Defensive Strategy

Tide Dry Cleaners?

31 Mar 2010  

P&G is one of the world’s top marketing companies. So P&G’s focus on expanding into services such as Tide Dry Cleaners and Mr. Clean Car Washes is worth a bit of discussion. Is this the future for consumer brands? You can see the logic behind the move. Perhaps most importantly, it opens an enormous growth […]

Defensive Strategy

Hong Kong’s Branding Paradox

26 Mar 2010  

The people in Hong Kong have an incredible luxury goods. Every high-end brand, it seems, has an enormous store: Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Rolex, the list goes on and on. There is no question luxury brands sell exceptionally well. At the same time, Hong Kong is full of people selling copied products. In one twenty-minute period, […]

Defensive Strategy

A Booming Economy

22 Mar 2010  

I’ve been in Hong Kong the past few days and the local economy appears to be booming. The South China Morning Post has reported the following pieces of news since I’ve been here: Minimum wages are going up by 18% Benefits are going up by almost 6% Unemployment is below 5% There is a growing […]

Brands in the News

BMW’s Joy

18 Mar 2010  

Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal featured a rather striking insert from BMW. The message: BMW creates joy. The advertisement reads: We do not make cars. We are the creators of emotion. We are the keepers of thrill. We are the guardians of one three-letter word. Joy. This is quite a change from BMW’s long time focus on […]

Brands in the News

Healthcare Reform: Where are the Savings?

11 Mar 2010  

I am hoping that someone reading this post can help me answer a basic question: how will the proposed healthcare reform reduce costs? It is very hard to disagree with President Barack Obama when he says that we should reduce inefficient and unnecessary healthcare spending. I am entirely in agreement. Who can be against that idea? […]

Brands in the News

Integrity and Healthcare Reform

5 Mar 2010  

I am astonished by the healthcare reform debate. Let me focus on just one issue. Apparently in the proposed legislation, ten years of incremental tax revenue is used to pay for six years of benefits. In other words, taxes go up immediately and the benefits begin in a few years. And by using ten years of […]

Defensive Strategy

SeaWorld Bounces Back

1 Mar 2010  

On February 24 a whale at SeaWorld killed trainer Dawn Brancheau in front of astonished spectators. Three days later, on February 27, SeaWorld resumed shows. SeaWorld president Jim Atchison stated that the animal, a killer whale named Tilikum, would remain part of the show. SeaWorld is dodging a potential branding disaster. It is hard to imagine anything more […]