Defensive Strategy

Reality Comes to U.S. Colleges

22 Nov 2013  

One of the reasons I find it challenging to teach marketing strategy is that the theories don’t always seem to work in real life. I teach that companies need to build profits, for example, but Amazon contradicts the point. Snapchat doesn’t even have revenue to speak of and is apparently worth billions. I tell students that […]

Brands in the News

India: Six Surprising Things

12 Nov 2013  

I am just back from a three-day trip to India; I was in Kolkata to speak at the 2013 Brand Conclave. It was a terrific event. Here are a few things that surprised me: – Low income consumers in India generally buy the most expensive cement. I had an interesting conversation with a marketing executive from one […]

Brands in the News, Career Advice

Branding Lessons from Jay Z

28 Oct 2013  

This week rapper Jay Z is dealing with some difficult branding challenges. Later this month Barneys will start selling a new line of products designed by Jay Z. The collection includes a watch, raincoat, shirts and other expensive items. Last week, however, two people accused Barneys of racial profiling. The stories hit the front page and received a […]

Brands in the News, Defensive Strategy

A Bad Day for the Boy Scouts

21 Oct 2013  

The rise of digital media is only making it harder to build a great brand. The problem is that a single person can do something inappropriate that damages an enormous brand. This has always been an issue, of course, but digital technology has increased the risk because information can now travel faster and farther than ever before. This week […]

Brands in the News

United’s Good Start

11 Oct 2013  

It is hard to miss United’s new branding campaign. It is everywhere. Last night I watched a United spot on TV, this morning I saw about 15 United ads on the train and this afternoon I found all sorts of United digital advertising as I surfed the web.     You can learn more about the campaign […]

Brands in the News

Frontier Changes Strategy

1 Oct 2013  

Frontier Airlines, the Denver-based regional carrier, is about to become very cheap. This week Bill Franke secured an agreement to acquire the carrier. Franke is a seasoned airline leader. Most recently he revived Spirit Airlines, turning it into an ultralow-cost carrier with exceptionally low fares, relatively poor customer service and lots of fees. The strategy […]

Defensive Strategy

The Sochi Games: A Branding Disaster for the IOC

20 Sep 2013  

As I wrote several weeks back, the Winter Olympic Games is a branding problem for Russia. Now it is also becoming a branding problem for the International Olympic Committee. Russia, host of the upcoming Winter Olympic Games, earlier this year passed legislation banning discussion of gay rights. People found guilty of spreading “propaganda of non-traditional […]

Defensive Strategy

Yoplait and the Hidden World of Defensive Strategy

11 Sep 2013  

Defending Yoplait is a top priority at General Mills but you wouldn’t know it if you look at the company’s annual report. Yogurt is an important business at General Mills. The category is growing quickly, which is fairly unusual in the world of food. General Mills recently acquired global rights to Yoplait, one of the […]

Defensive Strategy

Nokia’s Branding Lesson

5 Sep 2013  

This week Nokia collapsed into the arms of Microsoft, selling its critical handset division to the software giant. Nokia’s decline was stunning. The stock traded at over $40 per share in 2007. It now trades at about $5. It once had a market share of over 30%. It now has less than 4%. This is […]

Brands in the News

Hope for J.C. Penney

27 Aug 2013  

Things are looking grim for J.C. Penney. The company’s stock began the year at a price of about $20 per share and recently traded around $13. Earlier this month J.C. Penney reported that it lost $586 million in its fiscal second quarter with sales falling a disconcerting 12%. And hedge fund manager Bill Ackman dumped his […]

Brands in the News

Geico, Airshows and Positioning

18 Aug 2013  

The Chicago Air and Water Show is going on today. The weather is perfect with clear skies and bright sunshine. The U.S. military is absent this year, since the government decided to cut funding for air shows as part of the sequester negotiations. Government leaders promised the world would end if the cuts took place. […]

Defensive Strategy

Russia’s Olympic Branding Problem

13 Aug 2013  

Russian officials are creating an Olympics branding disaster. With the Sochi Winter Olympics just months away, Russia is taking a very public stand against gay rights. The country recently passed legislation banning talk of gay rights and public demonstrations such as parades and gatherings. Today there are reports a senior Russian sports official is associating […]