 3, 2023
SHRM
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: DE&I, faith-based ERGs, workplace fellowship groups, faith in business
If you want employees to bring their whole selves to work—as most companies say they do—it’s important to acknowledge that faith is an essential part of many people’s identity.
Build a Unified, Not a Uniform Company Culture
December 16, 2022
Smartbrief
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: culture, employee culture, organizational culture, leadership, core values, purpose
Instead of trying to control or quash the different directions your culture seems to be headed, provide clarity and focus to the variations.
What Is the Purpose of Purpose?
October 15, 2022
SHRM
Topics: Business, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: business purpose, organizational purpose, corporate purpose, purpose statements, the purpose of purpose, Denise Lee Yohn in SHRM
How can you help your organization transform its purpose from incidental to instrumental? Consider three questions:
- What kind of purpose do we need?
- Who are our most important purpose stakeholders?
- How will we measure the impact of our purpose?
Lead With Love
October 11, 2022
Smartbrief
Topics: Business, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, leadership, Denise Lee Yohn on Smartbrief, Trust, Employee Well-Being, leadership love, lead with love
Love is a key leadership quality today.
Prepare Your Culture for a Recession
August 9, 2022
Smartbrief
Topics: Brand Delivery, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: culture, brand leadership, customer intimacy, brand culture alignment, FUSION, recession strategies, Recession, Recession 2022
Building brand-culture alignment and a culture of customer intimacy are key to a recession-proof culture
Boost Return to Office With Brand-Led Office Design
July 12, 2022
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Touchpoints, Culture, Design, Employee Engagement
Keywords: employee engagement, employee experience, Hybrid work, remote work, RTO, Return To Office, Office Design, brand-led office design, corporate real estate
Employers struggling with Return to Office (RTO) might want to consider brand-led office design and the role of brand in employee experience.
Employees vs. Customers: Who Is More Important?
June 14, 2022
Smartbrief
Topics: Customer Experience, Business, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, leadership, employee experience, customer engagement, customers or employees, the Southwest way, LInkedIn culture
Denise Lee Yohn provides examples of how companies such as LinkedIn and Southwest Airlines have successfully combined both customer and employee needs.
Start With Why but Don’t Stop There
May 3, 2022
Topics: Business, Leadership
Keywords: mission statement, leadership, start with why, business purpose, purpose, purpose of corporation
You need to do more than start with why; you need to put your why into action.
Take a Regular Day of Rest
April 12, 2022
Smartbrief
Topic: Leadership
Keywords: leadership, Denise Lee Yohn on Smartbrief on Leadership, sabbath, rest, leadership practices
Everyone – whether or not you’re a person of faith – needs to sabbath to set yourself up to lead effectively
How To Refer To Employees – What You Can Learn from Zuckerberg and Metamates
March 1, 2022
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: culture, brand leadership, leadership, employee experience, FUSION, Meta, Metamates, Employee, Mark Zuckerberg, Amazonians
Should you follow Meta and adopt a novel way to refer to your employees, like Metamates?
Get Out Into the Field with Customers
February 8, 2022
Smartbrief
Topics: Customer Experience, Business, Customer Service, Leadership
Keywords: customer insights, leadership, Denise Lee Yohn on Smartbrief, Customer Research, consumer research
Fresh, unique and valuable insights about how to get ahead are available to you — if you get out into the field with customers.
Three Competencies You Need To Lead In 2022
January 11, 2022
Smartbrief
Topics: Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: leadership, Denise Lee Yohn on Smartbrief, Leadership Competencies, Leadership Skills, Emotional Intelligence, People Development, Integrative Thinking, Smartbrief on Leadersihp
The new world of work that we face in 2022 requires new leadership competencies.
Assess Brand-Culture Fusion At Your Organization
January 4, 2022
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Delivery, Business, Culture
Keywords: brand leadership, brand-culture fusion, FUSION, culture assessment, brand assessment, organizational assessment
Start 2022 with a reality check! Take the FUSION Assessment to determine how well-aligned and integrated are your external brand identity and internal organizational culture.
Reflecting Now To Create a Successful Year Ahead
December 14, 2021
Smartbrief
Topic: Leadership
Keywords: leadership, Denise Lee Yohn on Smartbrief, Annual planning, 2020 Planning, Year-End Reflection, self Assessment
Here is a year-end practice to help you learn from your past, plan for your future and become a better leader
2022 Great Business Action Plan
December 7, 2021
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: leadership, core values, FUSION, jim collins, Annual planning, Beyond Entrepreneurship, 2022 Action Plan, 2022 Planning
Three actions to build a great business in 2022 and beyond.
Leaders, Get Out Into The Field
November 9, 2021
Smartbrief
Topics: Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, leadership, smartbrief on leadership, Frontline Employees, leadership habits, Denise Lee Yohn on leadership
Leaders need to get out of their offices and get into the field.
The Real Problem With the Facebook Rebrand to Meta
November 2, 2021
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Names, Business, Culture, Marketing
Keywords: rebranding, brand name, Facebook rebrand, Facebook Meta
Which comes first: brand or culture?
Facebook’s Rebrand Has a Fundamental Problem
November 2, 2021
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Names, Business, Culture, Marketing
Keywords: rebranding, Facebook rebrand, Facebook Meta, Meta name, new brand name
Facebook’s decision to rebrand is an ill-timed move but not for the reason you might think.
What Employees Want from Employers
October 12, 2021
Smartbrief
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, leadership, employee experience, EX, Employees, Great Resignation, Job Openings
Here are five essential basics that employees want: clarity, to be equipped, respect, trust and recognition.
Don’t Just Try to Improve CX; Integrate It With EX
October 5, 2021
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Employee Engagement
Keywords: customer experience, employee engagement, employee brand engagement, #CX, employee experience, EX, FUSION, CX Day
Fuse CX (customer experience) with EX (employee experience) to successfully improve CX.
How To Give a Powerful Presentation
September 14, 2021
Smartbrief
Topic: Leadership
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn on Smartbrief, leadership communication, Presentation skills, Presentation tips
This video shows you how to get people’s attention, keep them engaged and have a real impact on them.
Startups Don’t Need More Money— They Need More Customer Insights
September 7, 2021
Forbes
Topics: Business, Consumer Research, Innovation, Small Businss
Keywords: start-ups, customer insights, start-up success, start-up failure, Lean start-up, Customer Feedback
According to three recent studies, most start-ups don’t necessarily need more money. Start-ups need more customer insights.
Employee Experience: Building Morale and Engagement
August 10, 2021
Sales Enablement PRO
Topics: Employee Engagement, Leadership, Sales
Keywords: employee engagement, employee experience, EX, sales employee engagement, sales rep motivation, sales manager engagement
Brand leadership expert and keynote speaker Denise Lee Yohn recently spoke at the Sales Enablement Soirée. This article is adapted from her presentation.
What Leaders Get Wrong About Employee Well-Being And How To Get It Right
August 10, 2021
Smartbrief
Topics: Health/Fitness/Wellness, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: leadership, Denise Lee Yohn on Smartbrief, Employee Well-Being, Employee Wellness, Workforce Health
Here are five things that leaders fail to understand about employee well-being.
Amazon Needs To Restore Brand-Culture Fusion
August 3, 2021
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Delivery, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: culture, brand-culture fusion, culture-building, FUSION, Amazon
Amazon must cultivate brand-culture fusion – the full integration and alignment of external brand identity and internal organizational culture.
How To Do CSR Right and Build Stakeholder Trust
July 13, 2021
Smartbrief
Topics: Business, Leadership, Social Responsibility
Keywords: corporate social responsibility, csr, leadership, Denise Lee Yohn on Smartbrief, Trust, stakeholder trust
Social responsibility must be at the core of your business purpose and operations.
An Employee Experience Tool To Empower EX Excellence
July 6, 2021
Forbes
Topics: Customer Experience, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, employee experience, EX, EX Maturity Model, EX design
An EX Maturity Model can fuel the development of an effective, differentiated, and value-creating EX.
Employee Experience 2.0: Engaging Employees In a Hybrid Work Model
June 22, 2021
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, employee experience, EX, Hybrid work, EX 2.0, Workplace from Facebook, remote work
Designing Employee Experience (EX) 2.0 requires leaders to adopt a new mindset about employee engagement, as well as new strategies and tools.
Be Consistent to Inspire Trust
June 8, 2021
Smartbrief
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Leadership
Keywords: brand touchpoints, leadership, Denise Lee Yohn on Smartbrief, Trust, brand trust
To get employees and customers to trust us, we need to be consistent in what we do individually as leaders and in what our organizations do as a whole.
Overcome The Trust Crisis With Authenticity
May 11, 2021
Smartbrief
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Delivery, Business, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: culture, authenticity, brand leadership, Denise Lee Yohn on Smartbrief, FUSION, Trust
How can business leaders regain people’s trust? By ensuring brand authenticity.
Brand-Culture Fusion Remains A Top Priority
May 10, 2021
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Delivery, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: brand-building, culture-building, FUSION, Brand+Culture Series, brand+culture
Now more than ever, business leaders need to prioritize the alignment and integration of brand and culture.
Use Employee Personas To Design Employee Experience For A Hybrid Workforce
May 4, 2021
Forbes
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Employee Engagement
Keywords: employee engagement, employee experience, EX, Hybrid work, Hybrid office, Employee Personas
Employee personas — models that represent different groups of employees — are useful tools for
Hybrid Leadership for Hybrid Work
April 13, 2021
Smartbrief
Topics: Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: leadership, leadership style, smartbrief on leadership, #WFH, Hybrid work, Hybrid office
You need a new leadership approach and new skills to lead in a hybrid work set-up.
Culture-Building Takes A Village
April 6, 2021
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: culture-building, culture leadership, FUSION, human resources & culture, Brand+Culture Series, culture ownership, ethics culture, risk culture
Culture must be a top leadership priority but it can’t be only a leadership responsibility.
How To Onboard Employees Effectively
March 9, 2021
Smartbrief
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: culture, Employee Onboarding, Employee Orientation #WFH
Use three “Cs” — culture, customer, and connection — to onboard new employees effectively.
How Andy Jassy And Jeff Bezos Can Avoid Leadership Transition Failure At Amazon
March 1, 2021
Forbes
Topics: Business, Leadership
Keywords: Amazon CEO transition, Andy Jassy transition, Jeff Bezos transition, leadership transition failure, The First 90 Days, CEO succession
To avoid leadership transition failure, learn from the unique challenges that threaten a smooth succession and transition of power from Andy Jassy to Jeff Bezos at Amazon
How To Jump-Start Employee Motivation
February 9, 2021
Smartbrief
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, purpose, Employee Motivation, Rewards and Recognition, ERGs, Employee Resource Groups
Three powerful levers to motivate employees.
Company Culture Is Everyone’s Responsibility
February 8, 2021
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn in Harvard Business Review, middle managers, culture-building, culture leadership, board of directors & corporate culture
A top down approach to building company culture no longer works for several reasons.
Brand Leadership in 2021 and Beyond
February 2, 2021
Topics: Brand Delivery, Brand Strategy, Business, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: brand engagement, FUSION, Brand+Culture Series, Brand leadership in 2021, differentiation, Interbrand on brand leadership
What do you need to achieve brand leadership in 2021 and beyond: accelerated agility, enriched engagement, and definitive differentiation.
What 2021 Requires from Leaders
January 12, 2021
Smartbrief
Topics: Business, Innovation, Leadership
Keywords: innovation, leadership, smartbrief on leadership, Lead in 2021, Growth, Inspiration
Whether you are the head of your organization or a small team leader, you have the opportunity to initiate, invent and inspire — and lead others to make 2021 the best year ever.
Why Your Innovations Aren’t Working
January 12, 2021
Forbes
Topics: Customer Experience, Business, Innovation, Marketing
Keywords: customer experience innovation, innovation strategy, product innovation, business model innovation
Product innovation alone is not enough.
Get Ready for 2021 with Leadership Principles
December 8, 2020
Smartbrief
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn on Smartbrief, leadership values, leadership principles, leadership training, Neuroleadership Institute, Amazon leadership principles, Marine Corps leadership principles
Leadership principles are like core values specifically for the leaders in your company, and they should be memorable, meaningful, coherent with other expectations, and unique.
Brands To Watch In 2021
December 1, 2020
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Innovation, Leadership, Marketing
Keywords: brand trends, brands to watch in 2021, companies to watch in 2021, business trends, best companies in 2021, best brands in 2021
This Brand To Watch In 2021 list provides an alphabet-correlated compilation of brands to keep an eye on.
The #1 Mistake Leaders Make When Trying to Change Culture
November 17, 2020
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: culture leadership, FUSION, culture change, Brand+Culture Series, culture transformation, transformation leadership, culture failure
What do business leaders get wrong when undertaking an organizational culture transformation? They fail to operationalize culture — drive the desired culture into the strategies, operations, programs, tactics, and processes of the organization.
Make Your Purpose Powerful
November 11, 2020
Smartbrief
Topics: Business, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, mission statement, leadership, company purpose, purpose, 5 whys
A single overarching purpose that encompasses the value of your product or service and provides a deep rationale for stakeholders is essential to a company’s success, says Denise Lee Yohn.
How Airbnb Survived The Pandemic—And How You Can Too
November 10, 2020
Forbes
Topics: Customer Experience, Corporate Culture, Brand Experience, Business, Culture, Customer Service, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee experience, Airbnb turnaround, Airbnb recovery, Covid-19 turnaround, customer emotions, turnaround strategies
Airbnb has executed a dramatic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic by prioritizing its core business, customer emotions, and employee needs.
Follow This 3-Step Roadmap To Lead Employees Through Change
October 13, 2020
Smartbrief
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, Denise Lee Yohn on Smartbrief, core values, leadership communication, purpose
Once you truly understand what’s going on with your employees, you can implement a three-step road map for aligning, inspiring, and empowering them.
Lead Through Challenge And Change With These 3 Questions
October 6, 2020
Forbes
Topics: Customer Experience, Business, Innovation, Leadership
Keywords: change management, Leading through change, marketing myopia, organizational leadership
Three questions every business leader should be asking now.
Who Owns Culture?
September 15, 2020
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: culture-building, culture leadership, FUSION, Brand + Culture Series, who owns culture, culture responsibility
New resources speak to the role of employees — not leaders — driving organizational culture.
We Need to Rethink Employee Experience
September 8, 2020
Smartbrief
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, organizational culture, employee experience, EX, COVID 19 strategies, smart
To ensure employees are ready and excited to give their best effort, we need to re-think EX. Check out these three recommendations for cultivating the organizational culture you need.
Brand Authenticity, Employee Experience, and Corporate Citizenship Priorities in The COVID-19 Era and Beyond
September 1, 2020
Strategy & Leadership
Topics: Business, Employee Engagement, Leadership, Social Responsibility
Keywords: employee engagement, corporate social responsibility, brand authenticity, employee experience, covid-19 strategy, Covid-19 leadership, corporate citizenship
Economic strain, geopolitical tensions and public health issues are challenges that will persist long after the COVID-19 epidemic has passed its initial peak.As companies learn to operate safely and effectively, public scrutiny of how they treat their workers and serve their communities will be intense.
Your Purpose Is At Risk Of Being Pointless
September 1, 2020
Forbes
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Leadership
Keywords: mission statement, Purpose of a Corporation, purpose statement, corporate purpose, single overarching purpose
Having a purpose statement doesn’t automatically translate into leading an organization purposefully — and your purpose is at risk of being pointless if you don’t do these three things.
9 Ways to Differentiate Your Brand
August 11, 2020
Smartbrief
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Strategy, Marketing
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn, brand strategy, branding strategy, brand differentiation, competitive advantage, brand differentiators
If you want to build a great brand, focus on being different.
Covid-19 And Civil Unrest Has Disrupted Employee Experience For Good
August 4, 2020
Forbes
Topic: Employee Engagement
Keywords: employee engagement, employee experience, employee segmentation, COVID 19 strategies
While this new context of Covid-19 and civil unrest has disrupted most companies, it is actually good news for employee experience.
Brand + Culture Lives On
July 21, 2020
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Identity, Brand Strategy, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: The Brand Gap, FUSION, Brand+Culture Series, Marty Neumeier book, Adam Morgan book, Eating the Big Fish Scott Davis & Michael E. Dunn book, Building the Brand Driven Business, brand books, culture books
The integration and alignment of external brand identity and internal organizational culture — or lack thereof — has drawn attention recently but writers have been evangelizing brand and culture for years.
How Brands Can Take a Stand On Race
July 14, 2020
Smartbrief
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Communication, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Culture, Social Media, Social Responsibility
Keywords: rebranding, core values, smartbrief on leadership, Aunt Jemima rebrand, Uncle Ben’s rebrand, diversity and inclusion, racism
Brands looking to speak about race or make related internal changes should first ensure they’ve heard stakeholders and examined brand values, says Denise Lee Yohn.
Hone Your Leadership Style In Times Of Crisis
July 7, 2020
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Leadership
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, leadership style, leadership strategy, leading in crisis, Covid-19 leadership, Hyundai Assurance, Jacinda Ardem elimination strategy, Nike controversy, Nike Don’t Do It, Bill Gates coronavirus warning, London Breed sick and tired, Starbucks brand personality, Lori Lightfoot personality, Andrew Cuomo personality
Great brands actually thrive amidst challenge and change, so they provide excellent models of leadership that you can adapt to hone your leadership style and strategy.
The Pandemic Is Rewriting the Rules of Retail
July 6, 2020
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Business, Innovation
Keywords: retail customer experience, retail CX, Digital Customer Experience, digital CX, pandemic retail strategy, COVID-19 retail strategy, coronavirus retail strategy, digitally native customer experience
Your customers have changed. Have you?
Prepare for the New Reality With a Brand Audit
June 9, 2020
Smartbrief
Topics: Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Leadership, Marketing
Keywords: brand assessment, Smartbrief on Brand Leadership, COVID 19 strategies, brand audit
In this SmartBrief on Leadership video, brand leadership expert Denise Lee Yohn explains why you need to do a brand audit now and how to do one.
Amazon Faces A Crucible Moment With Employees
June 2, 2020
Forbes
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: Jeff Bezos leadership, Amazon employee engagement, Amazon employee experience, Amazon workplace safety, Amazon workplace culture, Amazon Covid-19 response, Amazon Covid-19 investment, Amazon scrutiny, Jeff Bezos vision, Amazon customer-obsession
Given the harsh and widespread criticism over their treatment of Amazon employees during the Covid-19 pandemic, what the company and CEO Jeff Bezos does next may determine its future.
Re-opening Playbook: Five Steps To Re-Engage Customers and Employees
May 18, 2020
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Corporate Culture, Brand Communication, Brand Experience, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Marketing
Keywords: employee engagement, employee communication, post COVID 19 world, re-opening strategy, re-open post covid-19, covid-19 strategy, customer engagement, customer communication, communications playbook, re-opening playbook
As you prepare to get back to business, your operations aren’t the only thing requiring changes. You also need to update mindsets — your customers’ and your employees’. You need a Re-opening Playbook of the key steps to re-engage customers and employees.
How To Prepare for a Recession
May 13, 2020
Gravity Speakers blog
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership, Marketing
Keywords: brand differentiation, employee brand engagement, brand-building in a recession, COVID 19 strategies, how to prepare for recession, recession planning, recession strategies, branding in a recession, COVID-19 recession, core customers
Let’s face it – we’re headed toward an official recession. What should you do to prepare your business? Here are three strategies to prepare for a recession.
Protect and Prepare Your Brand for the Post-Coronavirus World
May 12, 2020
Smartbrief
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Marketing
Keywords: brand touchpoints, Smartbrief on Brand Leadership, COVID 19 strategies, post COVID 19 world, Brand-Building COVID-19, branding COVID-19, advertising COVID-19, COVID-19 Marketing, Digital Customer Experience, everything is marketing
You can continue to build your brand during these challenging times by treating everything you do as marketing and developing a next-generation digital customer experience.
Hit The Reset Button With Employees: Prepare To Reopen And Re-Engage
May 5, 2020
Forbes
Topics: Business, Culture, Customer Service, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: CX + EX, COVID 19 strategies, reset button, reset business, employee communications, manager expectations, new employee metrics, employee preparedness, post COVID 19 world, post-crisis communications
To make sure your people are prepared to get back to work after the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions are lifted, hit the reset button with employees on employee experience (EX), communications, and expectations.
Leading in Crisis: Connect Your Team With Employee Engagement
April 23, 2020
Speaker Exchange Agency
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, employee brand engagement, organizational culture, keynote speaker Denise Lee Yohn, workplace culture, speaker on employee engagement, employee communication, COVID 19 strategies, internal communication
Employee engagement is crucial, especially now.
Brand Opportunities In a Crisis
April 14, 2020
Smartbrief
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Loyalty, Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Business, Culture, Customer Service, Leadership, Marketing
Keywords: branding, brand building, Denise Lee Yohn video, Smartbrief on Brand Leadership, COVID 19 strategies, brand strategy in crisis, brand strategy in recession
Use and build your brand to get ahead in a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.
How To Make An Emotional Connection Virtually
April 7, 2020
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: emotional connection, brand communication, emotional branding, brand personality, leadership communication, empathy in communication, COVID-19 communication, coronavirus communication, CEO communication
Here’s how you as a brand and/or business leader can connect emotionally with your customers and employees even when you are separated physically from them.
Get Started With a Minimum Viable Brand
March 10, 2020
Smartbrief
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Strategy, Business, Marketing, Small Businss
Keywords: brand strategy, small business brand strategy, brand platform, start-up branding, start-up brand strategy, minimum viable brand, MVB, minimum viable product, entrepreneur brand strategy
A minimum viable brand puts the pieces of your brand in place that provide brand clarity and focus — and leaves the rest of your brand elements until after you’re in the market for awhile and have the resources, feedback and market insights to inform them.
Three Things Small Businesses Should Do To Get Unstuck And Scale
March 3, 2020
Forbes
Topics: Business, Innovation, Leadership, Small Businss
Keywords: small business growth, start-up growth, how to scale, post start up strategies, TrueSpace, Gallup research, The Five Conditions Assessment, how to grow, entrepreneurs, Charles Fred
A new report from research and consulting firm TrueSpace and Gallup says growth-minded small businesses should narrow their prospects, create predictability in their performance, and seek greater consistency in their offerings.
Ben Horowitz on Culture
February 17, 2020
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: organizational culture, culture-building, FUSION, Brand+Culture Series, Ben Horowitz book on culture
In the book What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture, Ben Horowitz provides exceptional insights on organizational culture — how it works, how to build or change yours, and the elements of a good one. Here are my favorite quotes — and my take on the topics.
What Does “Most Valuable Brand” Really Mean?
February 11, 2020
Smartbrief
Topics: Brand Value, Business, Leadership, Strategy
Keywords: brand valuation, brand equity, brand value, brand finance, interbrand, brandz, smartbrief on leadership
What does brand valuation really mean? Is it important? And if so, how can you calculate how much your brand is worth?
Clay Christensen’s Jobs To Be Done Innovation Theory Challenges Common Innovation And Marketing Methods
February 6, 2020
Forbes
Topics: Business, Design, Innovation, Marketing, Strategy
Keywords: Clay Christensen, Jobs to Be Done, innovation theory, innovation strategy, innovation framework, personas, use cases, MVP, new product development, marketing innovations
Clay Christensen’s “jobs to be done” theory of innovation presents an approach to how companies introduce successful new products and services that remains counter-intuitive—and relevant—today.
Use Your Brand When Making a Change
January 14, 2020
Smartbrief
Topics: Brand Delivery, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership, Strategy
Keywords: brand strategy, employee engagement, brand engagement, leadership, strategy, business transformation, strategic change, purpose, change management
Your brand is more than your name, message or image — it’s the purpose, values and attributes that define your unique identity. Use it as a powerful tool for running your business, especially when you’re considering changes.
2019 Roundup: 6 Great Articles About Brand+Culture
December 19, 2019
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Identity, Culture
Keywords: FUSION, Brand+Culture Series, Gallup on culture, strategy& on culture, BCAT, Brand Culture Company, O. C. Tanner
Some of my favorite articles from 2019 on the integration of external brand identity and internal organizational culture.
Build a Culture to Match Your Brand
December 17, 2019
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Business, Culture
Keywords: brand strategy, corporate culture, brand culture, brand positioning, Denise Lee Yohn in Harvard Business Review, organizational culture, brand types, culture design
If you want to produce the kinds of specific outcomes that will allow you to differentiate your company, you need to define a unique culture that cultivates the necessary kinds of employee attitudes and behaviors.
Does A Brand Extension Make Sense?
December 10, 2019
Smartbrief
Topics: Brand Extensions, Brand Names, Brand Strategy
Keywords: brand strategy, branding strategy, brand extension, Smartbrief on Brand Leadership, product extension, Ford Mustang
In this new Smartbrief video, I lay out the pros and cons for brand extensions and helps you figure out the right approach for you.
Brands To Watch In 2020
December 3, 2019
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Business, Marketing
Keywords: Brands To Watch in 2020, companies to watch in 2020, brand trends 2020, company trends 2020, news about brands
Amazon tops the alphabetical list of brands that will make the news in 2020.
How Do You Make Customers Feel?
November 12, 2019
Smartbrief
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Communication, Marketing
Keywords: emotional connection, marketing, Denise Lee Yohn, brand building, emotional branding, leadership, strategy, emotion in B2B
Companies should research who their customers are and respond with interactive experiences that “include them on a journey,” says Denise Lee Yohn in this blog post and video. “[H]umans are emotional beings and we make brand and product decisions based on how they make us feel and the identities they enable us to express and experience,” she says.
Stop Saying Your Company Is Like A Family
November 5, 2019
Forbes
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, corporate culture, organizational culture, workplace culture, leadership style, company is like family, family-like culture, employer employee contract
If you think about or treat your employees like family, you’re probably doing more harm than good.
Is Branding Important in the Flooring Sector?
November 4, 2019
Floor Covering Weekly
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Culture, Customer Service, Employee Engagement, Marketing
Keywords: brand-building, Denise Lee Yohn at DOMOTEX, Denise Lee Yohn in Floor Covering Weekly, branding importance
It is essential to create an emotional connection with your customers. This principle applies whether you are a retailer (looking to create a comfortable shopping environment) or a manufacturer (looking to establish trusting relationships with buyers).
Rituals, Artifacts, Emojis, Oh My!
October 15, 2019
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Employee Engagement
Keywords: organizational culture, workplace culture, culture-building, FUSION, Brand+Culture Series, company rituals, company artifacts, sweat the small stuff
Between rituals, artifacts, emojis, and other tools, you can shape your culture through the most mundane or minute aspects of your organization.
5 Criteria of a Breakthrough Brand Name
October 8, 2019
Smartbrief
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Names, Business, Marketing
Keywords: branding, Denise Lee Yohn video, brand name, Smartbrief on Brand Leadership, naming, Smartblog on branding
How do you choose a breakthrough brand name? Don’t simply pick a name that you like or just go with your gut. The decision is too important to be made subjectively or left up to chance. Learn in this video the five criteria you should use to select a name for your brand.
The One Customer Experience Management Tool That Every CX Leader Must Use
October 1, 2019
Forbes
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Experience, Business, Leadership
Keywords: customer experience management, customer experience leadership, CX strategy, CX leadership, CX Maturity Model, CX competency
The one customer experience management (CEM) tool that every CX leader must use is a CX Maturity Model, a framework that identifies the different areas of development that CX requires, along with key milestones in each area.
Customer Experience Excellence Starts With A Customer Mindset
September 11, 2019
Smartbrief
Topics: Customer Experience, Corporate Culture, Brand Touchpoints, Customer Service
Keywords: customer experience, Denise Lee Yohn, customer centricity, customer experience vs. customer service, #CX, CX excellence, customer mindset
How do you achieve CX excellence? In this brand leadership episode, I explain five steps to CX excellence starting with adopting a customer mindset.
Power The Purpose Of A Corporation
September 3, 2019
Forbes
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Leadership, Social Responsibility
Keywords: leadership, overarching purpose, purpose-driven, Purpose of a Corporation, Business Roundtable statement, stakeholder value, purpose of business, business stakeholders
Now that leading executives have stated their commitment to delivering value for all stakeholders, they must put their purpose into practice.
Lessons Learned From Kim Kardashian West’s Kimono Crisis
September 3, 2019
Advertising Age
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Names, Business, Marketing, Social Media
Keywords: brand naming, brand name selection, Kim Kardashian West, Kim Kardashian Kimono, Kim Kardashian shapewear, Kim Kardashian brand name crisis, social media brand strategy
If you use social media to become ‘famous for being famous,’ you obligate yourself to change according to the whims of its followers.
Do Your Core Values Have Teeth?
August 20, 2019
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Strategy, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: brand values, core values, brand-culture fusion, FUSION, Brand+Culture Series, unique core values
Most organization’s core values don’t say anything meaningful and therefore they don’t make a difference. To give your core values teeth, integrate and align them with your desired brand identity.
Does Your Brand Measure Up?
August 13, 2019
Smartbrief
Topics: Brand Equity, Brand Strategy
Keywords: brand leadership, Denise Lee Yohn on Smartbrief, brand equity, brand assessment, brand power, Smartbrief on Brand Leadership
Watch this new video in my series on brand leadership for SmartBrief and rate your brand on five dimensions of brand power
Employee Feedback Is Good For Employee Engagement; Action Is Better
August 6, 2019
Forbes
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Employee Engagement
Keywords: employee engagement, employee feedback, employee survey, Culture Amp, Culture First conference, Josh Bersin employee feedback, Didier Elzinga
Getting to the next level of employee engagement involves translating employee feedback into action.
Promote Your Culture with Your Employee Handbook
July 14, 2019
AIA KnowledgeNet
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Corporate Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, culture-building, Zingerman's staff guide, Ari Weinzweig, employee handbook, employee guide, policies & procedures, AIA KnowledgeNet
Here are the steps involved in developing your employee handbook.
Customer Centricity: What Is It Really and How Do You Get It?
July 9, 2019
Smartbrief
Topics: Customer Experience, Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Customer Service, Leadership
Keywords: customer centricity, Peter Fader, #CX, customer-centric culture, customer mindset, Denise Lee Yohn on Smartbrief on Leadership, customer strategy, Hootsuite customer centricity, Adobe Systems customer centricity, Airbnb customer centricity
If you want to successfully implement a customer-centric operating model, then you must cultivate a culture that embraces a customer-centric mindset and values. In this video for SmartBrief, Denise Lee Yohn share three ways to cultivate a customer-centric organizational culture
Why Should You Care About Your Employee Alumni?
July 2, 2019
Forbes
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement
Keywords: employee engagement, employee experience, EX, employee alumni networks, Pearson alumni network, employee alumni, Brandy Dawson, Duncan Roberts, James Sinclair, Enterprise Alumni
Savvy companies are waking up to the unique and tremendous value that their employee alumni have to offer — and they’re deploying programs and platforms to facilitate alumni networks.
Becoming Purpose-Driven Requires More Than Inspiration
June 25, 2019
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: corporate culture, organizational culture, workplace culture, culture leadership, purpose-driven, purpose-led, purposeful culture, purpose leadership employee engagement, Robert E. Quinn, Anjan V. Thakor, purpose-driven organization
Being purpose-driven involves a deliberate process of discovery, leadership, and sustained engagement.
Why Every Company Needs a Chief Experience Officer
June 13, 2019
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Customer Experience, Corporate Culture, Business, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, customer experience leadership, CX + EX, Adobe CX, Chief Experience Officer, CXO, employee experience leadership, Donna Morris, c-suite
Companies should consider integrating the two disciplines and installing a Chief Experience Officer to lead a combined CX and EX effort across the entire organization.
Should You Rebrand?
June 11, 2019
Smartbrief
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Names, Brand Strategy
Keywords: brand strategy, brand names, Denise Lee Yohn video, rebranding, new brand, Smartbrief video
We’re thrilled to offer SmartBrief readers the first video in what will be a monthly series from brand leadership expert Denise Lee Yohn. In this video, she discusses the three reasons why you should rebrand — and how you should prepare for a rebranding.
Align Employees To Customer Success Drive CX Excellence
June 3, 2019
Forbes
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Experience, Business, Customer Service, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, employee experience, CX + EX, CX strategy, CX excellence, customer success, employee success, Devon Westerholm, Adobe CX, SunPower CX, Dropbox CX
All the changes that CX improvement tends to involve can seem overwhelming. And sometimes it’s hard to know what the priority should be. CX leader Devon Westerholm makes the case for focusing on employees and aligning employees with customer success.
The Next Recession Is Coming – Are You Ready?
May 7, 2019
The European Financial Review
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: brand culture, recession strategy, reccession preparation, The European Financial Review on recession, Denise Lee Yohn on recession, Alan Mulaly recession strategy, Ford Motor Company recession strategy
The time to prepare for the next recession is now. Learn the three strategic actions then-CEO Alan Mulally utilised to save Ford Motor Co. from bankruptcy and return to profitability.
How To Scale Culture
May 7, 2019
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: corporate culture, organizational culture, workplace culture, culture leadership, start-up failure, how to scale culture, scaling up, scale-up failure
Three elements distinguish the culture of successful scale-ups: clarity, design, and practices.
Why Start-Ups Fail
May 1, 2019
Forbes
Topics: Brand Delivery, Business, Leadership, Small Businss
Keywords: start-up failure, why start-ups fail, CB Insights, failed entrepreneurs, start-up post-mortem, entrepreneur fail
The number one reason why start-ups fail was “no market need.”
Why The Corporate Valuations Of Rent The Runway, Airbnb And Lyft May Be Completely Wrong
April 3, 2019
Forbes
Topics: Brand Value, Business
Keywords: Peter Fader, brand valuation, customer-based corporate valuation, customer equity valuation, Rent The Runway valuation, Lyft IPO, Sarah Toms, Wharton Interactive, Wharton Digital Press, The Customer Centricity Playbook: Implement a Winning Strategy Driven By Customer Lifetime Value, customer lifetime value, Uber IPO, Slack IPO, Pinterest IPO, Peloton IPO, WeWork IPO, unicorn IPOs, unicorn valuations
The recent round of funding raised by Rent the Runway values the apparel rental company at $1 billion. Airbnb’s most recent internal valuation conducted in preparation for its IPO is around $38 billion. And Lyft’s IPO last week valued that company around $20 billion. But according to a couple of folks from Wharton business school, these corporate valuations may be completely wrong.
Should Company Culture Be Like a Cult
March 19, 2019
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: corporate culture, organizational culture, workplace culture, culture leadership, culture vs cult, Facebook culture, dave arnott, jim collins, jerry porras, built to last
The power and distinctiveness of a company’s culture shouldn’t necessarily be a concern.
Spark Customer Experience Innovation With These Three Strategies
March 5, 2019
Forbes
Topics: Customer Experience, Corporate Culture, Business, Customer Service, Innovation
Keywords: customer experience culture, Kirsty Traill, CX innovation, customer experience innovation, customer experience strategies, CX innovation lab, Neiman-Marcus iLab, Neiman-Marcus CX innovation, Canadian Tire garages, Canadian Tire innovation lab, MultiChoice #ninetynine, MultiChoice innovation, Clint Payne, Hootsuite CX innovation, Hootsuite Owl2Owl, Bose CX innovation, Bose CX bootcamp, O2 CX innovation, O2 customer led
CX innovation must be a deliberate, distinct, disciplined effort.
Why Great Innovation Needs Great Marketing
February 20, 2019
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Business, Innovation, Marketing
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn, marketing vs. innovation, marketing strategy, marketing trends, innovation trends, Keurig K cup case study, Google glass failure, Harvard Business Review innovation, Harvard Business Review marketing
Ideas don’t sell themselves.
Three Mistakes Gillette Made That Super Bowl Advertisers Should Avoid
January 29, 2019
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Marketing
Keywords: advertising strategy, Super Bowl advertisers, Gillette ad, Super Bowl ad strategy
Super Bowl advertisers that don’t want to waste their $5+ million investment should learn from the backlash to Gillette’s recent “The Best A Man Can Be” ad.
How Employee Experience (Ex) Helps Airbnb Attract And Keep Great Staff
January 15, 2019
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement
Keywords: employee engagement, employee experience, Airbnb employee experience, FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies review, employee experience book review
New book says an “implicit social contract” with staff is key.
Culture Oversight — A Mandate for Boards of Directors
January 14, 2019
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: corporate culture, organizational culture, workplace culture, culture leadership, board of directors culture, culture risk, board of directors responsibility
To fulfill their responsibility for culture, board members must adopt a proactive, active stance and a disciplined, deliberate approach.
Marketing Matters Now More Than Ever
January 8, 2019
Forbes
Topics: Business, Innovation, Marketing
Keywords: Peter Drucker, marketing matters, marketing vs. innovation, marketing in 2019, marketing strategy, marketing definition, marketing trends
As 2019 begins, it’s time to reclaim marketing as a key driver of business.
Leaders And Losers In The Year of Employee Experience
December 24, 2018
Forbes
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Delivery, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, employee experience, EX, Year of Employee Experience, Qualtrics experience bonus, IBM culture of education, Starbucks unconcious bias training, Hilton Hotels EX, United Airlines Core4, McDonald's complexity, Uber Dara Khosrowshahi, Amazon employee wage, Twitter organization, Nike EX
Was 2018 “The Year of Employee Experience”? Examples of companies that got it right and wrong this year show there’s still a lot of work to be done on EX.
All Types of Organizations Need Brand-Culture Fusion
December 17, 2018
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: corporate culture, brand culture, organizational culture, workplace culture, brand culture alignment, FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies, brand culture integration, culture-building, culture assessment, brand-culture fusion assessment, brand assessment
Each organization is different but all companies share the need to create a mutually reinforcing relationship between their brand and culture.
Brands To Watch In 2019
December 4, 2018
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Business, Marketing
Keywords: brands to watch in 2019, top brands in 2019, top companies in 2019, best brands in 2019, 2019 trends, 2019 business predictions
Here’s the list of brands I’ll be keeping my eye on, in my annual tradition of one brand for each letter of the alphabet.
Leaders Must Go Beyond Giving Lip Service to Culture
December 3, 2018
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: corporate culture, organizational culture, workplace culture, FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies, culture-building, culture leadership, cultural norms
Three actions leaders can take to go beyond giving lip service to workplace culture and build a healthy, effective, sustainable culture at their organizations.
How To Cultivate a Successful Culture
December 1, 2018
The Art of
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: culture and brand, FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies, culture-building, culture leadership, The Art of Leadership
Cultivating a healthy, valuable, growth-oriented workplace culture isn’t easy. If you’re like most business leaders, you know your culture should produce a competitive advantage and improve your organization’s performance, but you don’t know how to cultivate and leverage the kind of culture you need to succeed.
Cultivate Culture Through Employee Experience
November 19, 2018
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, employee experience, EX, culture-building, workplace design, employee experience architecture, experience design
How to deliberately, clearly, and carefully design and manage employee experience to cultivate your workplace culture.
3 Ways To Prepare Your Business For The Next Recession
November 14, 2018
Forbes
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: prepare for recession, recession strategy, brand-building in a recession, workplace culture in a recession
Economists and analysts agree – it’s not a question of if another recession will happen; it’s a question of when. And most predict the next recession will begin at the end of 2019/early 2020. So, what should you do to prepare your business for the next recession?
How to Stem the Decline of Brand Loyalty
November 13, 2018
Topics: Brand Loyalty, Brand Delivery, Business, Customer Service, Loyalty, Marketing
Keywords: brand loyalty, customer loyalty, customer service, loyalty strategies, loyalty trends, decline in loyalty, customer retention
If you want customers to be loyal to you, be loyal to them first.
The State of Brand-Culture Fusion
November 6, 2018
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Experience, Business, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: brand culture, brand culture alignment, FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies, brand culture integration, brand-culture fusion, culture assessment, brand-culture fusion assessment, brand assessment
The current state of brand-culture fusion in business today is quite weak.
Marketing & HR: The Partnership That Powers Hootsuite
October 24, 2018
Forbes
Topics: Customer Experience, Corporate Culture, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership, Marketing
Keywords: CX + EX, Marketing & Human Resources, Hootsuite CX strategy, Hootsuite corporate culture, Hootsuite employee culture, Kirsty Traill, marketing collaboration, HR collaboration
Marketers must think and act beyond the narrow scope of marketing and assume a bigger, broader role as a change agent for their organizations.
How to Cultivate Brand-Culture Fusion
October 22, 2018
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Experience, Business, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: brand-building, corporate culture, brand culture, organizational culture, workplace culture, brand culture alignment, FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies, brand culture integration, brand-culture fusion, culture-building
How and why to integrate your external brand identity and internal workplace culture
Welcome to the Brand+Culture Series
October 15, 2018
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Experience, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: brand-building, corporate culture, brand culture, organizational culture, workplace culture, brand culture alignment, FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies, brand culture integration, brand-culture fusion, culture-building
A series of regular insights on topics related to the integration and alignment of external brand identity and internal workplace culture.
6 Ways to Build a Customer-Centric Culture
October 2, 2018
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Customer Experience, Corporate Culture, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: customer-centricity, customer-centric culture, customer experience culture, customer experience success, customer experience leadersihp, CX Day, CX strategy, CX culture, customer culture
Start by hiring people who really care about the customer experience.
What Patients Really Want And Why Healthcare Companies Should Care
October 2, 2018
Forbes
Topics: Digital Health, Health/Fitness/Wellness, Customer Experience, Brand Experience, Customer Service
Keywords: customer experience, patient experience, #CX, healthcare experience, healthcare customer experience, PX, The Beryl Institute, what healthcare patients want, Consumer Perspectives on Patient Experience 2018
The Beryl Institute recently released findings from research they conducted on PX. Their report, Consumer Perspectives on Patient Experience 2018, reveals what patients really want and why healthcare companies need to pay attention.
Reminder: Customers Care How You Treat Your Employees
September 26, 2018
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Employee Engagement, Social Responsibility
Keywords: employee culture, Denise Lee Yohn in Harvard Business Review, employee policies, IBM employees, employee discrimination, age discrimination, corporate reputation, employeees and brand image
Your talent policies affect your reputation, performance, and culture.
Culture Building That Drives Performance
September 18, 2018
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement
Keywords: culture-building, high performance culture, Gallup Building a Culture That Drives Performance, Gallup culture report, high performing culture
Highlights from Gallup’s Approach to Culture: Building a Culture That Drives Performance report.
Advancing A Culture Of Education At IBM
September 12, 2018
Forbes
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: IBM employee engagement, IBM education, IBM learning & development, IBM culture, Carrie Altieri IBM, learning organization, employee education, employee training
Some companies say that they are a learning organization, but IBM actually is one.
The Future Of Retail CX Is Human
August 22, 2018
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Business, Innovation
Keywords: retail customer experience, retail technology, future of retail, future of customer experience, retail CX, retail is human, CX is human
In the pursuit to leverage the potential of technology in CX, however, retailers must not lose sight of the humanity of CX.
Why Employment Branding Doesn’t Work — And What You Should Do Instead
August 17, 2018
Smartbrief
Topics: Business, Employee Engagement
Keywords: employee engagement, employment branding, employee experience, employer brand, recruiting, employee brand, war on talent
Most employment branding approaches don’t work because they aren’t aligned and integrated with the company’s customer brand strategy.
Walmart’s Got Talent…Now It Needs Integration
August 6, 2018
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Experience, Business, Leadership
Keywords: Walmart strategy, Walmart customer centricity, Walmart organization, Walmart leadership, Walmart customer experience, CX leadership, CX organizational design
For Walmart to truly become customer-centric and deliver a seamless customer journey, it needs more than talent.
Why This Consulting Firm Doesn’t Have An Exit Strategy
August 1, 2018
Forbes
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: Pariveda Solutions, Bruce Ballengee, consulting firm leadership, consulting firm ESOP, Stefanie Hill, expectations framework, consulting firm culture
Many founders in general have their eye on their end game in today’s fast-moving, milestone-driven, valuation-obsessed business environment. But for Bruce Ballengee, CEO and Co-Founder of Pariveda Solutions, Inc., a $100 million, 500-person technology strategy and solutions consulting firm, no exit strategy was no problem.
Amazon Prime Day Is Retail Industry Bellwether
July 16, 2018
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Loyalty, Business, Loyalty
Keywords: Amazon strategy, Amazon Prime strategy, Amazon Prime Day, Amazon loyalty, Amazon Prime membership, Amazon customer strategy, Amazon customer loyalty
Amazon PrimeDay is more than just a huge sale. It also serves as an indicator of the state of the retail industry today.
Amazon Prime Day Is Retail Industry Bellwether
July 11, 2018
Forbes
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keywords: Walmart vs. Amazon, Amazon strategy, Amazon Prime Day, retail industry trends, state of retail, retail membership, retail subscription
Do As I Say and Do
June 25, 2018
Bulldog Drummond
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Leadership
Keywords: leadership culture, Ford turnaround, Alan Mulally leadership, Ford leadership, ford recovery, leadership role model
While other business leaders often seem to come down with a case of the “do as I say, not as I do” syndrome particularly during crises and challenges, then-CEO Alan Mulally provided the words and the actions that inspired, informed, and instructed his employees to make Ford successful once again.
Six Surprising Facts That Explain Trader Joe’s Secrets To Success
June 13, 2018
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Corporate Culture, Culture, Leadership, Marketing
Keywords: trader joe's, retail customer experience, grocery store trends, Trader Joe's strategy, Dan Bane leadership, Trader Joe's culture, Trader Joe's success
Trader Joe’s sticks to a quirky, sometimes counterintuitive playbook that breaks from the conventions of grocery and retail in general.
Power Your CX with EX
June 12, 2018
RetailNext
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Employee Engagement
Keywords: retail customer experience, RetailNext, employee experience customer experience, EX & CX, employee engagement & customer experience, retail employee experience
When retailers integrate and align employee experience (EX) and customer experience (CX), they benefit from employees who are committed to their organizations because they want to be a part of creating great experiences for their shoppers.
Ten Years After Ford’s Spectacular Turnaround, What Alan Mulally Reveals About Brand-Inspired Cultural Revolution
June 7, 2018
Great Leadership
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: brand turnaround, FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies, brand-culture fusion, culture-building, culture leadership, Great Leadership blog, Dan McCarthy blog, Alan Mulally turnaround, Ford turnaround, Ford revival, Ford strategy, Alan Mulally strategy
It’s been 10 years since Alan Mulally pulled off what has been considered one of the greatest corporate turnarounds in U.S. history. One angle that hasn’t yet been covered is the brand-inspired cultural revolution he led inside the organization.
Employee Activism Challenges CEOs to Take Action
May 29, 2018
Smartbrief
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: corporate culture, employee activism, employee activists, employee protests, CEO activism, corporate activism, Denise Lee Yohn in Smartbrief, workplace trends, leadership trends, managing milllennial employees
The trend of employee activism deserves careful attention from companies because it is only going to grow and requires careful management by business leaders.
Why Does This Vendor Turn Clients Away?
May 23, 2018
Forbes
Topics: Customer Experience, Corporate Culture, Business, Leadership
Keywords: Voxpro strategy, Voxpro Brian Hannon, Voxpro, TELUS, culture value chain, customer criteria, customer experience standards, customer acquisition strategy
Voxpro attracts Millennial employees by only taking on clients that meet its strict criteria.
3 Lessons All Leaders Should Learn From The Letter To Shareholders By Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos
May 2, 2018
Forbes
Topics: Customer Experience, Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: corporate culture, workplace culture, culture leadership, Amazon culture, Jeff Bezos letter to shareholders, Jeff Bezos culture, Jeff Bezos leadership, Amazon high standards
Bezos describes what makes the workplace culture at Amazon so unique and, in doing so, provides valuable insights about culture-building.
The Leadership Mandate: Culture-Building
May 1, 2018
The Art of
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn speaker, culture leadership, leadership communication, The Art of Magazine, The Art of Leadership, leadership culture
The keys to successful leadership communication—especially as you try to cultivate your desired culture—are consistency, simplicity, storytelling, and relevance.
3 Ways To Ensure Your Culture Supports Your Brand
April 23, 2018
Management Today
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies, culture-building, culture leadership, Denise Lee Yohn in Management Today, culture management
Leaders play a critical role in shaping their company’s real values.
The Secret To Superior Customer Experience
April 18, 2018
Forbes
Topics: Customer Experience, Corporate Culture, Culture, Customer Service, Employee Engagement
Keywords: employee engagement, #CX, CX engagement, customer experience engagement, Pacific Consulting Group, Yvonne Nomizu, customer experience excellence, customer experience research
Work engaged employees is critical, but insufficient if an organization wants to be a top CX performer — employees must also be engaged in CX.
Corporate Culture Calls For Board Oversight
April 9, 2018
Corporate Board Member
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies, culture-building, Corporate Board Member, board member culture, corporate board culture, executive board culture culture leadership, culture and risk
Culture is a strategic management responsibility — to be spearheaded by the chief executive officer, led by operational leaders, stewarded by every manager in the organization, and overseen by the board of directors.
Three Problems Caused By A Brand And Culture Mismatch: The Power Of Brand-Culture Fusion
April 2, 2018
HR.com
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: corporate culture, organizational culture, workplace culture, culture-building, culture leadership, HR.com magazine, Leadership Excellence magazine, USION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies
What’s the secret? Savvy business leaders power their companies’ performance by fusing together their brand and culture.
You Don’t Need A Mission Statement, You Need A Brand Purpose
April 1, 2018
Conscious Connection
Topics: Business, Leadership, Social Responsibility
Keywords: FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies, purpose-driven company, purpose-driven brand, mission statement vs. purpose, Denise Lee Yohn in Conscious Connection, conscious business
Most business leaders know they should promote a purpose for their organization, but most also go about it the wrong way.
How to Fix United Airlines’ Culture Problem
March 27, 2018
Forbes
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Customer Service, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, corporate culture, core values, United incidents, United culture, United employees, United Oscar Munoz, United leadership, employee empowerment, UAL problems
Recent incidents at United don’t reflect a competence deficit at the airline; they reveal a culture problem — and United’s leaders must take specific actions to fix it.
What Happened When Airbnb Blew Up Its HR Department To Focus On “Employee Experience”
March 23, 2018
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee experience, FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies, Airbnb employee experience, LinkedIn Weekend Essay, Denise Lee Yohn on LinkedIn, Airbnb employee engagement, Airbnb belonging strategy, Airbnb human resources
Excerpt from FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World’s Greatest Companies.
The Smart Manager Article
March 15, 2018
The Smart Manager
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Innovation
Keywords: employee culture, corporate culture, workplace culture, FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies, culture myths, culture-building, culture leadership, The Smart Manager Myth Busters
Denise Lee Yohn, author of FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World’s Greatest Companies, has cracked the code on culture-building. She explains why and how to use your corporate culture to increase the competitiveness and sustainability of your business.
Engaging Employees Starts with Remembering What Your Company Stands For
March 13, 2018
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Corporate Culture, Brand Delivery, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: brand strategy, employee engagement, employee brand engagement, Denise Lee Yohn in Harvard Business Review, employee experience, FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies, MGM Resorts employee experience, MGM Resorts employee engagement, brand training, Lili Tomovich, MGM Resorts rebranding
Most engagement efforts fail because they’re generic.
Company Culture Doesn’t Need To Be “Warm And Fuzzy” To Be Effective
March 13, 2018
Quartz At Work
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee culture, corporate culture, Denise Lee Yohn book, workplace culture, FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies, brand-culture fusion, brand and culture, Amazon corporate culture, Quartz at Work
Amazon is a perfect example of what I call brand-culture fusion— the full integration and alignment of external brand identity and internal organizational culture that explains the success of the world’s greatest companies.
Forget Everything You Know About Culture
March 7, 2018
ChangeThis
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: ChangeThis Manifesto, 800 CEO Read Manifesto, Denise Lee Yohn manifesto, FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies, culture manifesto, culture change
Most of the existing rhetoric on culture says that managers must be warm and nurturing and they must treat their employees like family, being encouraging and inclusive. That’s just wrong.
Cultivate Your Culture
March 6, 2018
Cannabis Business Executive Magazine
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Leadership, Small Businss
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn, small business culture, FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies, culture leadership, Cannabis Business Executive magazine, small business leadership, start-up culture
The cannabis business sector is teeming with opportunity. Your company has so much growth potential. And as the leader of a cannabis company, you have countless new ideas and ventures before you.
Fuse Customer Experience and Employee Experience to Drive Your Growth
March 6, 2018
Forbes
Topics: Customer Experience, Corporate Culture, Brand Experience, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: customer experience, employee experience, Donna Morris Adobe, CX + EX, Adobe strategy, Adobe corporate culture, Adobe employee engagement, Adobe customer experience, Adobe employee experience
In a recent interview, Donna Morris, EVP of Customer and Employee Experience at Adobe Systems, outlined for me some of the primary ways she fuses together customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX) and provided advice for other organizations that want to combine their CX and EX efforts.
Don’t Just Appreciate Your Employees, Engage Them
February 28, 2018
Happy Or Not
Topics: Customer Experience, Corporate Culture, Brand Experience, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, employee brand engagement, employee experience, employee appreciation day, Happy or Not, KPMG engagement
It’s that time of year: Employee Appreciation Day, a day when companies are supposed to recognize and celebrate their employees. While these approaches may demonstrate a company’s thankfulness for its workforce, they fall far short of what today’s employees really want. And they do little to accomplish what today’s employers need from their workforces — commitment, alignment, and a focus on delivering great customer experiences.
USA Gymnastics Shows What Not to Do to Produce a High Performance Culture
February 20, 2018
Forbes
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: high performance culture, Larry Nasser, USA Gymnastics culture, U.S. Olympics Committee culture, Olympics team culture, Navy SEALs culture, NASA culture, Amazon corporate culture
The multiple sexual abuse crimes committed by Dr. Larry Nasser, the former USA Gymnasticsnational team doctor, show other organizations and their leaders exactly what not to do if they want to produce a high performance culture.
Ban These 5 Words From Your Corporate Values Statement
February 5, 2018
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Corporate Culture, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: mission statement, corporate culture, Denise Lee Yohn in Harvard Business Review, workplace culture, core values, unique culture, category values
Most core values statements don’t get at what’s unique about the firm.
Great Brands Aim For Members’ Hearts, Not Their Wallets
February 1, 2018
Inside Eascorp
Topics: Brand Loyalty, Brand Communication, Business, Marketing
Keywords: credit union branding, credit union brand-building, Eascorp newsletter, credit union loyalty, credit union member strategy
If your members aren’t happy but they stay with you because you make it difficult for them to leave, they’re not truly loyal to your business—and you’re not building a truly great brand.
Great Brands Aim For Members’ Hearts, Not Their Wallets
February 1, 2018
Inside Eascorp
Topics: Brand Loyalty, Brand Communication, Marketing
Keywords: credit union branding, credit union brand-building, Eascorp newsletter, credit union loyalty, credit union member strategy
If your members aren’t happy but they stay with you because you make it difficult for them to leave, they’re not truly loyal to your business—and you’re not building a truly great brand.
Pursuit’s David Barry Led Brand Transformation from the Inside Out
January 30, 2018
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Corporate Culture, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: corporate culture, culture leadership, Pursuit Collection, David Barry Pursuit, Viad Corp., brand transformation, re-branding, brand from the inside out
Viad Corp.’s President of Pursuit Collection David Barry personally led the organization through an inside-out approach to brand-building and successfully executed a re-brand.
Five Myths About Corporate Culture, And Five Strategies For Cultivating A Great One
January 16, 2018
Forbes
Topics: Corporate Culture, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: corporate culture, organizational culture, workplace culture, FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies, culture myths, culture-building, culture strategies, culture leadership
Five common myths about culture-building — as well as five strategies for cultivating a unique, healthy, sustainable organizational culture.
2018 Will Be the Year of Employee Experience
January 2, 2018
Forbes
Topics: Customer Experience, Corporate Culture, Employee Engagement
Keywords: customer experience, employee engagement, corporate culture, employee experience, EX, 2018 trends, 2018 predictions, human resources trends
Now that according to Gartner more than 90% of businesses compete primarily on the basis of customer experience (CX), it’s no longer enough to make CX a corporate priority. The next competitive frontier is employee experience (EX) and the signs indicate so strongly that EX will become the next priority for organizations that I’m calling 2018 The Year of Employee Experience.
New Generation Of Tech CEOs At Uber, Microsoft And Google Lead With Culture
November 15, 2017
Forbes
Topics: Culture, Leadership
Keywords: employee culture, corporate culture, workplace culture, technology company culture, Uber CEO, Google CEO, Microsoft CEO, tech leadership, Satya Nadelli, Sundar Pichai, Dara Khosrowshahi, leading with culture
Five New Customer Experiences
November 10, 2017
Chain Store Age
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Experience
Keywords: brand experience, retail customer experience, Chain Store Age, disruptive retail customer experience, Apple Town Hall, Starbucks Roastery, Shake Shack playground, Walmart omnichannel, Lolli & Pops core values
Savvy retailers and restaurateurs aren’t standing by while digital players, delivery services, and marketplaces try to steal their market share. They’re disrupting themselves and creating brand new retail customer experiences.
To Win Over Americans, Chinese Companies Should Build Their Brands
October 25, 2017
Forbes
Topics: Brand Strategy, Business, Marketing
Keywords: brand purpose, chinese branding, Chinese brands, Tencent brand, Alibaba brand, Huawei brand, Jack Ma brand, international branding, brand personality, brand storytelling
Purpose, story-telling, and brand personality are brand-building levers that Chinese brands should use to win with American customers.
Why Retailers Should Retire Holiday Shopping Season
October 9, 2017
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Business, Marketing
Keywords: retail customer experience, retail strategy, retail trends, holiday shopping trends, holiday shopping, holiday season retail, Christmas season shopping
Seasonal binge-buying doesn’t fit the way consumers shop now.
Cos Bar Uses This One Essential Strategy To Compete With Mass Retailers Ulta And Sephora
October 4, 2017
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Customer Service
Keywords: Cos Bar, Lily Garfield, David Olsen, luxury service, Ulta, Sephora, beauty retail, luxury marketing, luxury retail, cosmetics marketing, cosmetics retail
Cos Bar is sticking with the one essential competitive strategy that has established the brand with high-end customers: luxury service.
The Future Retail Success Depends On Culture, Not Technology
September 13, 2017
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Innovation
Keywords: retail customer experience, retail trends, future retail success, retail technology, Arun Nair, RetailNext, retail culture
To be prepared for the future, the retail industry needs to undergo a cultural transformation more than it needs to adopt any given technology.
Dunkin’ Donuts Should Embrace Its Differentiation
August 23, 2017
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Names, Brand Strategy, Marketing
Keywords: branding strategy, brand differentiation, Dunkin' Donuts, brand name, Dunkin' Donuts vs. Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts branding, Dunkin' Donuts brand positioning, Dunkin' Donuts brand differentiation
Dunkin’ Donuts should emphasize the combination of great donuts and coffee that differentiates it from most every other brand.
How One Retailer Puts Its Core Values On Display Every Day
August 2, 2017
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Marketing
Keywords: retail customer experience, retail customer experience design, Lolli & Pops, Jessica Mennella, Whitney Clark, core values, sweet shop
Sweet shop retail chain Lolli & Pops creates a customer experience where its values come to life for customers every day.
Does Your Brand Need A Tagline?
July 12, 2017
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Marketing
Keywords: hashtags, Denise Lee Yohn, taglines, advertising strategy, headlines, tagline marketing, social media marketing
Many advertisers are questioning the value of taglines these days
Why Your Company Culture Should Match Your Brand
June 26, 2017
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: brand strategy, branding strategy, corporate culture, Denise Lee Yohn in Harvard Business Review, organizational culture, workplace culture, brand culture alignment, brand culture integration
How you operate is linked to how you’re perceived.
Culture Isn’t Enough
June 22, 2017
Smartbrief
Topics: Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, corporate culture, organizational culture, workplace culture, culture and brand, Denise Lee Yohn on Smartbrief, FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies
You should integrate your culture and your brand so inextricably that together they give your company inimitable and sustainable power.
Fresh Advice for Retailers from Trend Forecasting Firm TOBE
June 21, 2017
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Business, Innovation, Marketing
Keywords: retail branding, retail trends, The TOBE Report, Leslie Ghize, advice for retailers, Retail Next
The prescription for branding has changed, says Leslie Ghize of The TOBE Group.
Will Amazon Eat The World Or Will It Be Eaten?
May 31, 2017
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Business, Strategy
Keywords: Walmart vs. Amazon, Amazon strategy, amazon competitors, zack kanter, brittain ladd, amazon in china, amazon in india, AWS strategy, FBA strategy, amazon positioning
Experts disagree on if Amazon will remain unchallenged by competitors.
What Should Apple Name Its Next New iPhone?
May 10, 2017
Forbes
Topics: Brand Names, Innovation, Marketing
Keywords: brand name strategy, Apple iPhone, new iPhone name, iPhone 8 launch, iPhone X, iPhone Edition, Apple branding, brand name selection, Apple brand name strategy
The name of Apple’s next product is not simply a semantics issue — it’s a brand opportunity.
Should You Name Your Company After Yourself?
May 5, 2017
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Brand Names, Leadership, Small Businss
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn in Harvard Business Review, eponymous brand, eponymous company, naming strategy, brand name strategy
As with all brand naming decisions, it matters less which name an entrepreneur chooses than what actions they take to make it mean something that’s relevant and compelling.
Lady Gaga Shows Companies How To Make A Comeback
April 19, 2017
Forbes
Topics: Brand Loyalty, Brand Experience, Brand Strategy, Marketing
Keywords: brand loyalty, Lady Gaga marketing, Lady Gaga comeback, Lady Gaga strategy, Lady Gaga Little Monsters, brand turnaround, brand rebound, company turnaround, brand comeback
Everyone should recognize the successful comeback Lady Gaga has made and seek to learn from it.
United Is Operating On Auto-Pilot
April 11, 2017
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Delivery, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Culture, Customer Service, Employee Engagement, Loyalty, Social Media
Keywords: United Airlines social media, United Airlines man dragged off plane, United Airlines culture, United Airlines employee engagement, United Airlines brand touchpoints
Now that social media has made every customer a media channel, leaders must recognize every employee is a brand touchpoint.
Is It Too Late for Sears to Save Itself?
March 30, 2017
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Equity, Brand Experience, Business, Culture, Leadership, Strategy
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn in Harvard Business Review, Sears strategy, Sears brand strategy, Sears recovery, Sears turnaround, Eddie Lampert strategy, retail comeback, retail turnaround
Sears’s number one priority should be to protect and restore its brand.
Why Did Sexual Harassment Fell Uber?
March 25, 2017
Forbes
Topics: Brand Experience, Business, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: brand integrity, internal brand culture, brand authenticity, Uber sexual harassment, Uber brand, Uber culture, sexual harassment in the workplace, Travis Kalanick sexual harassment, Susan Fowler sexual harassment, brand culture alignment
Uber’s lack of integrity has eroded brand trust and esteem.
Walmart Won’t Stay on Top If Its Strategy Is “Copy Amazon”
March 21, 2017
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Strategy, Business, Marketing
Keywords: Walmart vs. Amazon, Walmart strategy, Amazon strategy, Walmart competitive advantage, Walmart Jet, Walmart Marc Lore, Walmart shipping strategy, Walmart everyday low pricing strategy, Amazon Prime strategy, Amazon shipping strategy
Trying to beat Amazon at its own game is not only likely to fail, it’s also not in Walmart’s best interests.
Here’s Who Is Stalling Your Culture Efforts
March 17, 2017
Smartbrief
Topics: Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: frozen middle, middle managers, middle management, diversity & inclusion, D&I, middle manager culture efforts, middle manager change management
Every manager at every level is a link in the leadership chain that connects culture to results.
Who Owns Customer Experience?
March 8, 2017
Forbes
Topics: Customer Experience, Business, Customer Service, Loyalty, Marketing, Sales
Keywords: customer experience management, #CX, Tiffani Bova, #custexp, marketing vs. sales, sales disruption, customer experience leadership
It matters less who owns CX and more who executes on it, Tiffani Bova, Salesforce’s Global, Customer Growth and Innovation Evangelist says.
Healthcare Companies Should Design Patient Experiences Like Customer Experiences
February 15, 2017
Forbes
Topics: Digital Health, Customer Experience, Customer Service
Keywords: digital health, patient experience, Circle Medical Group, healthcare experience, healthcare start-up, David Kagan, George Favvas, healthcare customer experience
Healthcare companies should design patient experiences like companies design customer experiences, but they’re not.
The NFL May Be Losing The Super From Its Bowl
January 25, 2017
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Equity, Business, Marketing
Keywords: NFL brand, Super Bowl advertisers, NFL decline, Super Bowl viewership, NFL Super Bow trend
The NFL brand seems to be losing its luster.
What Can Media Companies Learn from Top Retailers?
January 25, 2017
Knowledge@Wharton
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Innovation
Keywords: customer experience, retail customer experience, retail transformation, #CX, #custexp, Medium, monetize content, media companies, media transformation
Despite lower in-store sales, some retailers are blazing successful new marketing trails that engage customers and improve the bottom line. Media companies could learn from these new models.
Brand As Business
January 16, 2017
The College Store
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Business
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn, brand-as-business management approach, The College Store Magazine, NACS Magazine, CAMEX Magazine, college bookstore experience, college store experience retail customer experience
Do you do what great brands do?
VCs Are From Mars, Female Entrepreneurs Are From Venus
January 4, 2017
Forbes
Topic:
Keywords: Jory Des Jardins, BlogHer founder, female entrepreneurs, female start-ups, VC gender gap, entrepreneur gender gap, funding gender gap
Jory Des Jardins, cofounder of BlogHer, says there is a “mismatch between the VC process and how women go about growing a company.”
Startup With Passion, Purpose, and People
January 4, 2017
Bulldog Drummond
Topics: Business, Innovation, Leadership
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn on Bulldog Drummond, start with why, start-up strategy, start-up purpose, entrepreneur passion, start-up success
It seems the drive behind many startups is to make money, create something new and be successful. But these aren’t reasons to start a company. They’re the results – if you do it right.
Design Your Employee Experience as Thoughtfully as You Design Your Customer Experience
December 8, 2016
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Customer Experience, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, employee culture, Denise Lee Yohn on Harvard Business Review, workplace culture, employee experience, employee segmentation, employee and customer experience
Improving customer experience is often a top business priority, but what about employee experience?
Ten Brands to Watch in 2017
December 7, 2016
Chain Store Age
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Business
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn in Chain Store Age, Brands to Watch in 2017, 10 Brands to Watch, Companies to Watch in 2017, Retailers to Watch in 2017
Brand-building consultant Denise Lee Yohn has released her annual “Brands to Watch” list for 2017. There are 26 companies on the list, with retail and social media brands accounting for 10 of the spots.
SoulCycle Uses A Freedom Within A Framework Approach To Flourish
November 30, 2016
Forbes
Topics: Health/Fitness/Wellness, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, corporate culture, SoulCycle brand, Melanie Whelan, freedom within a framework, SoulCycle growth, workplace culture, SoulCycle culture, management approach
The “freedom within a framework” management approach has been a critical element behind SoulCycle’s success.
What’s the ROI on Brand-Building?
November 20, 2016
Mth Degree
Topic: Brand Value
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn, Balanced Brand Scorecard, brand ROI, branding ROI, brand valuation, marketing ROI, Mth Degree
I’d like to suggest a framework that provides a means for understanding and tracking the value-creating results of a brand. The Balanced Brand Scorecard provides a holistic assessment of your brand’s value.
7 Steps to Deliver Better Customer Experiences
November 15, 2016
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints
Keywords: customer experience architecture, customer experience design, customer experience management, #CX, #custexp, customer experience video, customer experience webinar, customer experience on Harvard Business Review
Using seven key steps, brand-building expert Denise Lee Yohn helps companies design and deliver dramatically improved experiences by using a customer experience architecture.
Customer Experience Success Relies On More Than Marketing
November 9, 2016
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Business, Marketing
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn, customer experience design, customer experience strategy, customer experience marketing, customer experience management, new customer metrics, organization design
Customer experience success relies on operations, human resources, and finance as much as it does on marketing.
Fuerst Group Does Retail R&D On KEEN And Chrome Industries Brands
October 26, 2016
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Experience, Innovation, Marketing
Keywords: retail innovation, Fuerst Group, KEEN footwear, Chrome Industries Hub, John Evons, retail R&D, KEEN garage
Research and development is no longer just for product development. Retailers must take an R&D approach to customer experience and experiment with different ways to engage customers, sell products, and build their brands.
Apple’s Most Innovative Product Isn’t A Product At All
October 5, 2016
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Strategy, Innovation
Keywords: apple store, retail customer experience, Apple brand positioning, Apple brand strategy, #CX, Apple customer experience innovation, Angela Ahrendts, Apple retail strategy, Apple product innovation, #custexp
Apple has developed a new retail experience that has transformed the Apple store as we knew it and the Apple brand itself.
Stop Selling; Start Evangelizing
September 14, 2016
Forbes
Topics: Business, Marketing, Sales
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn on Forbes, sales strategy, brand evangelist, sales leadership, brand evangelism, Guy Kawasaki, Tiffani Bova
Marketing may be expanding its influence and involvement across the customer experience, but sales and salespeople can and should remain a critical element of most go-to-market strategies. To ensure this, salespeople need to stop selling and start evangelizing.
How to Start Up Your Brand: Develop a Minimum Viable Brand
September 14, 2016
ChangeThis
Topics: Brand Strategy, Business, Small Businss
Keywords: strategic brand platform, ChangeThis Manifesto, start-up branding, start-up brand strategy, minimum viable brand, MVB, minimum viable product, Denise Lee Yohn manifesto
Many startups get derailed because they don’t get their brand right. To avoid this fate, you need to develop a Minimum Viable Brand (MVB).
How to Start-Up Your Brand: Develop a Minimum Viable Brand
September 14, 2016
Topics: Brand Strategy, Small Businss
Keyword:
As an alternative to a complete strategic brand platform or simply a shell of a brand, a MVB provides start-ups the perfect balance of structure and flexibility.
ZICO Coconut Water Founder Thinks Business Should Aspire Higher
August 24, 2016
Forbes
Topics: Brand Delivery, Business, Culture, Leadership, Social Responsibility
Keywords: corporate social responsibility, Denise Lee Yohn on Forbes, Mark Rampolla, ZICO Coconut Water, High-Hanging Fruit, purpose-driven companies, ZICO coconut water story, responsible leadership, purpose-driven book
ZICO Coconut Water Founder Mark Rampolla’s book, High-Hanging Fruit: Build Something Great by Going Where No One Else Will, recounts how Rampolla reached for a higher purpose and built ZICO into a multi-million dollar business that was eventually acquired by Coke.
The Biggest Mistake Church Leaders Can Make
August 15, 2016
Phil Cooke Blog
Topics: Brand Strategy, Leadership
Keywords: Phil Cooke blog, Denise Lee Yohn on Phil Cooke, church leadership, church marketing strategy, church brand strategy, pastor mistake
I asked Denise if she could share one message with pastors and ministry leaders today, what would it be? Here’s her answer. It’s counter-intuitive for many, but from my experience, worth considering:
The Best Salespeople Do What the Best Brands Do
August 15, 2016
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Business, Leadership, Sales
Keywords: brand-as-business management approach, salesmanship, Denise Lee Yohn in Harvard Business Review, what great salespeople do, sales strategy, sales success, Guy Kawasaki brand evangelism, brand evangelist
Great salespeople succeed in this new business environment by doing what great brands do.
Olympics Advertisers Are Wasting Their Sponsorship Dollars
August 3, 2016
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Business, Marketing
Keywords: Olympics sponsorship, Olympics advertising, Adidas vs. Nike, brand sponsorship, brand partnership, sports sponsorship, advertising strategy
Without spots that are relevant and compelling to their target customers, Olympics advertisers are wasting their sponsorship dollars.
An Open Letter To McDonald’s New Brand Leader: Start Brand-Building Inside
July 13, 2016
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: brand engagement, employee culture, employee brand engagement, McDonald's turnaround, Colin Mitchell McDonald's, new McDonald's Brand VP, stakeholder brand engagement
Dear Colin Mitchell, Congratulations on your new role as global VP-McDonald’s Brand! Your first and top priority be building a brand-led culture inside the organization,
Is It Time For Microsoft To Rebrand?
June 22, 2016
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Equity, Brand Names, Leadership
Keywords: Microsoft rebrand, Microsoft brand strategy, Satya Nadella strategy, Microsoft LinkedIn acquisition, Microsoft LinkedIn strategy, rebranding, Google Alphabet rebrand
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been creating a new company. Perhaps it’s time for a new brand.
Big-Box Retailers Have Two Options If They Want to Survive
June 22, 2016
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Experience, Business
Keywords: retail customer experience, big box retail, big box retailer strategy, ghost box, retail disruption, big box customer experience
Big box retail must shift its strategy — from competing on access and selection to staging big experiences and providing big discounts.
Seven Habits Of Highly Engaged Organizations
June 1, 2016
Forbes
Topics: Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, employee culture, corporate culture, highly engaged organizations, Gallup employee engagement, organizational culture
Some companies manage to inspire and motivate their employees and these highly engaged organizations reap the many fruits of employee engagement including higher employee and customer loyalty. Here are seven habits of highly engaged organizations.
Extraordinary Experiences
May 18, 2016
Happy Or Not
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Culture, Employee Engagement
Keywords: employee engagement, extraordinary experiences, restaurant customer experience, Denise Lee Yohn in Happy Or Not, Jason's Deli culture, Jason's Deli values, restaurant employee culture, Joe Tortorice Jr. Jason's Deli strategy
How do some stores and restaurants break through the clutter; compete with bigger, online competitors; and manage to grow and thrive when so many others fail? Find out in this excerpt from Extraordinary Experiences: What Great Retail and Restaurant Brands Do by Denise Lee Yohn.
Uber Allows Tips And Botches Stakeholder Engagement
May 11, 2016
Forbes
Topics: Customer Experience, Business, Customer Service, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: employee engagement, Uber tipping policy, Uber drivers solicit tips, Uber stakeholder engagement, Uber brand stewardship, stakeholder engagement, Denise Lee Yohn in Forbes
Uber drivers are now allowed to solicit tips. Regardless of whether you support or deride the outcome, it is the latest evidence that Uber has failed at stakeholder engagement with its drivers.
Be Different to Make a Difference
May 5, 2016
Bulldog Drummond
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Strategy, Marketing
Keywords: brand positioning, brand differentiation, Denise Lee Yohn on Bulldog Drummond, differentiating your brand, meaningful differentiation
Fast Food For Millennials By Millennials
April 20, 2016
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Business, Marketing
Keywords: Freshii restaurant, Freshii brand strategy, Matthew Corrin Freshii, millennial fast food, millennial restaurant, millennial businesses, Freshii millennial, Freshii McDonald's, Freshii Chipotle
While most restaurant brands — actually most businesses in general — work hard to be relevant and compelling to the 83+ million consumers between 16-34 years old who spend approximately $600 billion each year in the U.S., Freshii does it with ease.
What Sports Authority And Dick’s Sporting Goods Indicate About The State Of The Retail Industry
March 30, 2016
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Business
Keywords: Dick's Sporting Goods retail strategy, Sports Authority retail strategy, Sports Authority bankruptcy, Dick's Sporting Goods growth, state of retail industry, health of retail industry
A week after Sports Authority filed for bankruptcy, Dick’s Sporting Goods announced plans to open 36 new stores. The two starkly contrasting news items send a message about the state of the retail industry today — and it doesn’t look good, at least on the surface.
Why Companies Are Advertising Their Master Brand
March 28, 2016
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Names, Brand Strategy, Business, Marketing
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn on Harvard Business Review, master brand strategy, brand architecture strategy, house of brands strategy, Hershey master brand strategy, Coca Cola master brand strategy, branding strategy options, parent brand strategy
While companies that operate multiple business units or multiple product lines have always had the option of employing a master brand strategy, branded house strategy, or some alternative in between, today’s business environment seems to call for the more cohesive, consolidated approach.
To Win Customers, Stop Selling And Start Seducing
March 9, 2016
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Marketing, Sales
Keywords: emotional connection, customer experience design, emotional appeal, great brands avoid selling products, emotional branding, Dan Ariely, seducing customers, irrational customers, customer insights
If you want to win over customers, stop selling and start seducing them instead. This was the underlying message of a talk I heard recently by behavioral economics professor and bestselling author Dan Ariely.
A Tale of Two Brands: Yahoo’s Mistakes vs. Google’s Mastery
February 23, 2016
Knowledge@Wharton
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Identity, Brand Names, Brand Strategy, Business, Innovation, Leadership, Strategy
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn on Knowledge@Wharton, Yahoo vs. Google, Yahoo brand strategy, Google brand strategy, Yahoo mission, Google mission, Yahoo brand identity, Google brand identity, Yahoo logo, Google logo, Marissa Mayer failure, Alphabet brand strategy
While many theories have been offered to explain Yahoo’s downfall in light of Google’s ascent, I would like to suggest that the difference in the companies’ brand approaches may be the most illuminating.
Three Ways To Tidy Up Your Brand
February 17, 2016
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Extensions, Brand Names, Brand Strategy, Business, Marketing
Keywords: brand strategy, Marie Kondo, author of the bestselling book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, tidy up your brand, streamline your brand, brand portfolio, brand architecture, rationalizing brands, simplify your brand
Advice from Marie Kondo, author of the bestselling book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, suggests three ways to tidy up your brand.
Delivering Happiness — Company Mission And Community Movement
January 27, 2016
Forbes
Topics: Business, Culture, Employee Engagement
Keywords: Delivering Happiness, Jenn Lim, happiness at work, employee happiness, Zappos culture, Zappos employee, happiness index, Tony Hsieh delivering happiness
Is it possible for a company to “deliver happiness?” Companies deliver pizzas, yes. Furniture, yes. Even technology solutions, yes. But happiness?Jenn Lim thinks so. She is the CEO and Chief Happiness Officer at Delivering Happiness, a part-consultancy, part-publisher, and part-community advocate.
Lessons From Guy Kawasaki
January 6, 2016
Forbes
Topics: Design, Innovation, Marketing, Sales
Keywords: Guy Kawasaki lessons, Guy Kawasaki marketing, Guy Kawasaki Lessons from Steve Jobs, sales evangelists, Guy Kawasaki entrepreneurs
Three lessons from Guy Kawasaki, former Apple evangelist and current advisor, investor and thought leader to startups, established brands like Google and Mercedes-Benz, and the business community at large
To Stay Relevant, Professional Associations Must Rebrand
January 5, 2016
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Brand Names, Brand Strategy, Business
Keywords: Consumer Electronics Association re-brand, Consumer Electronics Association brand positioning, Consumer Electronics Association brand strategy, Consumer Technology Association, association branding, association brand strategy, organization branding, association brand positioning, National Speakers Association rebranding
The cautionary tale of the Consumer Electronics Association re-brand to the Consumer Technology Association.
Brands to Watch in 2016
December 23, 2015
Chain Store Age
Topics: Business, Marketing
Keywords: brands to watch in 2016, 2016 top brands, 2016 brand trends, Denise Lee Yohn in Chain Store Age, 2016 brand list
Which brands will break new ground, fall from grace, or overcome obstacles in 2016? Here’s my list of brands to watch in 2016. Since I couldn’t narrow the list to a handful as I’ve done in past years, I decided to expand the list to 26, one for each letter of the alphabet.
So here’s a brand-builder’s almanac for the coming year.
2015’s Biggest Brand Stories
December 4, 2015
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Leadership, Marketing
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn, fast food trends, Brand New Perspectives, Shake Shack IPO, Taco Bell Cantina, to 2015 brands in fast food, top 2015 fast food restaurant, Subway results, Starbucks Race Together, McDonald's leadership change, KFC Colonel ads, Subway spokeperson Jared Fogle, Taco Bell U.S. Taco
Six news-makers that helped define the year in limited-service restaurants.
Stitch Fix Combines High Tech And High Touch To Transform Retail
December 2, 2015
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Experience, Business, Innovation
Keywords: retail customer experience, retail leadership, Denise Lee Yohn on Forbes, retail transformation, titch Fix Stitch Fix, Julie Bornstein, Stitch Fix innovation, Stitch Fix customer experience, Stitch Fix buyers, Stitch Fix leadership, retail company leaders
Stitch Fix, a start up founded in 2011 by a Harvard Business School student, combines high tech and high touch into a super-personalized experience that is transforming shopping.
Sweetgreen Serves Society with More Than Salads
November 19, 2015
Conscious Connection
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Experience, Culture, Social Responsibility
Keywords: Sweetgreen corporate social responsibility, Sweetgreen positive social impact, Extraordinary Experiences excerpt, Denise Lee Yohn on Conscious Connection, Denise Lee Yohn book excerpt, sweetgreen brand strategy, restaurant corporate social responsibility
The following is an excerpt from the new book, Extraordinary Experiences: What Great Retail and Restaurant Brands Do, by Denise Lee Yohn.
H-E-B Goes Beyond Products and Pricing to Connect With Customers
November 17, 2015
Chain Store Age
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Business
Keywords: emotional appeal, Extraordinary Experiences: What Great Retail and Restaurant Brands Do, H-E-B customer experience, H-E-B brand experience, Extraordinary Experiences excerpt, emotional branding
The following is an excerpt from the new book, Extraordinary Experiences: What Great Retail and Restaurant Brands Do, by Denise Lee Yohn.
It’s the Experience, Stupid!
November 11, 2015
ChangeThis
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Culture
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn ChangeThis Manifesto, Denise Lee Yohn 800-CEO-READ, experience economy, experience strategy, it's the experience stupid, experience ecosystem, experience culture
Businesses may not be charging admission to staged experiences, as Pine and Gilmore predicted, but they are designing and differentiating their offerings to appeal to the buyers of experiences—or, at least, they should be. That’s because, when it comes to value creation, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Stop Making Excuses and Start Building a Great Brand
November 11, 2015
The Buzz 101
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Strategy, Business
Keywords: brand strategy, small business brand strategy, branding for small business, sweetgreen branding, Extraordinary Experiences: What Great Retail and Restaurant Brands Do, Denise Lee Yohn on The Buzz 101, B2B branding, H-E-B branding, PIRCH branding
When you hear the word “brand” do you automatically think of large, established consumer companies?
A Great Customer Experience Isn’t Enough
November 5, 2015
CX Journey
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Experience, Brand Strategy, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Customer Service
Keywords: retail customer experience, PIRCH customer experience, customer experience strategy, extraordinary experiences, Westin customer experience, Denise Lee Yohn on CX Journey, customer experience differentiation
To excel in customer experience, you can’t just rely on good design and solid execution. Your customer experience shouldn’t just be great — it should also be differentiated.
Five Ways to Win on Customer Experience
November 4, 2015
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Customer Service
Keywords: brand experience, retail customer experience, empathy in customer experience, branded experience, retail competitive strategy, customer experience win
Customer experience is the new battlefield where the war for customers’ dollars and devotion is fought — especially this holiday season when brands will have to do more than offer free shipping and flash sales if they want to stand out.
Retailers Can’t Rely on Holiday-Season Gimmicks Like They Used To
November 3, 2015
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Business, Customer Service, Marketing
Keywords: retail customer experience, PIRCH customer experience, customer experience design, Denise Lee Yohn on Harvard Business Review, retail holiday strategy, retail holiday competition, Costco customer experience
The Secret Behind Retail Customer Experience Success Is Brain Science
November 3, 2015
Roger Dooley Blog
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Design, Marketing
Keywords: PIRCH customer experience, neuroscience in customer experience, neuromarketing in customer experiences, neuroscience in retail experience, PIRCH SCARF method, SCARF neuroscience method, Denise Lee Yohn on Roger Dooley blog, Denise Lee Yohn on Neuromarketing
What happens when a retailer applies a neuroscience approach to design its customer experience? PIRCH.
The Fruit of Thankfulness
November 2, 2015
Bulldog Drummond
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Experience, Business, Customer Service, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, Denise Lee Yohn on Bulldog Drummond, extraordinary experiences, Cheryl Bachelder, Carl Sewell, Jeffery Sears, gratitude in business, thankfulness in business, leadership gratitude
We can practice thankfulness if we cultivate humility, caring, and love in our relationships the way three extraordinary leaders do.
What Great Brands Do
November 1, 2015
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Delivery, Business, Culture, Leadership, Social Responsibility
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, Brand New Perspectives, Denise Lee Yohn in QSR Magazine, Extraordinary Experiences: What Great Retail and Restaurant Brands Do, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen brand-building, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen servant leadership, Jason's Deli core values, Jason's Deli Joe Tortorice Jr., Sweetgreen CSR, Sweetgreen corporate social responsibility, Sweetgreen positive social impact, restaurant customer experience
Three quick-service brands show how to make your restaurant a great brand.
Great Brands Don’t Chase Customers: Why Costco Limits Consumer Choices
October 30, 2015
My Customer
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Strategy, Business
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn on My Customer, Costco brand strategy, Costco customer strategy, chasing customers, Extraordinary Experiences: What Great Retail and Restaurant Brands Do
The following is an excerpt from the new book, Extraordinary Experiences: What Great Retail and Restaurant Brands Do, by Denise Lee Yohn.
The Experience Was Extraordinary Until the Housekeeper Started Yelling Down the Hallway
October 30, 2015
Phil Gerbyshak blog
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Delivery, Brand Touchpoints, Culture, Customer Service, Employee Engagement
Keywords: Extraordinary Experiences: What Great Retail and Restaurant Brands Do, Denise Lee Yohn on Phil Gerbyshak blog, hotel customer experience, hotel customer service, hotel employee culture, hotel guest experience
Note from Phil: What follows is a guest post from customer experience expert Denise Lee Yohn. I always learn a great deal from Denise, and this post is no different.
REI to Close on Black Friday and Live by Its Brand Value
October 28, 2015
FierceRetail
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Business, Culture
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, brand culture, brand values, brand purpose, REI Black Friday closing, REI #OptOutside, REI brand strategy, REI culture, Denise Lee Yohn on FierceRetail
REI is putting its brand purpose and brand values at the center of its business and operations.
For Tower Paddle Boards, Shark Tank Was Just A Pit Stop On The Road To A Big Brand
October 14, 2015
Forbes
Topic:
Keywords: Tower Paddle Boards, Stephan Aarstol, Shark Tank success stories, marketing innovation, Mark Cuban company, Shark Tank company
For many entrepreneurs, appearing on the TV show Shark Tank is ultimate win. But for Stephan Aarstol, founder and CEO of Tower Paddle Boards, being on the show was just a stepping stone in his quest to build a great brand.
5 Lessons from Donald Trump
October 1, 2015
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Brand Strategy, Business, Marketing
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn, QSR marketing, Brand New Perspectives, fast food marketing, Donald Trump marketing lessons, Donald Trump publicity lessons, Donald Trump brand positioning lessons, fast food brand positioning, fast food publicity
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump offers lessons to restaurateurs who want to stand out.
Is Fast Food Dying?
September 29, 2015
Seeking Alpha
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Business, Customer Service
Keywords: death of fast food, fast food dying, McDonald's sales decline, Subway sales decline, Taco Bell Cantina, Starbucks sales growing, fast food changing, QSR dying, quick-serve restaurant industry trends, QSR trends
The recent performance of the largest quick-serve restaurant companies makes it seem like fast food is dying.
How To Avoid The Growing Pains Of Company Expansion
September 23, 2015
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Business, Marketing
Keywords: company growing pains, corporate growing pains, company growth, how to expand, how to extend brand, Sol Price, Sally Smith, Joe Tortorice Jr., Craig Boyan, H-E-B growth, Costco growth, Buffalo Wild Wings growth, Jason's Deli growth
Whether opening new units, introducing a new product, executing an acquisition, or expanding the brand footprint, companies often experience growing pains. The executives I interviewed and researched for my new upcoming book, Extraordinary Experiences: What Great Retail and Restaurant Brands Do, have wise advice for pursuing and executing growth.
What Great Retail and Restaurant Brands Do
September 14, 2015
Marketing & Sales Books
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Business, Leadership
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, restaurant branding, brand experience, restaurant brand strategy, retail customer experience, retail branding, retail brand strategy, extraordinary experiences, what great retail and restaurant brands do, Denise Lee Yohn book
Great retail and restaurant brands became great by creatively designing and consistently delivering great experiences.
Your Company Culture Shouldn’t Just Be Great—It Should Be Distinctive
September 14, 2015
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: corporate culture, brand differentiation, Denise Lee Yohn on Harvard Business Review, corporate values, company culture, culture differentiation, company values
Just as brand differentiation helps attract customers, culture differentiation helps attract the right employees.
Lane Bryant Changes The Conversation About Women And Perceptions About Its Brand
September 2, 2015
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Touchpoints, Marketing, Social Media
Keywords: Lane Bryant I'm No Angel, #ImNoAngel, Brian Beitler, Lane Bryant advertising, Ashley Graham, Lane Bryant Cacique launch, perceptions of women in advertising
Lane Bryant’s “I’m No Angel” campaign was born out a need to revive the business and make the brand more relevant. Here are the primary principles that drove the campaign’s success.
TV Advertising Still Matters
September 1, 2015
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Marketing
Keywords: QSR advertising, fast food advertising, Brand New Perspectives, tv advertising, television advertising, effective television ads, Ameritest, Effie awards
TV might not seem an obvious choice for your marketing message, but studies suggest it’s too soon to write off the tube.
Donald Trump Shows Brands How to De-Position Competitors
August 12, 2015
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Strategy, Business, Marketing
Keywords: brand strategy, brand positioning, Donald Trump brand, de-position competitors, Donald Trump lessons, competitive positioning
Donald Trump has de-positioned competitors and his approach shows marketers how to de-position their competitors.
5 Ways to a Great Experience
August 1, 2015
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints
Keywords: customer experience design, Brand New Perspectives, Denise Lee Yohn in QSR Magazine, QSR customer experience, fast food customer experience, fast food restaurant experience, customer experience management
Customer experiences should be entertaining, be empathetic, engage the senses, executed with excellence, and embody the brand.
3 Reasons For Continued Confidence In Shake Shack
July 28, 2015
Seeking Alpha
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Experience, Brand Strategy, Business, Marketing
Keywords: Shake Shack IPO, Shake Shack leadership, Shake Shack developments, Shake Shack expansion, Shake Shack competition, Shake Shack ChickenShack
Three new developments provide additional indications that Shake Shack will be serving up strong growth alongside its popular burgers and shakes for a long time coming.
7-Eleven Serves Solutions Alongside Slurpees
July 22, 2015
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Strategy, Business, Innovation, Marketing
Keywords: retail customer experience, retail innovation, 7-Eleven innovation, 7-Eleven solutions, 7-Ventures, 7-Eleven and Postmates, 7-Eleven and KeyMe, 7-Eleven and Greyhound, retail evolution, 7-Eleven services
7-Eleven is evolving and expanding its brand position. Its new mission: make the everyday better.
Know When to Kill Your Brand
July 17, 2015
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Brand Delivery, Brand Strategy, Business, Leadership, Strategy
Keywords: brand strategy, euthanize your brand, kill your brand, brand death, shut down brand, Denise Lee Yohn in Harvard Business Review, business strategy Woolworth's brand strategy, Blockbuster brand strategy, Radio Shack brand strategy, Service Merchandise brand strategy
If your brand is struggling, take a hard look at your purpose, not just your balance sheets.
Your Brand Is What You Do, and How You Do It
July 16, 2015
American Marketing Association
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Strategy, Brand Touchpoints, Culture, Marketing
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, brand definition, Denise Lee Yohn on American Marketing Association, what is a brand
Great brands are made of four building blocks: company strategy, corporate culture, customer experiences, and communications.
The Delivery Debate
July 14, 2015
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints
Keywords: Brand New Perspectives, Denise Lee Yohn in QSR Magazine, meal delivery service, QSR delivery, fast food delivery, uberfication of everything
Delivery services are springing up around the country, giving operators a new sales channel—if it’s right for their brand.
Curious Choices for McDonald’s New Management
July 1, 2015
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Leadership, Marketing
Keywords: McDonald's management, Sylvia Lagnado, Robert Gibbs, McDonald's franchisees, McDonald's problems, McDonald's Chief Marketing Officer
Despite the impressive resumes for McDonald’s new global chief communications officer and global chief marketing officer respectively, they both lack what McDonald’s really needs right now – experience in a franchised retail operation.
Are You Making Excuses for Not Building Your Brand or Are You Embracing Its Potential?
June 19, 2015
OPENforBusiness
Topics: Brand Strategy, Business, Leadership
Keywords: brand-building, branding, brand leadership, brand differentiation, OPENforBusiness, brand excuses, brand potential, brand value perception
Whether leaders hear of proven brand-building approaches and think of all the reasons why they don’t apply to them, or they figure out their relevance and do the hard work to implement them, they’re masters of their own destiny.
Brand Your Brand Through Actions Not Advertising
June 17, 2015
Soundview Executive Book Summaries
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership, Marketing
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, customer experience, brand as business, employee culture, brand building, Soundview Book Summary
You can build your brand the way great brands when if embrace the concept of operating your business based on your brand.
How IKEA Designs Its Brand Success
June 10, 2015
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Brand Experience, Brand Strategy, Business, Consumer Research, Design, Innovation, Marketing
Keywords: IKEA marketing strategy, IKEA design approach, Leontyne Green Sykes, IKEA marketing innovation, IKEA Life at Home report, IKEA customer research, IKEA design partnerships, IKEA democratic design, IKEA corporate culture, IKEA brand strength
Leontyne Green Sykes, CMO of IKEA North America, shared IKEA’s brand-building strategies at the Hub Live conference and in a follow-up one-on-one interview I conducted with her.
The Art of Social Storytelling
June 1, 2015
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Marketing, Social Media
Keywords: Brand New Perspectives, Denise Lee Yohn on QSR Magazine, social storytelling, QSR social media, fast food social media, Brand Chorus, StoryScore, social media for fast food brands
To use social media to build a sustaining brand, you should align your social content with your brand strategy.
Whole Foods Is Innovating in the Wrong Direction
May 27, 2015
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Experience, Brand Extensions, Brand Strategy, Business, Innovation, Strategy
Keywords: Whole Foods new store format, Whole Foods strategy, Whole Foods value perception, Whole Foods delivery, retail extension, retail store format, retail delivery, grocery store format, grocery store appeal to Millennials, grocery store relevance
Whole Foods definitely needs to evolve its offering — but developing a value-based concept may move the brand downward.
Why KFC’s New Colonel Campaign Won’t Make A Difference
May 25, 2015
Seeking Alpha
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Communication, Brand Experience, Business, Marketing, Social Media
Keywords: KFC colonel campaign, KFC ad campaign, new KFC colonel sanders, new KFC TV ad, KFC sales declines, Darrell Hammond new KFC Colonel, Colonel Sanders ads, KFC menu, KFC store design
KFC has generated some news coverage with its new advertising campaign, but it’s unlikely to reverse the sales declines the company has suffered for the past 10 years.
Lilly Pulitzer’s Target Disaster Was Actually a Success
May 22, 2015
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Strategy, Business, Marketing
Keywords: Target and Lilly Pulitzer collaboration, Target and Lilly Pulitzer sell-out, Target and Lilly Pulitzer strategy, luxury brand marketing, luxury brand extension, designer brand marketing, Lilly Pulitzer marketing, Target store marketing, Target designer partnerships, Target designer strategy, scarcity marketing
Branding doesn’t always go as planned, and for Target and Lilly Pulitzer, that was a good thing.
Why Delta Hired Zac Posen
May 13, 2015
Forbes
Topics: Brand Touchpoints, Employee Engagement, Marketing
Keywords: Delta employee uniforms, Delta Zac Posen partnership, flight attendant uniforms, employee dress, airline employee engaegment, Delta crew uniforms
Spending on higher quality, more stylish employee uniforms actually might make a real difference for Delta, and for any other company undertaking a turnaround.
Words to Live By
May 12, 2015
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Brand Names, Business, Marketing
Keywords: Brand New Perspectives column, QSR marketing, Denise Lee Yohn in QSR Magazine, advertising vs. marketing, branding definition, customer centricity definition, customer experience definition, customer experience vs. customer service, owned vs. paid vs. earned media definitions
Understanding terms like advertising vs. marketing vs. branding is critical to your business success.
Replace Your Purchase Funnel with a Relationship Formula
May 1, 2015
M&SB
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Touchpoints, Loyalty, Marketing, Sales
Keywords: customer experience, purchase funnel model, advertising model, customer relationship model, customer journey model, new marketing rules, new marketing strategy, new marketing funnel, new marketing formula, Denise Lee Yohn in Marketing & Sales Books
It’s time to replace the purchase funnel with a new marketing model. One that is less linear and less definitive — and one that leads to a relationship.
The End Of Etsy? IPO May Lead To Downfall
April 29, 2015
Forbes
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Value, Brand Experience, Brand Names, Business, Leadership, Strategy
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn on Forbes, Etsy IPO, Etsy brand appeal, Etsy acquisition, Etsy B. Corp status, Etsy Rob Kalin, Etsy growth strategy, Etsy international expansion, Etsy brand loyalty, IPO impact on brand
Going public is just the latest in a series of moves Etsy has taken that may lead to its downfall.
The One Innovation Taco Bell Still Needs To Master
April 15, 2015
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Business, Culture, Customer Service, Employee Engagement, Innovation, Marketing, Social Media
Keywords: employee engagement, Taco Bell innovation, fast food marketing, taco bell franchisees, taco bell employees, taco bell strategy, franchisee engagement, fast food innovation, Brian Niccol, Chris Brandt
Thanks to bold, outside-the-bun innovations, Taco Bell has shored up brand equity and loyalty among consumers. To sustain those advantages, it will need a breakthrough in one more area — winning the loyalty of its franchisees and employees.
Wearables Keep Consumers Fit
April 1, 2015
CEA i3
Topics: Digital Health, Innovation
Keywords: digital health and fitness, wearable tech trends, wearable tech adoption, Denise Lee Yohn in i3, Denise Lee Yohn in Consumer Electronics Association magazine, wearable health and fitness devices, wearable health and fitness growth, wearables trends, wearables adoption, wearables growth, mobile health and fitness
Advancements in product usability, functionality, and quality have fueled mainstream adoption of wearable health and fitness products.
What Happens When You Try To Fool Customers
April 1, 2015
Forbes
Topics: Brand Loyalty, Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Equity, Business, Customer Service, Loyalty, Marketing
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn on Forbes, radical transparency, consumer trust, misleading consumers, April Fools Day strategies, brand loyalty strategies, brand distrust, brand tricks
When you try to fool customers, you usually fail. You waste resources on actions that alienate people; you miss opportunities to do something meaningful and compelling; and you breed distrust.
Tops In Translation
April 1, 2015
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Marketing
Keywords: QSR branding, QSR marketing, Brand New Perspectives, fast food marketing, fast food branding, international restaurant concept strategy, international QSR strategy, foreign fast food concepts
Take these actions to successfully import an international concept to the U.S.
How Levi’s Became a Brand With Staying Power
March 28, 2015
Entrepreneur
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Identity, Brand Strategy, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Culture, Design, Marketing
Keywords: brand-building principles, Levi's brand strategy, Levi's brand history, Levi's brand positioning, Levi's brand trademarks, Levi's brand logo, Levi's design strategy, Levi's logo history, Denise Lee Yohn in Entrepreneur, Levi's brand equity, Levi's brand longevity
The secret to the longevity of Levi’s actually isn’t a secret at all. The company uses classic brand-building principles to maintain and grow its brand equity. These are fundamental ideals that remain the keys to building a brand with staying power.
Starbucks Ends ‘Race Together’ Campaign But Continues The Fight
March 24, 2015
Seeking Alpha
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Business, Customer Service, Leadership, Marketing, Social Responsibility
Keywords: Starbucks corporate social responsibility, Denise Lee Yohn on Seeking Alpha, Starbucks race campaign, Starbucks #RaceTogether, Starbucks racial issues, Howard Schultz leadership
Starbucks’s controversial campaign”Race Together” may be over, but hopefully its intent is not.
How To Give A Rock Star Sales Pitch: Sales Strategies From The Voice Coaches
March 18, 2015
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Business, Marketing, Sales
Keywords: sales strategies, pitch like a rock star, sell like a rock star, The Voice coaches strategy, The Voice coaches selling, selling approaches, salesmanship
The coaches on The Voice, NBC’s singing competition television show, may teach contestants how to become hit vocalists — but they also show you how to give a rock star sales pitch.
The Truth About Transparency
March 10, 2015
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Business, Marketing, Social Responsibility
Keywords: Brand New Perspectives, fast food transparency, Denise Lee Yohn in QSR Magazine, QSR transparency, McDonald's Our Food Your Questions, Chipotle Food with Integrity, Cone Communications/Echo Global CSR Study, QSR CSR, QSR corporate social responsibility, fast food CSR, fast food corporate social responsibility
How to respond to consumers’ demands to know everything about your business.
What You Can Learn About Customer Experience From Sharing Economy Companies
March 4, 2015
Forbes
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Design, Innovation, Marketing, Social Media
Keywords: customer experience design, emotional connections, Denise Lee Yohn on Forbes, Uber customer experience, sharing economy customer experience, desoto taxi rebranding, flywheel taxi mobile app, sharing economy companies. Forrester Research on sharing economy, Forrester Research on customer experience, customer intimacy, corporate values, customer listening
The sharing economy excels at customer experience — and that is what inspires customer love and loyalty.
Why the Print Catalog Is Back in Style
February 25, 2015
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Marketing
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn on Harvard Business Review, retail catalogs, J. C. Penney catalog, Bonobos catalog, Nordstrom catalog, LL Bean catalog, catalog marketing
Given the new dynamics of multichannel marketing and commerce, as well as the new targeting and measurement capabilities of catalog marketing, I think catalogs are here to stay this time.
Use Hashtags to Generate Greater Brand Engagement
February 18, 2015
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Marketing, Social Media
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn on Forbes, super bowl ad hashtags, hashtags in advertising, hashtag engagement, coke super bowl 2015 ad, social media engagement
Hashtags should be used less as a message and more as a call to action that leads to greater brand engagement.
Brand-Building: Management Imperative, Not Marketing Initiative
February 17, 2015
Pacific Coast Builders Conference
Topics: Brand Delivery, Leadership
Keywords: brand-as-business management approach, brand leadership, PCBC conference speaker, Pacific Coast Builders Conference, brand management
If you want to be a great brand, do what great brands do: lead with your brand and do brand as business.
Surviving the Shark Tank
February 10, 2015
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Brand Strategy, Business, Marketing
Keywords: Brand New Perspectives, fast food IPO, fast casual IPO, fast food investing, QSR investing, Denise Lee Yohn in QSR Magazine, economic moat, QSR pitch
How to make your brand appealing to investors.
This Is the NFL Brand’s Real Problem
February 4, 2015
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Strategy
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn on Forbes, NFL brand strategy, NFL brand message, NFL brand problem, NFL advertising strategy
If the NFL were to embrace — or rather, re-embrace — character, and the values so closely associated with it, such as integrity and excellence, it wouldn’t have to choose between two priorities that seem to be competing for its attention.
7 Steps to Deliver Better Customer Experiences
February 3, 2015
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Customer Service, Marketing
Keywords: brand experience, customer experience architecture, customer experience design, customer experience strategy, Denise Lee Yohn on Harvard Business Review, retail brand experience, customer experience marketing, customer experience tools, customer experience mapping
Most companies are using an incomplete definition of customer experience, and have incomplete tools and approaches to design and manage it.
Super Bowl Is A Super Big Deal For Fast Food Brands
January 28, 2015
Seeking Alpha
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Marketing, Social Media
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn on Seeking Alpha, Super Bowl Ads 2015, Super Bowl ads XLIX, fast food Super Bowl ads, QSR Super Bowl ads, McDonald's Super Bowl ad, Carl's Jr. Super Bowl ad, Papa John's Super Bowl, Papa John's Up Your Dance campaign, #UpYourDance
The Seahawks and Patriots aren’t the only ones gearing up for big day on Sunday. When Super Bowl XLIX kicks off, many fast food brands will be hoping to score as well.
What To Expect From The 2015 Super Bowl Ads
January 21, 2015
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Marketing
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn on Forbes, Super Bowl ads XLIX, Super Bowl 2015 ads, Super Bowl 2015 commercials, Super Bowl XLIX commercials, Super Bowl social media campaigns
Sap over silly, holy hastags, prodigal brands, and more will comprise the Super Bowl 2015 ad line-up.
Great Brands Ignore Trends
January 20, 2015
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Value, Brand Strategy, Innovation, Marketing
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, trend following, advance cultural movements, brand positioning, cultural scanning, great brands ignore trends, Lady Gaga brand strategy, Denise Lee Yohn on Harvard Business Review, competitive advantage, Chipotle Mexican Grill brand strategy, Chipotle Mexican Grill trend, Lady Gaga identity, social media listening
Denise Lee Yohn, author of What Great Brands Do, speaks to Harvard Business Review Editor Sarah Green and offers strategies for staying a step ahead of competitors.
What Should Uber Do?
January 13, 2015
Sustainble Brands
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Strategy, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Leadership, Marketing
Keywords: Uber brand strategy, uber strategy, uber marketing, Uber branding, Uber customer experience, Uber public relations, Uber PR, Denise Lee Yohn on Sustainable Brands
Three actions Uber should take to regain people’s trust and restore its status as one of the most promising start-ups:
Brand Building in 2015
January 1, 2015
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Loyalty, Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Customer Service, Innovation, Marketing, Social Responsibility
Keywords: QSR marketing, Brand New Perspectives, fast food technology, fast food marketing, qsr in 2015, fast food in 2015, 2015 predictions for fast food industry, fast food transparency
Technology, transparency, and turf wars will be among quick-service operators’ greatest branding challenges this year.
Startups Need a Minimum Viable Brand
January 1, 2015
Topics: Brand Strategy, Business, Innovation, Small Businss
Keywords: i3 magazine, minimum viable brand, MVB, minimum viable product, brand strategy for start-ups, branding for start-ups, branding for consumer electronics, consumer electronics brand strategy
The consumer electronics industry thrives on gadgets, gizmos, and gee-whiz technologies. Success, it seems, is all about breakthrough innovations and cool products. But for every iPad, there’s a Newton, and for every Spotify, a WebTV. A good product is hardly enough to launch a start-up into long-term viability.
What Retail Sales Associates Still Do Better than Websites
December 15, 2014
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Customer Service
Keywords: brick and mortar customer experience, brick and mortar retail, retail sales associate role, retail salesperson role, retail customer service
Retail salespeople no longer play the role of a product expert or information gate keeper who serves as an intermediary between the shopper and a purchase, but they can still help customers in valuable ways.
You Can’t Claim You’ve Got an Authentic Brand, You Must Be Authentic
December 8, 2014
Bulldog Drummond
Topic:
Keywords: brand strategy, brand integrity, authentic brand, authentic branding, Denise Lee Yohn on Bulldog Drummond
Three Uncommon Sense ways to ensure your brand is authentic.
Five Brands to Watch in 2015
December 3, 2014
Chain Store Age
Topic:
Keywords: brands to watch in 2015, 2015 brand trends, 2015 top brands, Amazon 2015, Apple 2015, brands in 2015, Comcast 2015, IBM in 2015, McDonald’s 2015, Republican Party brand, Republican party in 2015, Target 2015
Brand-building expert and consultant Denise Lee Yohn has released her annual outlook for the year, “Brands to Watch in 2015.”
2014’s Top Brand Stories
December 1, 2014
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Marketing
Keywords: Brand New Perspectives column, Burger King acquisition of Tim Hortons, Shake Shack IPO, top fast food stories in 2014, top fast food brands in 2014, top qsr brands in 2014, Taco Bell in 2014, McDonald's in 2014, Panera Bread in 2014, Starbucks brand campaign
A Tale Of 2 Pizza Turnarounds – Pizza Hut Vs. Domino’s
November 25, 2014
Seeking Alpha
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Business, Innovation, Marketing
Keywords: restaurant marketing, Pizza Hut Flavor of Now strategy, Pizza Hut The Flavor of Now menu change, Pizza Hut turnaround, Pizza Hut brand strategy, Pizza Hut competitive advantage, Domino's Pizza turnaround, Domino's Pizza brand strategy, Domino's Pizza marketing, Pizza Hut marketing, pizza restaurant marketing, pizza restaurant strategy
Pizza Hut’s new “The Flavor of Now” menu campaign is confusing and disconnected and unlikely to produce a sales turnaround on par with Domino’s Pizza Turnaround.
This Holiday Season Reveals Big Changes in Retail
November 14, 2014
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Customer Service, Marketing
Keywords: retail strategy, holiday retailing, retail trends, retailing trends, retail marketing trends, retail customer service trends, holiday shopping trends
Substantive developments are fundamentally changing the very nature of retail.
How to Be the Uber of Fast Food
November 1, 2014
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Customer Service, Innovation, Marketing
Keywords: Brand New Perspectives, fast food marketing, uber of fast food, uber strategy, uber marketing, fast food restaurant strategy, fast food mobile strategy
Lessons from the booming transportation start-up.
Is Casual Dining Dying?
October 27, 2014
Seeking Alpha
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Innovation
Keywords: restaurant marketing, casual dining restaurants, casual dining trends, Buffalo Wild Wings marketing, Buffalo Wild Wings customer experience, Buffalo Wild Wings technology, Chili's marketing, Chili's customer experience, Chili's technology
Casual dining chains, including Applebee’s and Olive Garden, continue to decline due to strong competition from fast- and polished-casual. but Buffalo Wild Wings and Chili’s Grill & Bar are bright spots in the segment.
So Amazon Thinks It Can Do Retail
October 17, 2014
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Equity, Business
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn on Forbes, Amazon store, Amazon brick and mortar, Amazon retail, brick and mortar strategy, Amazon brand equity
The Amazon brand has become synonymous with attributes that are much more difficult to execute in brick-and-mortar.
Zumba’s Success Arose from Long-Term Trends
October 13, 2014
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Health/Fitness/Wellness, Customer Experience, Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Marketing
Keywords: Zumba vs. Crossfit, Zumba brand strategy, Zumba business strategy, Zumba case study, Zumba cultural movement, Zumba trend, Zumba brand positioning, CrossFit brand positioning
Zumba, the fitness dance movement, has achieved a level of cultural significance by tapping into several emerging trends that together created the right conditions for it.
The Many Faces of the Hispanic Market
October 1, 2014
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Marketing
Keywords: QSR marketing, Brand New Perspectives, fast food marketing, hispanic marketing, marketing to latinos, advertising to latinos, Hispanic consumer trends, Hispanic consumer insights
Get to know one of the most important demographics in the U.S.
Why Shake Shack’s IPO Should Be As Popular As Its Burgers
September 29, 2014
Seeking Alpha
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Experience, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement
Keywords: Shake Shack growth, Shake Shack IPO, Shake Shack employee culture, Shake Shack investment analysis, Shake Shack leadership, Danny Meyer, Randy Garutti
Shake Shack offers investors growth potential, proven leadership, and strong customer appeal. Its responsible approach to growth and other less visible factors are also attractive.
Southwest’s Rebranding May Be Well-Designed, But It’s Poorly Timed
September 17, 2014
Forbes
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Equity, Brand Identity, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Customer Service, Design
Keywords: Southwest new logo, Southwest rebranding, Southwest brand strategy, Southwest new design, Southwest Airlines rebranding, Denise Lee Yohn on Forbes
Southwest’s recent re-branding effort may have gotten the thumbs up from branding gurus, but it’s the timing of the rebranding — not the design — that’s problematic.
Influence Your Influencers
September 1, 2014
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Marketing, Social Media
Keywords: QSR marketing, word of mouth marketing, fast food marketing, influencer marketing, Ed Keller, Jonathan Berry, restaurant marketing, brand ambassador program, influencer program, brand endorsers
Use influencers — people who have greater-than-average reach or impact through word of mouth in a market that is relevant to your brand — to spark word-of-mouth marketing.
Memo To McDonald’s: Core Execution Should Be On New U.S. President’s To-Do List
August 27, 2014
Seeking Alpha
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Strategy, Business, Customer Service, Leadership, Marketing
Keywords: McDonald's brand strategy, McDonald's new U.S. president Mike Andres, $MCD, McDonald's new product strategy, McDonald's innovation strategy, McDonald's quality perception, McDonald's value perception, McDonald's dollar menu, McDonald's value menu, McDonald's family segment
Three activities McDonald’s new U.S. president Mike Andres should stop the company from doing and three core areas he should start focusing on in order to reverse the chain’s declining sales.
Target And Walmart Should Seduce Customers Back Into Their Stores
August 18, 2014
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Customer Service, Marketing
Keywords: brand experience, retail customer experience, Walmart retail strategy, Target retail strategy, Target brick and mortar strategy, Walmart brick and mortar strategy, brick and mortar companies, exclusive product, exclusive services, exclusive promotions
Three ways Target and Wal-Mart can make shopping brick and mortar more important, interesting, and exciting.
The Essence Of Great Brands
August 11, 2014
Outlook Business
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Strategy, Business, Culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, Denise Lee Yohn, brand strategy, branding strategy, employee brand engagement, brand-building in India, IBM brand engagement, IBM corporate culture, IBM employee engagement, IBM Values Jam, Indian brands, internal brand culture, Outlook Business on branding
Brand building Is more about inspiring an organisation from within rather than viewing it as a niche marketing function.
How to Spark a Conversation
August 1, 2014
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Brand Touchpoints, Marketing, Social Media
Keywords: Brand New Perspectives column, QSR marketing, word of mouth marketing, WOMM, fast food marketing, The Passion Conversation, Anytime Fitness marketing, Fitness Revolution, Coca-Cola Happiness machine
Panera Bread Positions Itself For More Competition
July 28, 2014
Seeking Alpha
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Customer Service, Employee Engagement, Leadership, Marketing
Keywords: Panera 2.0, Panera Brand competitive strategy, Panera Bread brand positioning, Panera Bread brand strategy, Panera Bread customer experience, Panera Bread Rapid Pick-up, Panera Bread technology, Panera vs. Starbucks, Panera vs. Subway
Panera Bread is rolling out a new technology and customer experience strategy, Panera 2.0. which will improve service efficiency and order accuracy, and give customers more ordering and payment choices. The changes also position Panera against formidable competitors in Starbucks and Subway.
What Digital Health & Fitness Tech Can Learn from the iPhone
July 24, 2014
The Digital Health Post
Topics: Digital Health, Business, Design, Innovation, Marketing, Strategy
Keywords: digital health and fitness tech, sports and fitness tech, health and fitness innovation, iPhone innovation, iPhone adoption, iPhone stickiness, digital health and fitness innovation, digital health and fitness adoption, wearable tech adoption, mobile tech adoption
Characteristics of the iPhone seem particularly instructive for consumer digital health and fitness technology developers.
Use a Brand Council to Help Steer Strategy
July 24, 2014
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Brand Delivery, Business, Culture, Leadership, Marketing
Keywords: brand-as-business management approach, brand alignment, brand leadership, brand integration, brand council, brand leadership council, brand advisory council
Brand-building is a function that business leaders, owners, and general managers – the people responsible for the culture, core operations, and customer experiences of an organization – must drive. Smart companies form brand councils to meet this leadership imperative.
Lady Gaga Is Still Schooling Marketers
July 16, 2014
Forbes
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Experience, Innovation, Marketing
Keywords: customer experience design, Lady Gaga marketing, Lady Gaga branding, Lady Gaga brand experience, Lady Gaga ArtPop concert strategy, Lady Gaga innovation, Lady Gaga Little Monsters strategy, brand communities, brand fans
Lady Gaga sets the standard for creating mesmerizing, memorable brand experiences.
Asking the Right Questions?
July 1, 2014
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Communication, Brand Experience, Brand Extensions, Business, Customer Service, Marketing
Keywords: customer experience, Brand New Perspective column, QSR Magazine column, Denise Lee Yohn column, restaurant catering, digital vs. traditional marketing
The problems in your business aren’t always what they seem.
The Value Equation Continues To Add Up At Starbucks
June 24, 2014
Seeking Alpha
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Marketing
Keywords: Starbucks brand strategy, Starbucks price increase, starbucks value equation, Starbucks value proposition, Denise Lee Yohn on Seeking Alpha
Starbucks implemented a price increase this week but technology-enabled services, new products, and employee benefits strengthen the brand value equation.
Start-Ups Need a Minimum Viable Brand
June 13, 2014
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Brand Strategy, Business, Leadership, Small Businss
Keywords: small business branding, start-up branding, minimum viable brand, MVB, minimum viable product, brand strategy for start-ups, brand strategy for small business, brand strategy framework
Having a great product isn’t enough.
Is This the End of the Apple Brand As We Know It?
June 11, 2014
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Extensions, Brand Names, Brand Strategy, Business, Innovation, Leadership, Marketing
Keywords: Apple, Beats, Apple Beats acquisition, Apple Beats brand strategy, Apple brand power, Apple brand strength, Apple brand essence, Apple brand positioning, Apple corporate culture, Apple company culture
Perhaps the recent Apple & Beats deal isn’t much cause for concern over the Apple brand – at least not in the near term.
How Strong Is Your Personal Brand?
June 5, 2014
Personal Branding Blog
Topics: Marketing, Social Media
Keywords: personal branding blog, how strong is your personal brand, personal brand strategy, personal brand strength
The best way to ensure your personal brand is as strong as it needs to be for what’s ahead is to employ a brand-building mindset that extends beyond typical personal branding techniques.
IKEA Makes Low Prices the High Point of Its Strategy
June 2, 2014
Business Standard
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Loyalty, Brand Delivery, Brand Strategy, Loyalty
Keywords: IKEA brand strategy, The IKEA Way, IKEA low price strategy, IKEA low price positioning, IKEA business model, Denise Lee Yohn in Business Standard
Home furnishings retailer IKEA uses low prices to fulfill its brand mission, cultivate loyal customers, and sustain profitable growth. T
The Alternative to New Products
June 1, 2014
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Marketing
Keywords: fast food new products, Brand New Perspectives, QSR new product strategy, QSR innovation, fast food restaurant innovation, fast food packaging, fast food technology, fast food format, fast food experience
Products will always be the lifeblood of our category but there are many other customer experience levers that can be pulled to stimulate interest and differentiate your brand.
Dunkin’ Donuts Is Expanding In The Right Direction
May 28, 2014
Seeking Alpha
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Marketing
Keywords: Dunkin' Donuts expansion, Dunkin' Donuts in California, Dunkin' Donuts growth, Dunkin' Donuts Hispanic appeal, Dunkin' Donuts coffee, Dunkin' Donuts competition
Dunkin’ Donuts is expanding westward and all indicators show that’s the right direction for the company.
Why Brand?
May 19, 2014
Bulldog Drummond
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Business, Culture, Leadership
Keywords: brand-as-business management approach, brand integrity, brand culture, why brand, brand-building strategy, brand purpose, Bulldog Drummond blog, be the brand
Brand building looks very different the way great brands do it.
Barnes & Noble Should Rally Around, Not Retreat From, Retail Stores
May 9, 2014
Forbes
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Customer Service, Innovation, Marketing
Keywords: Apple, genius bar, retail customer experience, retail strategy, walmart, Apple Genius Bar strategy, Barnes & Noble, Barnes & Noble Liberty Media sale, Barnes & Noble retail strategy, RadioShack, Restoration Hardware, Restoration Hardware retail strategy, retail innovation, shop within a shop, Walmart retail strategy, Whole Foods Market retail strategy
Instead of retreating from stores, Barnes & Noble – and other struggling retailers like it, including Staples, Radio Shack, and Gap — should rally around them. And they should look to the recent innovations and counterintuitive strategies that are making headlines for other retailers.
Define Your Identity
May 1, 2014
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Extensions, Brand Strategy, Business
Keywords: restaurant brand strategy, QSR brand strategy, brand essence, brand obituary, brand identity, fast food brand strategy, brand tools, brand documentary, Brand New Perspectives
Before pursuing any growth opportunities, operators should have a clear understanding of who they are as a brand.
Extracts and Abstracts: What Great Brands Do
May 1, 2014
CMO Council's Peer Sphere
Topics: Brand Delivery, Brand Strategy, Business, Leadership
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, Denise Lee Yohn, CMO Council PeerSphere magazine, CMO Council book extract, CMO Council book excerpt, CMO Council book review
Introduction to and excerpt from new bestselling book by Denise Lee Yohn, What Great Brands Do: The Seven Brand-Building Principles That Separate the Best from the Rest.
Yum Brands Zeroes In On China For Growth
April 28, 2014
Seeking Alpha
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Extensions, Business, Marketing, Social Media
Keywords: Taco Bell social media, Yum Brands earnings release, Yum Brands Q1 2014 earnings, Yum Brands expansion, Yum Brands in China, KFC China expansion, KFC China strategy, Taco Bell marketing, WingStreet strategy, WingStreet expansion, Pizza Hut WingStreet, Yum Brands marketing
Yum Brands is likely to continue on this strong growth track because of its focus on expansion in China, and to a lesser extent India and other emerging markets — and not because of any substantive changes in the United States.
Yum Brands: Expansive Interview With Public Affairs Chief Reveals Company Priorities
April 24, 2014
Seeking Alpha
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Communication, Brand Experience, Brand Extensions, Marketing, Social Media
Keywords: Taco Bell social media, Yum Brands earnings release, Yum Brands interview, Jonathan Blum interview, KFC China, Taco Bell breakfast, Wing Street expansion, Super Chix test, KFC new concept
The first of a two-part series following Yum Brands’ 2014 first-quarter earnings release on Tuesday, April 22nd. I had the opportunity to interview Jonathan Blum, Senior Vice President, Chief Public Affairs and Global Nutrition Officer at Yum Brands. What follows are my questions and Mr. Blum’s responses.
Think Differently About Protecting Your Brand
April 23, 2014
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Equity, Brand Identity, Brand Names
Keywords: brand protection, brand licensing, brand piracy, brand counterfeiting, counterfeit brand strategy, trademark protection
Take a different approach to protecting your brand — one that optimizes factors that are directly under your control vs. trying to manage those that aren’t.
Brand Building Through Customer Experience
April 21, 2014
Branding Strategy Insider
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, brand experience, great brands sweat the small stuff, customer experience strategy, Denise Lee Yohn on Branding Strategy Insider, #WGBD
Few advertising or marketing messages can ever be as impactful, distinctive, and memorable as a one-on-one brand experience that’s been designed down to the last detail.
The Growth-Brand Trade-Off
April 21, 2014
Business Standard
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Strategy, Business, Leadership
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, brand strategy, growth brand strategy, Business Standard book excerpt, Krispy Kreme brand strategy, Krispy Kreme brand growth, Krispy Kreme growth stratetgy
The strategy to grow is often accompanied by a series of decisions to accept slightly lower levels of quality, whether it is for facilities modifications or ingredient changes or hiring standards, says a new book.
GoPro Shows How to Win by Losing Control
April 14, 2014
Forbes
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Experience, Marketing, User Generated Content
Keywords: brand ambassador, brand control, GoPro brand strategy, GoPro content marketing, GoPro social media, GoPro viral marketing, Nick Woodman quote, YouTube strategy
By acting as a cultivator and curator, not a controller, of your brand content and experiences, you transform transactions into interactions.
Why Great Brands Zig When Others Zag
April 2, 2014
The Globe and Mail
Topics: Brand Loyalty, Brand Strategy, Customer Service, Marketing
Keywords: The Globe and Mail book excerpt, What Great Brands Do excerpt, customer centricity, customer service strategy, Red Bull customer strategy, Whole Foods customer strategy
A brand can incur real opportunity costs by attempting to provide across-the-board excellence in customer service.
12 Most Surprising Things Great Brands Do
April 1, 2014
12 Most
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Strategy, Business, Design, Leadership
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, brand strategy, brand-building, 12 Most Surprising Things Great Brands Do
Great brands employ some quite surprising brand-building practices including “great brands start inside” and “great brands embrace competition.”
Put Your Website to Work
April 1, 2014
QSR Magazine
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Touchpoints, Marketing, Social Media
Keywords: fast food restaurant website, QSR website, website strategy, restaurant website, fast food restaurant marketing, QSR marketing
Your website is just as important as your social media and mobile marketing.
Don’t Settle for Being an “-er Brand”
March 28, 2014
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Strategy, Business, Innovation, Marketing
Keywords: brand strategy, branding strategy, brand positioning, brand differentiation, brand platform, start-up branding
Hearing “we’re just like X brand but we’re…” sets off warning signals about breakthrough ability and long-term viability.
Great Brands Aim For Customers’ Hearts, Not Their Wallets
March 27, 2014
The Art of
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Loyalty, Brand Experience, Brand Strategy
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, customer relationships, The Art of book excerpt, Virgin America brand strategy, Virgin America brand experience, Virgin America customer experience, emotional connections
To create valuable, sustainable customer relationships, great brands don’t sell customers on contracts—they seduce them with connections. Consider Virgin America’s appeal.
Yum Brands: Tacos For Breakfast… And Expansion
March 25, 2014
Seeking Alpha
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Brand Extensions, Marketing
Keywords: Taco Bell Waffle Taco analysis, Taco Bell Waffle Taco marketing strategy, Taco Bell breakfast menu strategy, Taco Bell breakfast menu introduction, Taco Bell #breakfastphone, Taco Bell #waffletaco, Taco Bell franchising push, fast food breakfast competition, brand expansion, brand communications, branding plan
Yum Brands hopes Taco Bell’s new Waffle Taco will be a cash cow for a franchising push — will it be successful?
How Sony Learned That Product Features Don’t Matter
March 21, 2014
Fast Company
Topics: Consumer Research, Design, Innovation
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, Denise Lee Yohn, Sony digital camera strategy, Sony digital imaging strategy, Sony innovation strategy, Sony innovation research, empathic research
Empathy and evolution worked side-by-side as the company changed with the times–and with consumer’s needs.
Google Is On a Mission
March 18, 2014
Forbes
Topics: Brand Delivery, Brand Extensions, Innovation
Keywords: Google mission statement, Google brand mission, Google branding strategy, Google brand purpose, Google brand extension
All of Google’s expansion moves make sense in light of its mission, an aspiration to organize and open up “the world’s information.”
How Chipotle Changed American Fast Food Forever
March 14, 2014
Fast Company
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Innovation, Leadership
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, advance cultural movements, Chipotle brand strategy, Chipotle brand management, great brands ignore trends, fast food trends
Chipotle set out to challenge fast food trends and be better than the competition–in the end, they launched a new industry. Here’s how they rose to the top of the fast-food chain.
What Shake Shack Knows About Growth that McDonald’s Has Forgotten
March 7, 2014
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Brand Strategy, Business, Leadership
Keywords: brand strategy, business focus, business growth, brand focus, brand growth, Shake Shack brand strategy, Shake Shack growth, McDonald's brand strategy, McDonald's grwoth
If your growth plan is not grounded in your brand identity, it will likely disappoint in delivering the results you seek.
Stop Selling Products and Start Making Emotional Connections
March 7, 2014
Sales & Marketing Management
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Delivery
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, emotional appeal, Sales & Marketing Management book review, great brands avoid selling products
We humans are emotional creatures. We make our purchase decisions based on how products promise to make us feel. That’s why great brands succeed by seeking intimate emotional connections with customers.
To Discount or Not To Discount
March 1, 2014
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Value, Marketing
Keywords: QSR Magazine Brand New Perspectives column, QSR discounting strategy, QSR pricing strategy, fast food discounting strategy, fast food pricing strategy, price promotion strategies, restaurant promotional strategies
With the decline of value menus, quick serves must rethink discounting to avoid prolonged margin problems.
Why Marketers Need To Stop Following Trends And Start Advancing Movements
February 24, 2014
Forbes
Topics: Brand Strategy, Innovation, Marketing
Keywords: brand strategy, advance cultural movements, following trends, ignore trends, brand innovation, Lady Gaga ignores trends, forecasting trends, cultural scanning, listening to trends
Great brands spot powerful ideas on the horizon that resonate with their core values, and they discover ways to advance those ideas.
A Brand-Builder’s Guide to the Universe: 17 Ways to Build a Great Brand Today
February 21, 2014
ChangeThis
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Loyalty, Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Strategy, Brand Touchpoints, Business, Culture, Design, Employee Engagement, Innovation, Leadership, Marketing
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, operationalizing your brand, ChangeThis Manifesto, 800 CEO Read Manifesto, A Brand-Builder’s Guide to the Universe:, Ways to Build a Great Brand, brand trends, branding trends
This manifesto highlights seventeen developments that are influencing brand-building today and what great brands are doing about them.
Leadership Lessons from Great Brands
February 11, 2014
Ron Kitchens -- Always Forward
Topics: Brand Delivery, Leadership
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, Ron Kitchens blog, Always Forward blog, Southwest Michigan First blog, Catalyst University speaker, Catalyst University 2013, leadership lessons, brand leadership
If you are at a place in your leadership journey where you are looking for clear, valuable insight into your personal brand or that of your organization, I highly recommend Denise’s book! Enjoy the post. — Ron Kitchens
Great Brands Never Have to “Give Back”
February 6, 2014
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Brand Delivery, Leadership, Social Responsibility
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, ikea, corporate social responsibility, csr, giving back, creating shared value, CSV, greenwashing, Ecomagination, Starbucks community stores, Coca-Cola 5by20, IKEA corporate social responsibility
Great brands are making positive social change without engaging in typical CSR activities.
The Secret Sauce of Employee Recruiting and Engagement: Part 3
February 5, 2014
The Keva Dine Agency
Topics: Brand Delivery, Employee Engagement, Leadership
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, employee engagement, employment branding, employee alignment, employee culture
Great brands know that their brand is the strongest employee recruitment and engagement tool it has because of its power to connect.
Lead with Your Brand
February 1, 2014
Leadership Excellence
Topics: Brand Delivery, Leadership
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, brand-as-business management approach, brand culture, brand leadership, Leadership Excellence Essentials, lead with your brand, brand planning, brand execution
For a business to be successful, leaders need to embrace the concept of operating the business based on its brand.
Pick a Prime Positioning
February 1, 2014
QSR Magazine
Topics: Brand Strategy, Marketing
Keywords: brand position, competitive brand positioning, QSR Magazine Brand New Perspectives column, competitive frame of reference, Denny's competitive brand positioning, brand differentiation, strategic brand platform
A clear, definitive competitive brand positioning is essential to developing a great brand.
Every Touchpoint Communicates
February 1, 2014
CMO Council's Peer Sphere
Topics: Brand Delivery, Brand Experience, Brand Touchpoints
Keywords: brand alignment, brand integration, brand touchpoints, brand touchpoint wheel, CMO Council PeerSphere magazine, touchpoint communication
Conventional wisdom says there are only a few ways that customers are exposed to your brand – advertising, website, PR, and social media. But the reality is, any point of contact between your product, service, or experience and your customers is a brand touchpoint.
Hold the Cone
January 31, 2014
Shep Hyken blog
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Experience
Keywords: customer experience, brand experience, Shep Hyken blog, customer service, Pinkberry customer service, Pinkberry customer experience, Pinkberry brand experience
Denise Lee Yohn talks about how the customer experience can influence the service philosophy of the brand.
Let Design Do The Talking For Brands
January 27, 2014
Forbes
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Communication, Brand Touchpoints
Keywords: customer experience, brand experience, Chobani yogurt brand strategy, Trader Joes brand strategy, Chobani customer experience, Trader Joe's customer experience, design strategy, customer experience design, brand world, great brands sweat the small stuff, sensory design, Hamdi Ulukaya
Every single encounter that people have with your brand will either enhance its value or diminish it. Design is one of the best ways to ensure you’re making deposits in your brand bank.
The Secret Sauce of Employee Recruiting and Engagement: Part 2
January 27, 2014
The Keva Dine Agency
Topic: Employee Engagement
Keywords: The Keva Dine Agency, employee engagement, employee alignment, brand alignment, employer branding, recruitment branding
Gaining attention from internal candidates and external potential candidates organically grows when employees feel their personal needs are met, values are aligned and their rewarded for their contributions.
Eating Right, Better Relationships, and Exercise Should Be Your 2014 Business Resolutions, Too
January 23, 2014
UpStart Business Journal
Topics: Brand Delivery, Leadership, Marketing
Keywords: Denise Lee Yohn, brand strategy, branding strategy, Upstart Business Journal, new year's resolutions for business, business resolutions, 2014 business strategy
Branding expert Denise Lee Yohn has three key resolutions to remake your brand, and they probably jibe with your personal ones.
The Secret Sauce of Employee Recruiting and Engagement: Part 1
January 23, 2014
The Keva Dine Agency
Topic: Employee Engagement
Keywords: The Keva Dine Agency, employee engagement, brand engagement, employment branding
By knowing where organizations are moving in their hiring efforts and the building of their brand, you can spot the type of work environment that will keep you engaged and ultimately, happy.
Great Brands Aim for Their Customers Hearts, Not Their Wallets
January 8, 2014
Forbes
Topics: Brand Loyalty, Brand Experience, Brand Extensions
Keywords: Forbes CMO Network, loyalty, brand loyalty, customer loyalty, airlines loyalty, airline customer experience, Virgin America, Virgin airline, emotional connection, customer relationships
To create valuable, sustainable customer relationships, great brands don’t sell customers on contracts—they seduce them with connections.
What Great Brands Do (QSR Magazine column)
January 1, 2014
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Delivery
Keywords: What Great Brands Do, restaurant branding, brand strategy, Brand New Perspectives column, brand-building, strategic marketing, QSR Magazine
Take your brand from good to great with these seven tips in mind.
Digital Health Breaks New Ground at CES
December 1, 2013
Topic: Innovation
Keywords: Digital Health Summit, FitnessTech Summit, digital health, digital fitness, digital heath and fitness, i3 magazine, Jawbone UP, iTriage, Humetrix, iBlueButton, iRhythm, Welldoc, Zio, BlueStar, HealthSense, Independa, Zenzorium TINKE, NeuroSky, NeuroCoach, Misfit Shine, wearables
Five significant ways digital health is changing and the latest innovations in each that you’ll see and/or hear about at the 2014 International CES.
2013’s 7 Best Brand Stories
December 1, 2013
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication
Keywords: KFC, McDonald's, Taco Bell, Smashburger, Chipotle, Starbucks, Panera, restaurant stories in 2013, restaurant branding, QSR brands, QSR in 2013, QSR branding, QSR advertising, restaurant advertising, new menu items
Marketing and product moves from these quick serves kept the industry buzzing this year.
Why Marketers Need To Stop Giving Back
November 11, 2013
Forbes
Topic: Brand Delivery
Keywords: Chipotle, forbes, social change, charitable, give back, corporate social responsibility, csr, create shared value, CSV
If your company prides itself on giving back to the community by way of charitable gifts, it’s time to rethink what you’re doing and why.
Primed For New Product Success
November 1, 2013
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keywords: McDonald's, Taco Bell, pretzel buns, target customer, doritos locos, McMuffin, egg white delight, McRib, new product strategy, new product introduction, fast food new products, QSR new products
Operators must keep the menu mix fresh to keep customers coming back for more. Here’s the best way to launch a new product.
Digital Health Breaks New Ground at CES
November 1, 2013
CEA i3
Topics: Digital Health, Health/Fitness/Wellness, Innovation
Keywords: digital health trends, digital fitness trends, wearable tech trends, digital health at Consumer Electronics Show, digital health at International CES, mobile health trends
Digital health and fitness been undergoing changes in five significant ways, all of which will be on display at the 2014 International CES.
Megastores Want to Be Like Mom-and-Pop Shops… Sort Of
October 24, 2013
Harvard Business Review
Topics: Business, Strategy
Keywords: McDonald's, Smashburger, Starbucks, Whole Foods, Lululemon, howard schultz, laura klauberg, retail strategy, retail branding, local store marketing, national brand strategy
Progressive retailers like Starbucks and Lululemon Athletica are increasingly shedding their national standards and conventions to achieve a more local brand image.
What You Can Learn from Grocery
October 1, 2013
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keywords: Whole Foods, trader joe's, kroger, safeway
Quick serves can use some of the grocery channel’s tactics to make sure they don’t lose business to stores like Whole Foods.
Food Porn and Rich Data Combine for Results at Kraft
September 10, 2013
iMedia Connection
Topic: Brand Communication
Keywords: kraft, dana shank, kraft foods, jello, jell-o, Philadelphia cream cheese, chocolate pudding fudge
Kraft’s Associate Director Dana Shank showed the audience at the 2013 iMedia Brand Summit how the company produces sales results through content marketing.
Great Content Requires Strategy and Organization
September 9, 2013
iMedia Connection
Topic: Brand Communication
Keywords: iMedia, iMedia Brand summit, rebecca lieb, altimeter group, nancy bahagat, intel, content marketing, content strategy, organizing for content
The session, “Organizing for Content,” at the 2013 iMedia Brand Summit, showed how companies can ensure they develop and distribute great content.
Taglines Disrupted
September 9, 2013
AdWeek
Topic: Brand Communication
Keywords: Starbucks, Whole Foods, Lululemon, Nordstrom, Apple, 100 most influential taglines, yahoo, best buy, geek squad, american express, nike, just do it, coca-cola, expedia, open happiness, find yours, taglines, themelines, advertising slogans
Flexible branding is the new name of the game.
The 10 Best Ways to Do PR
September 1, 2013
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keywords: pinterest, social media, journalists, hashtags, press release, pubilc relations, Robin Raskin
Ten rules for doing public relations the right way.
What ShoeDazzle Taught Us about Subscription Commerce
August 31, 2013
gigaom
Topics: Brand Strategy, Marketing
Keywords: american express, just fab, shoedazzle.com, lady gaga, brian lee, bill strauss, subscription brand, subscription commerce, little monsters, subscription-based commerce
ShoeDazzle may no longer be dazzling, but it’s delivering useful lessons in subscription commerce.
Don’t Forget Gen Z
August 1, 2013
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keywords: millennials, generation z, gen z, gen y, generation y, net generation, post millennials, plurals, american food, family dinner
Millennials get all the attention, but focusing on the proceeding generation can really put your restaurant ahead of the curve.
Why Are So Many Celebrities Now “Creative Directors”?
July 9, 2013
Harvard Business Review
Topic: Brand Communication
Keywords: coca-cola, beyonce, pepsi, lady gaga, polaroid, justin timberlake, celebrity creative director, tommy lee jones, ameriprise financial, CDINO, creative director in name only, black-eyed peas, will=i-am, ekocycle, myspace, britney spears, accenture, tiger woods, secret, lindsey van, red bull, P*G
In years past, the basis of celebrity/brand relationships had been expediency and image. Today, it’s about authenticity and impact.
The Problem with Personal Health Data
July 1, 2013
CEA Digital Dialogue
Topic: Digital Health
Keywords: Digital Health Summit, Welldoc, living in digital times, qualcomm ventures, great call, united healthcare, health apps, md revolution
The primary challenge in digital health today is how to use all the personal health data that’s available to help people live healthier lives.
Purpose, Principles Give Power
July 1, 2013
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keywords: Taco Bell, Whole Foods, UCLA extension restaurant industry conference, greg creed, doritos locos taco, catina bell menu, walter robb, advertising, marketing
Marketing campaigns can adequately promote your brand, but it could be for naught without a strong cultural foundation.
Change Happens
June 10, 2013
Business Insider
Topic: Leadership
Keywords: joni hoolin, people report, black box intelligence, jim stengel, grow, southwest, gary kelly, ikea, iway, ikea way, freedom to fly, horizontal brand alignment, vertical brand alignment, zappos
Change is passive, but transformation presents an opportunity for you to play an active role and create a better future.
The Social Media Smarts
June 1, 2013
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keywords: pinterest, facebook, twitter, jetblue, youtube, target, old spice, isaiah mustafa, instagram, lands end
Don’t jump into social media marketing blind. Follow these tips to be successful at the most popular social media sites.
Disrupting the Automotive Experience
May 17, 2013
business2community
Topic: Customer Experience
Keywords: saturn, tesla motors, electric, elon musk, product specialist, george blankenship, thilo koslowski, gartner inc, brand standards, warby parker, neil blumenthal, david gilboa, zapps, tony hsieh
Telas Motors has set out to fundamentally change the car buying and owning process.
Everything Communication
May 1, 2013
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Delivery
Keywords: trader joes, fearless flyer, brand touch points, culture
Instill your brand message in every customer touch point.
From Negative to Positive
April 1, 2013
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keywords: yelp, trip advisor, word of mouth, reviews
A bad online review can sting, but it can also be an opportunity to reach customers with a positive story.
The Genius of Apple’s Store Patents
March 11, 2013
Chain Store Age
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keywords: patent, trademark, apple store, design, genius bar, store design
Apple’s new patents suggest a new way of thinking about retail store design: What if we considered our stores as products?
The Genius of Apple’s Store Patents
March 11, 2013
Chain Store Age
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keywords: patent, trademark, apple store, design, genius bar, store design
Apple’s new patents suggest a new way of thinking about retail store design: What if we considered our stores as products?
How to Succeed in a New Market
March 1, 2013
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keywords: culture, logo, typefaces, colors, taglines, messaging, branding, style guide, style standards, soft launch, publicity
Expanding into a new market can be both risky and rewarding; here are some ways you can increase your odds of success.
Taglines That Work
February 4, 2013
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication
Keywords: McDonald's, Taco Bell, forbes, Apple, american express, nike, just do it, think different, mission statement, cotton, the fabric of our lives, head for the border, fedex, when it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight, burger king, have it your way, mastercard, priceless, outback steakhouse, no rules, just right, volkswagen, drivers wanted, you deserve a break today, best-loved advertising taglines, b, s, de beers, phil's bbq
A well-crafted tagline can position your brand for years to come.
Lance Armstrong’s Biggest Offense
January 14, 2013
Brand Channel
Topic: Brand Communication
Keywords: nike, lance armstrong, performance-enhancing drugs, livestrong foundation, us postal service, tailwind sports, kerek kent
I hope Nike customers will understand that the company’s not to blame for believing Lance, and they will continue to look to the brand for inspiration and integrity.
It’s Budget Time
January 3, 2013
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keywords: marketing objectives, marketing budget
Now is the time to establish what you want to get out of your marketing efforts in the coming 12 months.
It’s Budget Time
January 3, 2013
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keywords: marketing objectives, marketing budget
Now is the time to establish what you want to get out of your marketing efforts in the coming 12 months.
Companies Should Aim for Social Relevance, Not Responsibility
November 30, 2012
Smartbrief
Topic: Leadership
Keywords: corporate social responsibility, csr, public relations, giving back, creating shared value
Instead of trying to check off boxes on an endless list of responsibilities, businesses should explore and engage their societal and cultural relevance to benefit all stakeholders and create shared value among them.
Create a Rising Brand That Lifts All Boats
November 19, 2012
Zift Solutions' All About Partner Marketing
Topic: Brand Strategy
Keywords: brand-building, VARs, channel partners, brand-building challenges, brand integration, engaging VARs
Strong brands provide the wind behind your partners’ sales.
The Highlights and Lowlights of Best Buy’s Turnaround Plan
November 19, 2012
Sustainable Business Forum
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keywords: best buy, new ceo, hubert joly, insignia, rocketfish, private-label brands, turnaround plan, reinventing brand identity, ibm
The turnaround plan laid out by Best Buy’s new CEO Hubert Joly includes some smart moves but fails to address the Best Buy brand.
Time to Jump on the Bandwagon?
November 5, 2012
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keywords: Chipotle, social media, burger king, barbecue industry, tapping into trends, pinkberry, red mango, following trends, scanning, monitor media, listening, social networkings, identify food influences, trend forcasting, white castle, carl's jr, hardee's, health and wellness, sustainable and neutral, affordable luxuries
It’s smart to follow industry trends, but don’t forget to add your own touch.
The Right Stuff
November 1, 2012
CE Vision
Topic: Digital Health
Keywords: what it takes to win, how to succeed in digital health, fitness technology, experts, outside perspective, health expertise, technology expertise, project mercury, NASA
For the healthcare industry to succeed in the CE frontier, companies need expertise in health, technology, and consumer branding.
5 Ways for Restaurant Owners to Achieve Brand Relevance
October 26, 2012
FastCasual.com
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Social Responsibility
Keywords: Chipotle, Starbucks, coca-cola, firehouse subs, corporate consciousness, shared values, 2012 fast casual executive summit, industry relevance, kids live well program, dine out for no kid hungry, community relevance, dining out for life san diego, food trucks, target relevance, ronald mcdonald house, brand relevance, fire safety, food with integrity, value relevance, jobs usa, 5by20, combination of efforts
Denise Lee Yohn spoke at the 2012 Fast Casual Executive Summit, Oct. 21-23, at the US Grant in San Diego. Her presentation highlighted five ways operators can achieve brand relevance in the hearts and minds of consumers.
Nothing More Than Feelings
October 15, 2012
Business Insider
Topic: Brand Communication
Keywords: digital health, brand experience, crossing the chasm, mastercard, priceless, emotional appeal, emotion, early market to mainstream market, women in technology intrnational luncheon, fitness, engagement, allen olivo, emotional attachment, increase perceived value, method
“Emotion is the bridge to take to cross the chasm from the early market to the mainstream market.”
Innovation or Core? Try Both
October 5, 2012
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Strategy
Keywords: Starbucks, social media, scanning, start-ups, incubator, coca-cola venture and emerging brands, development, innovation group, walmart, focus, five guys burgers and fries, jerry murrell, specialty's cafe and bakery, diltuion
Start-ups and established brands alike must balance their focus on their core brand, while also pushing the innovation envelope.
Brand Romney
October 4, 2012
Business Insider
Topic: Brand Strategy
Keywords: Apple, jack in the box, presidential debate, jill lepore, mitt romney, underdog brand biography, underdog, obama, challenger brand, eating the big fish, adam morgan, state of market, rate of success, state of mind, symbols of reevaluation, 1984 commercial, land rover, jet blue, sega, sonic, nintendo, swatch, brand communication
To push ahead and “eat the big fish”, it seems Presidential candidate Mitt Romney needs to adopt a challenger brand strategy.
How to Grow Without Abandoning Your Brand
September 21, 2012
OPEN Forum
Topic: Brand Extensions
Keyword:
Keeping true to your brand while growing your business can be challenging. Use these guidelines to ensure everyone in your growing business is on the same page when it comes to your brand.
How to Do Healthy
September 4, 2012
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keyword:
If your brand wants to climb aboard the healthy bandwagon without cutting calories or fat, consider that health is often in the eye of the beholder.
The Retail Organization of the Future
August 31, 2012
Retail Wire
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keyword:
Five characteristics that should define the retail organization of the future.
What Great Clients Do
August 28, 2012
Sustainable Business Forum
Topic: Leadership
Keyword:
Great clients embrace five attitudes and characteristics that make them the kind of people everyone wants to work with.
Understanding Your Customers Through Research
August 17, 2012
OPEN Forum
Topic: Consumer Research
Keyword:
Actionable customer insights are generated from research that is specific, targeted, methodologically rigorous, inclusive of multiple sources and methods, and proactive.
Execution IS Strategy
August 15, 2012
Bulldog Drummond
Topic: Strategy
Keyword:
Execution is actually becoming strategy. Superior operational execution is a strategic advantage to be planned and pursued.
Lessons for Small Business from a Big Brand Failure
August 7, 2012
OPEN Forum
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Strategy
Keyword:
Small businesses can often learn valuable lessons from the missteps of big companies.
The Fresh Factor
August 3, 2012
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keyword:
It’s important to know when your brand is due for change.
It’s Time to Re-think Your Business
July 13, 2012
Smartbrief
Topics: Leadership, Strategy
Keyword:
Three questions to answer Thomas Levitt’s big questions, “What business are we really in?”
Timeless Truths about Brand Loyalty
July 6, 2012
Digital Solutions Cooperative Newsletter
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Loyalty
Keyword:
“As brand loyalty increases, consumers are less sensitive to price increases” and other findings from a SymphonyIRI report on brand loyalty.
The Marketing Measuring Stick
July 3, 2012
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keyword:
A positive ROI is obviously key, but don’t forget to outline a process that will help you meet your objectives.
How to Beat the Brand Extension Odds
June 20, 2012
OPEN Forum
Topic: Brand Extensions
Keyword:
Expanding a product line can make or break your business. Here are five things to consider before you take the plunge.
What You Can Learn from Lady Gaga
June 5, 2012
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keyword:
The pop star is a perfect model on how to turn your customers into brand evangelists.
A Smart Guide to Using Daily Deals
May 24, 2012
OPEN Forum
Topic: Brand Communication
Keyword:
Offering a daily deal can do your business more harm than good, but with a little planning, it can grow your brand.
5 Lessons From NBC’s ‘The Voice’ on How to Differentiate Your Brand
May 12, 2012
OPEN Forum
Topics: Brand Strategy, Marketing
Keyword:
To increase your brand differentiation, try these approaches, tested and used by the contenders on NBC’s The Voice.
Nine Criteria for Breakthrough Brand Experiences
May 8, 2012
Business Insider
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience
Keyword:
How new and interesting restaurant and retail concepts like Patagonia’s Tin Shed and Chipotle-inspired Pie-o-logy create breakthrough brand experiences
The Many Faces of Your Brand
May 1, 2012
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keyword:
Having two distinct customer demographics might expand your sales potential, but it also presents a challenge of marketing to two different bases.
What a Strong Brand Does for a Small Business
April 17, 2012
OPEN Forum
Topic: Small Businss
Keyword:
Small business owners should invest in it from the start to accelerate growth and make sustained success more likely.
Five P’s to a Priceless CE Retail Experience
April 5, 2012
CE Vision
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keyword:
Price isn’t the only factor that drives purchase — by leveraging other “P’s” to deliver a superior brand experience, you can diminish the importance of price and increase customers’ preference for your store.
Once Upon a Company
April 2, 2012
The upMover
Topic: Employee Engagement
Keyword:
Storytelling also can be a powerful internal tool, engaging, uniting, and aligning employees.
Make Your Ethnic Concept a Familiar Favorite
April 1, 2012
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keyword:
If you want to introduce your ethnic concept to burger-and-fries-loving Americans, try giving them something they’re familiar with.
3 Ways to Improve Local Marketing
March 1, 2012
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keyword:
For small concepts, diversifying local-store marketing efforts beyond fliers and handouts is the best way to secure new business.
The Brand Equation
February 14, 2012
OPEN Forum
Topics: Brand Communication, Brand Delivery, Culture
Keyword:
A brand isn’t a thing; it’s an equation: Brand = Culture + Customer Experience + Communication
So You Want to Try a New Concept?
February 10, 2012
Smartbrief
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Innovation
Keyword:
Three considerations in designing a new concept test that will ensure you get the most learning and value out of it.
The Super Bowl’s Intended Receivers
February 9, 2012
Customer Collective
Topic: Brand Communication
Keyword:
Some Super Bowl advertisers seemed clueless or at least very confused about who their intended receivers – i.e., target consumers – were.
Mutiny or Movement – It’s Your Choice
February 6, 2012
Uprising Movements
Topic: Employee Engagement
Keyword:
Business leaders need to make a serious commitment to engaging their employees — or suffer the consequences.
How to Keep ’Em Coming Back
February 1, 2012
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Loyalty
Keyword:
Loyalty programs aren’t the only way to build repeat visits.
Picking a Marketing Firm for Your Company
January 1, 2012
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keyword:
If your company is growing beyond its own marketing capabilities, hiring a marketing agency might be a smart move. Here’s what to look for.
Crossing the Health & Fitness Tech Chasm
January 1, 2012
CE Vision
Topics: Digital Health, Health/Fitness/Wellness, Innovation
Keyword:
The challenge for health and fitness tech companies is to cross the chasm into broader relevance and appeal to the mainstream market.
The Road to Relevance with Charitable Giving
December 1, 2011
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Social Responsibility
Keyword:
Take your charitable activities—and your brand—to a whole new level.
Build Your Brand with a Cohesive Customer Experience
November 22, 2011
The Social Customer
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience
Keyword:
Build Your Brand with a Cohesive Customer Experience
November 22, 2011
The Social Customer
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience
Keyword:
A Customer Experience Architecture is a tool that retailers can use to optimize, prioritize, and unify all of their customer experiences.
Six Reasons Why Your Business Needs More Competition
November 21, 2011
Smartbrief
Topics: Business, Leadership
Keyword:
More competition increases consumer demand, builds up industry infrastructure, and produces other benefits.
Culture Isn’t Enough
November 15, 2011
The Social Customer
Topics: Customer Experience, Culture, Employee Engagement
Keyword:
Culture must be inextricably linked to customer experience in order for it to have real impact.
Two Target Markets for Restaurants
November 1, 2011
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Marketing
Keyword:
Increase your brand appeal by targeting two lucrative target segments: Millennials and moms.
What Life Stage is Your Brand in?
October 1, 2011
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Strategy
Keyword:
Brand-building strategies change as a company progresses from the start-up phase to maturity.
Three Timeless Truths about Brand Loyalty
September 27, 2011
Grocery News Online
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Loyalty
Keyword:
Even though brand loyalty “ain’t what it used to be,” there are a few truths about brand loyalty which stand on their own and which stand the test of time.
Turn Your Logo Into An Icon
August 30, 2011
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Identity
Keyword:
A quick-serve brand’s logo can help it stand above competitors.
A Healthy Menu Is In the Eye of the Beholder
August 22, 2011
Restaurant SmartBrief
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keyword:
Because different consumers define healthy food in different ways, there are a range of opportunities for restaurants to improve the health perceptions of their offerings.
Building Loyalty to Your Health Club Requires Trust, Transparency and Thanks
August 8, 2011
Club Industry
Topics: Health/Fitness/Wellness, Marketing
Keyword:
Instead of expecting customers to be loyal, you must reward them with your loyalty and actively show that you value their business.
Experts Say Success Starts with Culture
August 1, 2011
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Culture, Leadership
Keyword:
From big restaurant companies to small, a strong corporate culture attracts customers, engages employees, and enables better decision-making.
Brands with Moats will Thrive
July 27, 2011
Sustainable Business Forum
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Value
Keyword:
Brands impact key drivers of financial performance including economic moats, profitability, and growth.
Decrease Your Deal-Dependence with Differentiation
July 20, 2011
Franchise Update Media Group
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Strategy
Keyword:
Differentiation is the best way for all businesses to address consumers’ new value mindset. Here are three ways how restaurant and retail companies can differentiate.
It’s a Partnership, Not Charity
July 1, 2011
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keyword:
Partnering with other brands can strengthen your value proposition and introduce your own brand to new customers.
Operationalize Your Brand to Grow Your Business
June 30, 2011
Sustainable Business Forum
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Delivery, Business
Keyword:
To realize a brand’s full and sustainable potential, businesses must emphasize internal brand integration and activation in addition to communicating the brand’s image to consumers. The brand should be used first and foremost as a tool to guide decision-making and drive action throughout the organization. In other words, the brand should be operationalized.
A Mobile Manifesto
June 1, 2011
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Marketing
Keyword:
The popularity of smartphones is skyrocketing, and their importance as a marketing tool can’t be understated. Here’s how you can unlock the full potential of mobile to build your brand.
Food for Thought Yields Dividends for Greenville
May 15, 2011
The Greenville News
Topics: Business, Leadership
Keyword:
The Food for Thought Conference, produced by agency Erwin-Penland, taught me about love as a game changer for business leaders.
What Your Brand Can Learn from America’s Next Great Restaurant
May 3, 2011
QSR Magazine
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keyword:
A nine-week crash course on everything you wanted to know about opening your own restaurant chain, “America’s Next Great Restaurant” provided a viewers with the inside skinny on how to create a new fast-casual restaurant concept from the ground up.
You Have More Competition Than You Think
May 1, 2011
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Strategy
Keyword:
In addition to the quick serve down the street, there’s also the local grocery store, gas station, and even vending machine.
Leveraging “Like” into Loyalty
April 26, 2011
Franchise Update Media Group
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Marketing, Social Media
Keyword:
Quality of engagement is a better measure of brand strength than quantity of followers.
A Digital Revolution in Health and Fitness Is Coming: How to Ride the Wave
April 7, 2011
CE Vision
Topics: Health/Fitness/Wellness, Innovation
Keyword:
At the intersection of health and fitness and technology lies the next digital revolution. To ride the next wave, follow the lead of those who fueled the digital imaging revolution and institute these three innovation practices.
7 Things Aspiring Restaurateurs Can Learn from “America’s Next Great Restaurant”
April 5, 2011
Restaurant SmartBrief
Topic: Restaurants and Retail
Keyword:
NBC’s reality show “America’s Next Great Restaurant” teaches aspiring restaurateurs what it takes to open their own business.
Not In Kansas Anymore
April 4, 2011
Consensus Weekly: Retail & Consumer News
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Social Media
Keyword:
The speakers at Innovate 2011, NRF’s annual marketing and innovation conference, made it clear every dimension of retail is undergoing a complete transformation.
How to Spot a Good (& Bad) Brand Extension
April 1, 2011
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Extensions
Keyword:
Brand extensions can be a smart way to build excitement and drive traffic, but any extension that strays too far can be a costly mistake.
Trade (Show) Secrets for Retailers
March 24, 2011
Retailing Today
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience
Keyword:
Five tradeshow practices retailers can borrow to engage their customers on the retail floor.
Win the Name Game
March 1, 2011
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Names
Keyword:
Selecting the right name is one of the most important decisions a brand has to make.
The Social Standards
February 1, 2011
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Social Media
Keyword:
Despite what your intern and PR agency tell you, there are some brands that just aren’t cut out for social media.
Your 2011 Checklist
January 3, 2011
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Touchpoints, Consumer Research
Keyword:
Two New Years’ Resolutions for QSR operators: invest in consumer research and image enhancements.
Give Your Customers a Break
December 1, 2010
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Customer Service
Keyword:
If quick serves don’t focus on being the highlight of their customer’s day, they’re at risk of undermining their brand image.
Your Club Experience Is Your Marketing
November 4, 2010
Club Industry
Topics: Health/Fitness/Wellness, Brand Experience, Employee Engagement
Keyword:
For health and fitness clubs, traditional sales and marketing tactics are becoming less important — and the club experience is emerging as the most powerful marketing tool.
The Price Is Complicated
November 1, 2010
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Business
Keyword:
Pricing is not about one number. By determining your worth and building value perception around that, your pricing strategy can strengthen brand perception and differentiation.
Build Your Brand by Operationalizing It
October 26, 2010
MeNG
Topics: Brand Delivery, Business
Keyword:
Most brand-building initiatives skew toward externally-targeted when instead they should be directed toward operationalizing the brand internally.
Not Just a Punch Card
October 1, 2010
QSR Magazine
Topics: Brand Touchpoints, Marketing
Keyword:
Most quick serves don’t understand that building loyalty takes more than handing out punch cards and promotions.
Intelligent Design?
September 6, 2010
Consensus Weekly: Retail & Consumer News
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Design
Keyword:
Design is growing in importance at retail, as evidenced by the appointment of a Chief Design Officer at Best Buy.
The Details Matter
September 1, 2010
QSR Magazine
Topics: Customer Experience, Brand Touchpoints
Keyword:
Improving your customer experience might be the most effective way to market your concept.
3 Tips from Food Trucks
August 1, 2010
QSR Magazine
Topics: Marketing, Social Media
Keyword:
The newest generation of food trucks should serve as a blueprint to quick-serve marketers on how they can attract customers.
M&A Brand Strategies
August 1, 2010
Mergers & Acquisitions
Topics: Brand Names, Business, Strategy
Keyword:
Getting the brand name right can help a transaction stay focused post close.
Bigger Isn’t Always Better
July 1, 2010
QSR Magazine
Topics: Customer Experience, Business, Strategy
Keyword:
Toyota was caught sacrificing quality for quantity, and its troubles should be a warning sign to quick serves looking to grow.
The Problem With Success
June 29, 2010
Brand-as-Business Brief
Topics: Business, Leadership
Keyword:
Why success might actually hinder organizations and how you can avoid “success syndrome.”
Marketing is Losing its Mojo
June 7, 2010
AdWeek
Topics: Marketing, Social Media
Keyword:
Social media and analytics are important tools for marketers, but they’re no substitute for big ideas.
Eye on the Prize
June 1, 2010
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Marketing
Keyword:
Targeting a specific consumer can help a brand streamline its product offerings, marketing efforts, and operations.
To Survive, the Fitness Industry Must Rethink Fitness
May 7, 2010
Club Industry
Topics: Health/Fitness/Wellness, Customer Experience, Business, Marketing
Keyword:
Fitness clubs must adopt a more consumer-centric approach in order to tap into a bigger growth market.
Don’t Be Short Sighted
May 1, 2010
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Touchpoints, Marketing
Keyword:
Giveaways and discounted prices are not necessarily the right promotions to build your brand for the long term.
That’s the CMO’s Job
April 1, 2010
QSR Magazine
Topics: Leadership, Marketing
Keyword:
The role of the chief marketing officer goes beyond simply advertising the brand.
Mastering the Game when Employees Use Social Media
April 1, 2010
Club Industry
Topics: Employee Engagement, Marketing, Social Media
Keyword:
Providing social media guidelines to your employees is a defensive tactic that will help you protect your brand while brand guidelines—your offense—will help you promote it.
Operationalizing Brands with New Technologies
February 1, 2010
Interactions
Topics: Brand Delivery, Social Media
Keyword:
New technologies can play as much of a role in operationalizing a brand as they do in expressing it.
How to Brand the New Value Equation
January 15, 2010
QSR Magazine
Topics: Brand Touchpoints, Marketing
Keyword:
By linking price to key brand differentiators, Sonic and other companies can present a value equation that makes saving money part of a remarkable brand experience.
Three New Year’s Resolutions for Retailers
January 11, 2010
Chain Store Age
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Customer Service
Keyword:
Three recommendations for retailers that will produce positive results not only in 2010 but for many years to come.
Play Defense And Offense
January 4, 2010
Marketing Daily
Topics: Employee Engagement, Marketing, Social Media
Keyword:
To take full advantage of the brand-building opportunities in social media and networking, companies need to play more Offense.
Biz 101: Strategies for a Faster, Stronger Economic Recovery
December 12, 2009
SNews
Topics: Health/Fitness/Wellness, Business, Strategy
Keyword:
Four specific actions you can take now to speed your recovery, based on the R.I.C.E. injury treatment method.
What’s Holding Arby’s Back?
November 16, 2009
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Brand Communication, Brand Identity
Keyword:
Arby’s, the venerable roast beef fast food chain, seems to lack a distinctive, compelling platform for its brand.
A Club is a Club… Unless It’s Ours
October 27, 2009
Fitness XP Journal
Topics: Health/Fitness/Wellness, Customer Experience, Marketing
Keyword:
Brand-building depends on consistently delivering a differentiated customer experience.
Differentiate Your Way to Success
October 8, 2009
Club Industry
Topics: Health/Fitness/Wellness, Business, Marketing, Strategy
Keyword:
Differentiation is the key to success in today’s resource-constrained, highly competitive business environment — here are 3 ways to differentiate your business.
Keeping a Perspective on Branding
October 2, 2009
Brand Channel
Topics: Brand Delivery, Brand Identity, Business
Keyword:
Why branding may be dead, but brands can—and must be—stronger than ever.
Business Reset Button
September 8, 2009
Brand-as-Business Brief
Topics: Business, Leadership, Strategy
Keyword:
It’s time to hit the reset button. Business leaders need a new management strategy and fresh ideas. Introducing brand as business, the management approach to re-ignite your business.
Match Brand Identity and Guest Experience to Maximize Ad Dollars
August 10, 2009
Nation's Restaurant News
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Brand Communication, Employee Engagement, Marketing
Keyword:
Recommendations for closing the gap between the aspirational vision in your advertising and the actual customer experience at your restaurant.
How to Defeat McDonald’s
August 1, 2009
QSR Magazine
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Business, Marketing, Strategy
Keyword:
Fast food restaurants should also be on the lookout for opportunities to rise above the fray, dominate their challengers, and solidify a sustainable victory.
Combat the Recession With a Retail Renaissance
July 16, 2009
Chain Store Age
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Marketing
Keyword:
Instead of tinkering with tactics that generate limited impact, here are three recommendations for a full-in retail revival.
Three Questions That Drive Successful Brand Extensions
May 22, 2009
Media Post
Topic: Brand Extensions
Keyword:
The why, what, and how behind recent brand extension success stories.
Notes on a Crisis
May 10, 2009
MediaWeek
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Business, Leadership
Keyword:
What Domino’s and other brands under stress can do to revive and thrive, post catastrophe.
Build Your Brand Without Breaking Your Budget
May 1, 2009
American Management Association
Topics: Brand Delivery, Business, Marketing
Keyword:
The best way to increase the power of your brand is to improve your company’s fundamentals. Five effective, yet thrifty, ways to build your brand in a tough economy.
Gaining the Competitive Edge
April 28, 2009
Presentation
Topics: Brand Delivery, Business, Employee Engagement
Keyword:
Presentation from The Marketing Forum, an invitation-only conference for senior-level marketers, introducing the “brand as business” management approach — employ a brand perspective and brand-based tools throughout everything your company does.
Close the Gap Between What You Say and What You Do
April 1, 2009
American Management Association
Topics: Brand Delivery, Business
Keyword:
Close the gap between what you say and what you do in order to leverage the full value of your brand.
Proceed with Caution: Use Social Media Carefully to Listen to Consumers
April 1, 2009
CMO Council's Marketing Magnified
Topics: Consumer Research, Social Media
Keyword:
Three suggestions for how to mitigate the risks involved in using social media for consumer input.
Why Retailers Need to Get Back to Basics
February 23, 2009
Advertising Age
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Customer Experience, Customer Service
Keyword:
The current demise of many retailers has been mostly their own doing. Many, it seems, have tossed aside the fundamentals of running a retail business in favor of gimmicks and promotions.
Why We Need Starbucks to Succeed
February 2, 2009
Brand-as-Business Brief
Topics: Restaurants and Retail, Business, Innovation
Keyword:
Starbucks continues to struggle and many in the quick-serve restaurant (QSR) business may be quietly celebrating the problems of the former industry darling — but Starbucks benefits the QSR category in ways that cut to the core of business.
We’re Just Like You. Not.
October 13, 2008
Business Week
Topic: Brand Communication
Keyword:
A critique of Lucky Jeans’ “Lucky Few” campaign, breaking down the misfires and missed opportunities of this unfortunate effort.
Using Internet Technologies to Operationalize Your Brand
September 25, 2008
Presentation
Topics: Brand Delivery, Employee Engagement, Social Media
Keyword:
Presentation at the Digital Symposium describing how Internet technology-enabled brand strategies optimize brands externally and how internal brand alignment and integration efforts are made possible by new technologies.
The Brand Ultimatum
August 1, 2008
Topics: Brand Extensions, Marketing
Keyword:
A credible and compelling brand extension is driven by a deep brand identity – an identity whose associations are profound and multi-layered.
A Big, Green, Reluctant Hug for Retailing’s 800-lb. Gorilla
May 5, 2008
Brandweek
Topics: Business, Marketing
Keyword:
An appraisal of Wal-Mart’s Green campaign, including lessons for all marketers seeking to be a part of the green movement in a meaningful and authentic way.
Motivate Staff With Messages That Target Them
April 14, 2008
Advertising Age
Topics: Brand Communication, Business, Employee Engagement
Keyword:
The same strategy, medium, and message that motivate employees do not necessarily motivate customers — and vice versa.
What Consumers Think When They Think About Health and Wellness
April 1, 2008
CMO Council's Marketing Magnified
Topics: Health/Fitness/Wellness, Consumer Research, Marketing
Keyword:
Marketers must understand and navigate through the numerous and widely-differing health and wellness mindsets among consumers.
Under Armour’s Super Bowl Spot: Internal Rallying Cry Does Not an Ad Make
March 1, 2008
Presentation
Topics: Health/Fitness/Wellness, Brand Communication, Employee Engagement, Marketing
Keyword:
An instructive assessment of Under Armour’s Super Bowl spot – one based on the strategy behind the execution.
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