Handling Your Business

"I mention 'handling' because it seems like the perfect word to describe one of the pointless terrors of the modern marketing world; the tendency to endlessly debate and delineate the characteristics and minutiae of the brand, while completely failing to connect with any genuine business problem."

Brand Handling

Jack White + Coke + Fun w/Animation = Insanity

The Appeal — and Risks — of Authenticity

"In an increasingly shiny, fabricated world of spun messages and concocted experiences--where nearly everything we encounter is created for consumption--elevating a brand above the fray requires an uncommon mix of creativity and discipline. "

Who Do You Love?

Gangsta

Kah Ra Shin

Entirely Random. And Amusing.

Snickers - Don't Stop

Your Moment of Zen

Hold 'Em While You Got 'Em

"ABC is considering changes in the decades-old way it interrupts programs for commercial breaks. The goal is to encourage viewers to stick around rather than reaching for the remote or racing to the refrigerator."

And Now, a Commercial Break That Doesn’t Seem Like One

That'll be $35 per Ounce, Thank You

"Coca-Cola is developing a drink in conjunction with L'Oréal, the cosmetics giant, that could sit on boutique department store shelves alongside beauty products rather than in fridges and drinks machines."

Coke plans 'beauty tea'

Ummmmmm ... SATAN!

"Procter & Gamble Co. has won a jury award of $19.25 million in a civil lawsuit filed against four former Amway distributors accused of spreading false rumors linking the company to Satanism to advance their own business."

P&G gets $19.25M in Satanism rumor suit

Behaviorial Research + Design

Jan Chipchase of the Nokia Research Center talks about how behavioral research feeds into the phone maker's design strategies

Nokia's Design Research for Everyone

TREND: Crowd Clout

April 2007 Trend Briefing

Hello.

History Lesson

A pretty cool site that details the history behind many of the world's best-known brandmarks.

LogoDesignHistory

Stengel: Market share is trust materialized

"Procter & Gamble's Jim Stengel described a major cultural shift that he believes is turning the world's largest marketer into a starter of conversations and a solver of consumers' problems rather than a one-way communicator. "

Stengel Exhorts 4A's: 'It's Not About Telling and Selling'

Diluting the Cafe Experience?

"Rapid expansion, the chairman, Howard Schultz, said, has led to a 'commoditization of our brand' that makes the company more vulnerable to competitors. Specifically, he cited several decisions that, he said, may have been right at the time, but which, in retrospect, have led to a 'dilution' of the coffeehouse experience that he wanted to foster."

Starbucks Chairman Fears Tradition Is Fading

Hangin' with Mini Cooper

TREND: Trysumers

"The concept of consumers becoming more daring in their consumption patterns just because they can, should provide you with ample ammunition to dream up profitable, ‘off the beaten path’ goods, services and experiences this year."

February 2007 Trend Briefing

And No Nasty Northeast Winters

"The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is spearheading a movement of major universities to put online lecture notes, coursework and required readings for MBA courses and other classes on the internet—for no charge! "

An Ivy League Marketing Education for Free?

High Standards Are Kind of a Pain Anyway

"Bank of America has long believed that a coherent brand identity could be an important advantage in consumer banking, just as it is with other consumer products. It treats its vast network of branches as bright red billboards, breaking traditional advertising rules about not associating that color with money. The bank has created its own flag symbol and developed its own theme song. And it spends heavily on all forms of marketing: about $600 million annually across all media over the last few years."

Bank of America Tagline Has Run Its Course