by admin | Oct 6, 2014 | Uncategorized
The biggest challenge to innovation is not how to generate new ideas and opportunities. It’s how to make innovation a deeply embedded capability in the organization. What usually happens is that companies focus most of their efforts on the front end of innovation – so they launch some kind of ideation initiative with a lot of hoopla and they get a whole bunch of ideas. But then they hit a wall because there is no back end – there is no organizational system for effectively screening ideas, aligning them with the business strategy, allocating seed funding and management resources, and guiding a mixed portfolio of opportunities through the pipeline toward commercialization. So, invariably, what we find is that the whole innovation effort eventually withers. And all those enthusiastic innovators inside and outside the company become cynical and discouraged as they watch their ideas go nowhere. Read more about it...
by admin | Sep 25, 2014 | Uncategorized
After a fall from Procter & Gamble Co.’s pantheon of billion-dollar brands and a media benching, Braun will re-emerge as a prime-time player this fall with a return to TV and a high-profile NFL partnership alongside big brother Gillette. The “FaceGreatness” campaign featuring Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson comes as P&G prepares to shed as many as 100 brands globally, with some analysts believing Braun could or should be one of them. So could this be the last chance for the brand with P&G, or a dressing up for sale? P&G executives working on Braun declined to comment on any divestiture plans. But Brian Messerschmitt, senior brand manager for Braun, said the brand had the strongest sales growth in its history in North America for the fiscal year completed June 30. And he said grooming remains strategically important to P&G. Read more about it...
by admin | Aug 5, 2014 | Uncategorized
Adidas AG (ADDYY), the German sportswear brand, is revamping its brand strategy. The company will make separate brand teams for each of its sporting categories to achieve greater focus on specific sports, which is expected to stimulate growth in its declining segments like golf. This is a huge transition from its previous marketing strategy that allocated the responsibility of managing all sporting categories to a single global marketing team. The new framework will have a general manager allocated to each sport, allowing each manager to explore new avenues of sports marketing in their individual segments. The strategic changes will be fueled by increasing the marketing expenditure from 12% to 13% in the coming months. Read more about Adidas and their new global brand strategy...
by admin | Jul 28, 2014 | Uncategorized
As a business owner, you’ve probably put a lot of time and thought into your brand. You know the purpose of your business and what you hope to accomplish. You understand the mission and values that you’ve put in place going forward, and you’re sure of how you’d like to reach out to your target audience. For many business owners, that’s where the branding efforts stop. It happens for a good reason: daily operations take over and initiatives seen as “more important” become the priorities. However, as any successful business owner will tell you, success is dependent upon how well a brand is built. Your brand is what represents your company to your target market; it helps determine your position in your marketplace or industry. It’s who you are. Not sure where to start or how to fit in branding initiatives with the other responsibilities you’re tasked with on a daily basis? Follow these five steps for building your brand in your spare time. Read more about it...
by admin | Jul 24, 2014 | Uncategorized
By now, we all know the importance of having an active social media presence. No matter your industry, the chances of your customers being online are very high; that means you need to be online, too. As PR professionals, we spend a lot of time talking with companies about how to implement and maintain strong social media programs. Unfortunately, one of the biggest challenges we hear (and let’s face it, know first-hand) is lack of time. Most companies understand the need for a steady stream of social content, but simply don’t have the bandwidth to do it. So, what’s a busy company to do? Instead of expecting ownership to fall on the shoulders of a few employees, companies should empower all employees to be advocates on social media. Read more about it...
by admin | Jul 22, 2014 | Uncategorized
Relationship stress is a symptom, like neck pain or back pain, of a communication problem. For happy and healthy relationships, we know communication is key. That’s why if you’re experiencing stress in a relationship, whether it’s at work or at home, the problem could be the way you express yourself in your communication with others. Take a quick reading on how you communicate with others. Ask yourself a few questions and be honest with your responses. Do you get what you want and, more importantly, make the people who give it to you happy in the process? Want to have an easier time communicating with family, friends, clients or co-workers? You may need to check your internal stress first. Read more about how you can use communication as a key to health...
