Confusion as a Defensive Strategy
Sometimes the best way to protect your brand is to confuse people. An Illinois Election A recent election in Illinois provides a good example of the confusion strategy. In 2016, Michael Madigan, a powerful state politician, faced a primary challenge from Jason Gonzales in a district that is 73% Hispanic. Madigan, concerned about the threat, arranged for […]
Financial Advice for Graduates – 2019
It is graduation week at Kellogg! Later today, students will walk across the stage, receive their degrees and head into the working world. For the past few years, I’ve posted some words of advice for the graduates, and I’m continuing the tradition. Today, I’m focusing on finances (I posted some similar financial advance in 2017). […]
Fair Oaks Deals With a Brand Crisis
Last week I wrote about UNC Health Care and the organization’s disappointing efforts to deal with a devastating article in the New York Times. This week, another brand, Fair Oaks Farm, is facing a brand crisis and making the right moves. Fair Oaks Farm As you drive from Chicago to Indianapolis, you pass a remarkable dairy operation: […]
UNC Health Care’s Brand Crisis
UNC Health Care is a facing a devastating brand crisis today and doing a terrible job of managing the situation. This is a fascinating, tragic story about healthcare, brands and trust. The New York Times Report Yesterday, the New York Times ran a long, detailed article describing issues with cardiac pediatric surgery at UNC Children’s […]
Sri Lanka’s Brand Disaster
This weekend, terrorist bombers struck churches and hotels in Sri Lanka, causing more than three hundred deaths and hundreds more injuries. The attacks, on Easter morning, shattered the peace in the tropical country. The bombings were devastating. The death toll is shocking, and the attack on religious sites on an important holiday makes it particularly […]
Time to Rethink Generic Drugs
One of the few things that most politicians in this country seem to agree on is that generic drugs are terrific and we should have more of them. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb released a statement this week: “A robust pathway for generic competition is critical to expanding drug access and promoting public health.” Senator Elizabeth […]
Learning from a Book Tour
Over the past few months I’ve been traveling around talking about my new book, How to Wash a Chicken – Mastering the Business Presentation. I’ve hit quite a few cities along the way: Los Angeles, Houston, Boston, Toronto, Chicago and others. This week I’ll be in Atlanta and New York. The events have been great […]
Kraft Heinz’s Predictable – and Hopeful – Decline
KraftHeinz last week stunned the financial world with its announcement that earnings fell and the company was cutting its dividend. The company also wrote-down the value of some of its brands. The news was a big surprise. The stock price fell more than 25% on Friday and is continuing to fall. Investment managers are now […]
Making Sense of Kia’s Curious Super Bowl Ad
Over the past two weeks I’ve been talking a lot about the Super Bowl ads. I hosted a webinar with my colleague Derek Rucker, did television interviews on NBC, ABC, and Fox, and talked with radio stations from San Diego to Memphis to Boston. As I’ve considered the ads, I’ve become more and more interested […]
Kellogg Super Bowl Ad Review 2019 Results
Super Bowl LIII won’t go down in history as a thrilling football game, but at least the advertisers came through with some excellent spots. The big theme this year was technology: the tech giants came out in force, with Amazon, Microsoft and Google all running spots. More notable, a series of Super Bowl ads featured […]
The Super Bowl Frenzy Begins
Welcome to the biggest week of the year for marketers in the United States. The Super Bowl is coming right up. Over the next several days, we will see some of the world’s largest and most talented companies roll out Super Bowl campaigns costing millions of dollars. It is worth paying attention; you can learn […]
The 2019 Kellogg Healthcare Case Competition: Fixing Pharma’s Branding Problem
The 16th annual Kellogg Biotech and Healthcare Case Competition is underway; the case went out last Friday, and on Saturday teams will compete for almost $10,000 in prize money. The Teams More than 50 groups applied for the event, and we selected twelve remarkable teams to compete in Evanston. Competitors are from eleven of the […]