Political Ad Review: Ford’s Built for America
It is a chaotic time in the presidential race, so in this ad review I will shift my focus from the candidates to Ford’s new patriotic spot, Built for America. You can watch it here. A Lot to Like There is a lot to like in this new spot and campaign. It is beautiful. It […]
Kicking Off the Fall Quarter: Four Teaching Observations
This week I kicked off my fall quarter – three courses and over two hundred students. I have two classes that are largely in-person, socially distanced and masked, and one class that is on Zoom. Here are four learning points from the first classes. In-Person Still Works I wondered if an in-person class would work […]
Ad Review: Biden Ups His Game
Joe Biden is out with a new spot, and if it is any indication, he might make this a competitive election after all. The Biden Struggle Those of you that have been following these political ad reviews know that I think Joe Biden has been struggling to find a strategic focus. He has run ads […]
Ad Review: Trump Embraces the Police
There is nothing like a crisp strategy. I love seeing great marketing, and effective campaigns are grounded in strategic thinking. Donald Trump has a tight strategy heading into the election, and he is executing on it in a new ad out this week. Like the last Trump spot I reviewed, this one works pretty well. […]
Ad Review: A Weak Effort from Joe Biden
Last week I reviewed one of Donald Trump’s recent ads. I thought it was a pretty effective attack on Joe Biden with a clear message and benefit. You can read my review here. This week, I am looking at a recent spot from Joe Biden. A COVID-19 Plan This new spot, called Real Plans, is […]
Trump’s Powerful Attack Ad
We are heading into election season! This means there will be a lot of political advertising to look at. Over the next several months I will be reviewing the spots. My focus will be effectiveness: will the ad actually work? Will it sway voters? I will keep my political views out of the analysis. I […]
How Biden Can Win: Learn from Reagan
I recently posted an article explaining how Trump might win in November. The key move would be to portray Joe Biden as sympathetic to rioters and looters and hostile to the police. A law and order campaign would likely resonate with voters and give Trump critical momentum. Joe Biden needs to take a different approach. […]
How COVID is Sparking Innovation in Kellogg’s Branding Program
COVID 19 is causing disruption for brands all over the world. It is also sparking innovation. Recently I’ve seen this happen with the executive education branding program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Disruption and Innovation Perhaps my favorite topic to teach is defensive strategy. When competitors attack, brands have to defend aggressively. Failing […]
Spring Teaching and Zoom: The Student Feedback
Last weekend I sat down and read through the student feedback from my spring quarter Biomedical Marketing courses. Reviewing student feedback is always a strange experience. There are the positive comments, and these are delightful. It is a pleasure to hear from students that they learned something and valued all the effort that went into […]
Financial Advice for Graduates – 2020
If you follow my blog, you know that each year about this time I post some financial advice. It is primarily for the new Kellogg MBAs about to graduate, but I think it is relevant for anyone starting out on a new career. The advice is based more on hard-learned lessons than advanced financial modeling. […]
Ashley’s Story and How Trump Might Win in November
The world is a complicated place, and people don’t like complexity. Marketers can succeed if they can simplify the decision process. This is one reason brands are so powerful: a strong brand simplifies choice. With this idea in mind, the fall presidential election is shaping up to be complicated for Joe Biden. Ashley’s Story One […]
Figuring Out the Fall Quarter
How do universities reopen in the fall? That is the urgent question at hand. This is a difficult issue. Most schools seem to be still figuring it out and not saying too much. Cristina Paxson, president of Brown, wrote a powerful editorial for the New York Times. Robert Robbins, president of University of Arizona this […]