Post by: Tim Calkins
Back to School: Advice for Students
It is back to school time! All around the world, students are organizing school supplies, looking forward to seeing old friends and becoming sleepless with the excitement of a new academic year. It is a universal experience shared by pupils of all ages. My daughter Anna started school yesterday, and my MBA students at Northwestern […]
The High Cost of Poor Service
Strong businesses are built on great customer service. When people are happy, they come back and provide endorsements. They may even be willing to pay more when they can anticipate superior treatment. Poor customer service, on the other hand, does enormous damage; it can destroy a business. Customers don’t return, forcing a company to constantly attract new customers, an expensive and […]
Branding Observations from a Trip to Europe
A few thoughts while flying back from a quick trip across the pond. I spent a few days with my family in three wonderful and historic cities: Prague, Paris and Florence. Macron and the Power of Hope Things feel upbeat in Paris. We had dinner with several different French families, and all expressed excitement and […]
Learning from Kermit’s Downfall
Last week Disney fired the voice of Kermit the Frog. Steve Whitmire had played the famous green frog for the past 27 years. As he said in an interview, “Playing Kermit is my life.” While details are a bit sketchy, it appears that Whitmire was a difficult employee. He refused to perform at certain events and […]
The Value of a Polished Annual Report
We are near the end of annual report season. If you own many individual stocks, by now you have received a flood of reports and proxy statements. Some people get excited about spring because of baseball and flowers; I look forward to reading about different companies. It is interesting to see how firms approach this annual […]
Branding Advice for Graduates
It is graduation time, an exciting and festive part of the year. Here at the Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, students are trying on robes and getting ready for the commencement ceremonies later this week. Recently I provided some financial advice for graduates. This article is to offer advice on building a strong personal brand. It is […]
Financial Advice for Graduates
In less than two weeks, more than 500 students will graduate from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. While I teach marketing strategy and branding, each year I provide some financial advice to the graduates. If you follow my blog this will be familiar. Some things change over the years, but the core concepts remain. Save […]
Beer and the Power of Branding
One of the benefits of being a professor at Kellogg is that you get to participate in student events. Recently the Brew n Q club invited me to join them for a beer tasting. I shared some thoughts on branding in the beer industry to kick things off, then we sampled the beer. The event […]
A Branding Disaster at United
Yesterday United Airlines forcibly removed a passenger from an overbooked flight and other passengers captured the incident on video. You can watch it here. A Huge Problem It is hard to overstate how bad this is for United. Let’s review what happened: – The airline boards too many people and won’t offer enough money to entice […]
Celebrating Kellogg’s New Global Hub
This week the Kellogg School of Management officially opened the doors of its new global hub. The building is spectacular, with stunning views of Lake Michigan, a soaring atrium and state of the art rooms. I held my first classes in the facility on Monday morning. You can read more about it here. I was […]
Milka and Oreo: A Debatable Combination
Some brand combinations make a lot of sense. The Intel brand has long been a good fit with Dell; Cruise giant Carnival is a reasonable partner with the Houston Texans; Lufthansa works with German luxury luggage brand Rimowa. When I managed Bulls-Eye BBQ Sauce, we partnered with Burger King on a BBQ Burger. All of these pairings […]
Revising Obamacare: Fixing the Wrong Problem
This week politicians and lobbyists are debating the future of Obamacare. Republican lawmakers have proposed a revision that makes few people happy; Democrats are unanimously against it. Many Republicans don’t like it either. You can read more about it here. A few days ago I had the opportunity to talk with Professor Craig Garthwaite, my […]