brand-as-business bit: The power of distinctive brand positionings jumped off the page of a recent BusinessWeek write-up about Costco getting sued by Tiffany & Co. for selling “Tiffany” diamond engagement rings. The article suggested Costco customers are pragmatic and deal-driven (“People who can spend [$40,000] on a piece of jewelry aren’t usually the sort to accessorize at Costco. Yet […]
“An amazing ‘invention’ that didn’t turn out to be an innovation” – that’s how one expert described Tata Motors’s Nano. Indeed, the current predicament of the $2,000 compact car that was introduced in India with great fanfare in 2008 holds some valuable takeaways for aspiring disrupters. […]
Right as I published my blogpost on Changing Customer Behavior yesterday, I came across a related Bloomberg BusinessWeek article about the use of defaults, the third tool I had outlined in my post. The article investigated consumer behavior related to conserving energy and using clean energy and provided further explanation about the power of defaults. […]
While Microsoft’s new Windows 8 has received an unexpected share of positive press, many skeptics aren’t convinced that the new operating system has been designed or is being launched properly. Of all the criticisms leveraged against Windows 8, the one that resonates most strongly with me was a comment in a recent Bloomberg Businessweek piece: […]
brand-as-business bit: In a recent feature, Bloomberg Businessweek detailed “The Battle for Best Buy, the Incredible Shrinking Big Box.” It was an informative piece about the retailer’s challenges but what caught my eye were the stats outlining key retail metrics: first, real estate — Costco leads the pack of featured retailers at $1,031 and GameStop […]
In elementary school, there was a boy who really wanted me to “go steady” with him (yes, that’s what we called it back then.) He pursued me fervently and eventually persuaded me to say “yes.” Then, he proceeded to instruct me not to tell anyone about our amorous relationship because he didn’t want people to […]
brand-as-business bit: Here’s a quick add to my previous critique of this year’s Super Bowl commercials. Making a Super Bowl ad involves a level of innovation, strategy, and skill that rivals what goes into making the advertised product itself. So it’s helpful to see what can be learned from those in a similar business of […]
I may be dating myself with this headline, but I’m hoping at least a few of my readers remember those Silkience hair care commercials from the 70’s because it helps make an important point about targeting. […]
We’re about at the midpoint between the release of Forbes’ “The World’s Most Valuable Brands” report back in last July and Interbrand’s “Best Global Brands” report which is due out on September 15th (it usually gets picked up by Businessweek.) You know those studies which report, for example, that Coca-Cola is the world’s top brand, […]
Several weeks ago Bloomberg BusinessWeek published an article about Steve Jobs entitled, The Last Pitchman. It documented Jobs’ seemingly inexplicable ability to sell practically anything, as evidenced by his glorious pitch for the iPhone 4, a “new” product which the news media had already gotten hold of and detailed weeks before. I tore the pages […]