by admin | Sep 25, 2014 | Brand strategy
I was facilitating the two-day executive offsite of a mid-sized technology company. The goal of the meeting was to solve major issues and identify potential opportunities that would guide their efforts, as a company, for the next year. We were halfway through the first day and, while everything was going according to plan, I couldn’t shake this nagging feeling that something wasn’t right. I struggled to put my finger on it. I took in the scene. The CEO and all his direct reports were sitting around the board room table and everyone was engaged. People were being respectful, listening to each other without interrupting, asking clarifying questions, and moving efficiently from one presentation to the next. Everyone seemed satisfied; the presentations and conversations were useful and clear. Read more about it...
by admin | Sep 24, 2014 | Brand strategy
It’s a brave new world for advertising. In an attempt to vie for viewers scattered attention these days, ad agencies will do pretty much anything to cement brand awareness in the minds of consumers. Enter the age of “prankstervising.” If you can get someone to scream, chances are you’ll get them to remember, or so marketers believe. Here are a few of the best/worst prank ads. Read more about prankstervising...
by admin | Sep 23, 2014 | Brand strategy
The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University announced today key milestones in its Envision Kellogg plan for transformation, including a new brand strategy focused on “inspiring growth.” This theme encapsulates what Kellogg has accomplished over the past four years and provides a beacon for where the school is headed. “Growth has long been the imperative and continues to be the biggest challenge that every organization faces,” said Kellogg Dean Sally Blount. “But the rules have changed since 2000. Bigger is not always better. Sometimes growth means pulling back to attain greater clarity and focus. Our ‘inspiring growth’ brand strategy highlights the important dual meaning of the English word ‘growth’ – both in terms of increasing economic value and increasing self-knowledge and insight.” Read more about the Kellogg School of...
by admin | Sep 22, 2014 | Brand strategy
Leaked documents suggest that Microsoft will be ditching the Nokia brand and starting to brand mobile devices as Windows devices instead. The documents say that the Nokia brand will give way to the “Microsoft” brand and that “Windows Phone” will simply become “Windows.” Not only that, but the Windows logo will now be used on Microsoft’s mobile devices as the home button, essentially reducing fragmentation across Microsoft’s phone efforts. Read more about the end of the Nokia brand...
by admin | Sep 22, 2014 | Brand strategy
After high school in the 1970s, Mike Accavitti worked the first shift at Warren Truck Assembly, a Chrysler plant near Detroit. When a production cutback suspended the second shift, the young card-carrying member of the United Auto Workers union knew someone with more seniority from that shift would bump him off his. And they did. But taking advantage of a UAW educational program, the son of a dry cleaner started classes at Western Michigan University. He graduated as an industrial engineer. He later earned an MBA and law degree. Read more about it...
by admin | Sep 19, 2014 | Brand strategy
Before the new iPhone debuted, dozens of rumors circulated. One was that Apple, trying to broaden its global reach, would lower prices. Apple did not, holding its place as the premium smartphone brand. A week later, Google, Apple’s larger software foe, moved the other way. On Monday in India, Google launched Android One, a uniform operating system platform it plans to spread across developing countries to cement the next billion plus mobile internet users into its world. The move — a partnership with three Indian hardware companies — is also a direct hit against Microsoft and Samsung. Read more about how Google has pushed themselves as a brand marketer...
