STRONGBRANDS    Professor Tim Calkins, Kellogg School of Management

Groupon is gearing up for an IPO. My advice to the team planning the offering is quite simple: move quickly. Andrew Ross Sorkin has as an interesting article on Groupon in today’s New York Times. He notes that Groupon has a number of rather significant issues, including a fairly low cash balance and a working […]

Netflix today announced that it was splitting the company into two business units operating under two different brand names. The internet video streaming business will retain the Netflix name. The traditional DVD business will now be called Qwikster. You can read the email CEO Reed Hastings sent to current Netflix customers at the end of this post. This […]

Today the Chicago Tribune announced that it would be introducing a premium edition of its home delivery newspaper. According to Crain’s, the Tribune will apparently now be available in two versions: the standard home delivery paper and a premium home delivery version with expanded content and features. The new version will be more expensive. You […]

Today Nokia announced that it was dropping the Ovi brand, replacing it with Nokia. My opinion: the move makes sense but it doesn’t solve Nokia’s core branding challenge. Nokia created the Ovi brand for its software products and services. On the Ovi website you can find software for mapping, email, games and music. The concept […]

The New York Times has an interesting article on the front page this morning: “As Consumers Cut Spending, ‘Green’ Products Lose Allure.” The article notes that sales of a number of environmentally friendly products such as Clorox’s Green Works have fallen sharply. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/22/business/energy-environment/22green.html?_r=1&hp The article presents the results of a study done by Sanford C. […]

This week Seattle’s Best coffee has been in the news; the brand is rolling out a new simplified packaging system.  Seattle’s Best is adopting a new level system, featuring different coffee blends at different amounts of intensity. The move is all part of an effort to reinvigorate the Seattle’s Best brand and, perhaps more importantly, […]

Nokia continues to clean house. On Monday Nokia announced that the head of its smartphone division was leaving. This follows a change in CEOs. Rumors are that Nokia’s chairman, Jorma Ollila, will leave later this year. These moves seem very appropriate given Nokia’s stunning collapse. Several years ago, Nokia was one of the dominant global […]

Things are tough in Michigan.  Tax revenues are slumping.  The U.S. auto industry continues to struggle.  And the big news in Detroit is that the city is getting ready to knock down thousands of buildings, which is always a sign of progress. Despite all this, Michigan is continuing to invest in its compelling tourism campaign, […]

Spirit Airlines generated quite a bit of commotion this week by announcing that it would soon start charging passengers for carry-on luggage. Every piece of carry-on luggage stored overhead will now cost $45 each way. The price drops to $30 if purchased in advance. This is a controversial move but a smart one. Spirit is cheap. […]