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Defending the Brand
It came to my attention the other day that Louis Vuitton is seeking damages from an artist who apparently infringed on their brand in a recent campaign to raise money for Darfur through the sale of t-shirts. Instead, let’s spend a minute looking at what happened and why. An artist named Nadia wanted to make […]
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What’s in a name?
Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? Would a Mac by any other name be as cool? Is Mac just another brand of PC, albeit with superior brand awareness and advertising? I asked several people this question over the past week and I can tell you, to the average consumer, everything is […]
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Segmented Advertising
A few weeks ago, I saw a great advertisement for the History Channel at the movie theater. It highlighted most of their major shows and announced the new season for all of my favorite things. The unfortunate thing was that it also upset a LOT of people in the movie theater. Last season, the History Channel […]
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What’s your worst table?
I was forwarded a post from Seth Godin’s blog this morning about his recent visit to a new restaurant. He reflected on the fact that, despite the relative vacancy of the dining room, his party was seated at the worst table available. The “best” tables were apparently reserved for regular customers. I worked in retail […]
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Organic or Synthetic?
In the human world, organic is better. In the business world, synthetic is better. Why? There are several reasons, so let me give you a high-level overview. Organic Eating serves an organic system – us. We are organic (well, most of us are…) so it is better to use organic things to sustain ourselves. Sure, […]
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Master Brand
By “master brand” I mean umbrella brand. The brand that covers multiple product lines that hold individual brands of their own. Take Proctor&Gamble, for example – few recognize the P&G name, but almost everyone knows Charmin, and Pepto Bismol. Understanding the attributes of your master brand is just as important as understanding those of your […]
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Marketing Sustainability
When I went to graduate school, I was given the opportunity to specilize in one of three fields: logistics, marketing, or sustainability. Those of you who know me can probably guess my reaction to the logistics offering – I’m fairly good at it, but I don’t enjoy all of the technical aspects that go into planning […]
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Mindshare
A lot of people tell me how funny the word “mindshare” looks. It’s a made up word that, apparently, has a completely artificial definition. I like things that way. It appeals to my deep desire for ultimate control over things (insert ominous, evil cackle). Really now, “mindshare” is one of the most valuable concepts in […]
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YouTube
I’m a big fan of YouTube. I’ve always been impressed by the deluge of quality content put out by amateur video producers. As fun as it is, though, I never really thought about the business applications of YouTube until recently. We all loved show-and-tell in Kindergarten. We got to see what cool new toys everyone […]