brand

  • Outlets

    ·

    I still think “outlets” are a horrible idea for name brand retailers.  If your product is high-end, high-quality, and high-margin, the last thing you want to do is provide your customers with a reason to doubt your product.  Selling a computer for $1,500 in your high end store and for only $300 in an outlet

    Read More

  • Branding Habits

    ·

    I mentioned a few days ago that I’m reading a new marketing book about habits.  As I’ve moved through towards the end of the book, the author has started getting into branding.  His argues that branding is really just a way to identify habitual behavior (You pick the Apple computer not because of the brand

    Read More

  • Consistency

    ·

    How consistently do you manage your brand? Do you invest heavily in brand development when times are down in order to stay ahead of a tough market? Do you invest heavily when times are good because you have extra capital to spend? When exactly do and should you focus on brand building? The answer is:

    Read More

  • Branding a phenomenon

    ·

    Global warming … arguably, one of the most important challenges of our time.  Whether or not the concept is real, though, everyone knows what it is and most people are concerned about it.  Politicians stake their campaigns on fighting global warming, non-profits build reputations collecting money to stave of disaster.  We teach the idea in

    Read More

  • Tradition

    ·

    One of the many defining aspects of a brand is tradition. What kinds of things does your organization always do?  Many traditions seemingly have no reason, but they play a defining role in the customer experience.  When a traditional aspect of your brand’s customer interaction is missing, people notice. The interesting thing about traditions, though,

    Read More

  • How to execute a brand

    ·

    Probably not the kind of “how-to” article title you expected to see, is it?  Nevertheless, I want to give you a short lesson. Step 1: Build up a stellar brand and either push your competitors out of business or buy them up and leverage their core competencies. Step 2: Having eliminated all of your competitors

    Read More

  • Entitlement and Cynicism

    ·

    As a kid, I always would look up to people in higher grades and wait for the day when I, too, could be like them.  They’d get out of school earlier, or have the option of a late start, or … fill in the ellipses with whatever it was the older kids had a right

    Read More

  • Apple – Psystar

    ·

    Long-time readers will know that I talk a lot about Apple and it’s marketing efforts. Yesterday, another ‘incident’ with Apple came to my attention, and it adds support to everything I’ve said in the past. Back in May, I made the argument that the only difference between an Apple computer and a PC was smart

    Read More

  • Brand YOU

    ·

    When you’re looking for a job, the most important thing to understand is your personal brand.  What reputation does your name carry?  What is the first impression employers get from your resume?  What tone do you use throughout your cover letter? These are just elements of the “first impression” your brand makes with potential employers. 

    Read More

  • Commodities

    ·

    Yesterday, I was sitting in a coffee shop chatting when I ran into the most interesting issue.  The woman at the table next to us was on the phone, and her conversation became a little heated.  Since it was a personal call, she decided to excuse herself from the shop and finish the call outside. 

    Read More