When people ask me to define “brand,” I say, “A brand is what you do and how you do it.” This might not be the most common definition of what a brand is, but the one I use because it’s shorthand for the business school definition of a brand: a product or service’s value that […]
Here’s a hypothesis: There are essentially nine different types of brands and you can jumpstart the development of your brand strategy by identifying the one that’s right for you. I’ve developed this hypothesis after working on brands for over 25 years. I’ve come to realize that there is a finite number of brand types or […]
Given all the new media options and technology capabilities today, it’s easy to forget the essential truths about brands. I read several reminders this past month about getting back to brand basics. […]
brand-as-business bit: Have you seen the latest TV commercial for Amazon? It’s terrific! Why? It talks about what Amazon has already done. Unlike many technology ads that make promises about great things companies are working to make possible, this ad is basically a review of all the great things Amazon has already done. It conveys […]
“How to Clarify Your Brand Essence” and “How to Position Your Brand” are the newest videos in the “How to Build a Breakthrough Brand” series. […]
My curiosity was piqued by the headline of a recent article comparing Siri, the personal assistant application on new iPhones, to Speaktoit, currently available on Android phones – but not because I wanted to understand the differences between the apps. I was struck by how different the two names are – Siri: short, cute, a […]
In a recent post, I described a meeting I led for one of my clients that needed to engage its senior leadership with its brand. And I mentioned that I had started the meeting with a cheeky “What Can Brands Learn from Lady Gaga?” video. Although I can’t show the video here, I did want […]
Thanks to my column-writing gig with QSR Magazine, I recently got an insiders’ look at a remarkable company, Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp. You probably know them as Souplantation, the 110+ unit salad and soup buffet concept, or Sweet Tomatoes, the name they operate under outside of Southern California. […]
I’m working with a client to develop a new brand platform and thought I’d share one of the tools I used in my engagement – Brand Obituaries. […]
Later today I will be presenting the new strategic brand platform to the Board of Directors for an organization I’ve been working with. I thought I’d take this opportunity to share my approach to brand strategy. […]