The Top Super Bowl Advertisers #7-9
For the past 20 years, students at the Kellogg School of Management have been evaluating all the Super Bowl Ads in the Kellogg Super Bowl Advertising Review. In honor of the 20th year, I’m counting down the top advertisers. These are the brands that received the most top grades from the panel. I’ll post a […]
2024 Brands to Watch
Each year I highlight some brands to watch. These are brands facing unique situations as the year begins. You can see my 2023 list here, along with a look back at what actually happened here. Below are my 2024 picks. Harvard It has been a rough stretch for Harvard. The university has been attacked on […]
Looking Back at my 2023 Brands to Watch
Recently I’ve started off the new year by highlighting some Brands to Watch. These aren’t necessarily the best or worst brands, they are simply brands that I project will be heading into an interesting stretch. As we begin 2024, it is time to look back at my 2023 Brands to Watch and see how I […]
A Huge Branding Move by McDonalds
Last week McDonalds opened the first CosMc’s, a new restaurant concept built around drinks and snacks, in Bolingbrook, Illinois. CosMc’s serves items including coffees, lemonades, cookies, pretzel bites and ice cream. This is a huge move from McDonalds, and it makes a lot of strategic sense. You can learn a lot about brand portfolio strategy […]
Making Sense of Girl Math
If you’ve spent much time on Tik Tok this fall, you’ve likely seen videos about Girl Math, a set of rather debatable financial principles. Here is an example. Now it is easy to dismiss Girl Math as just bad financial thinking, but it isn’t that simple. Some of the insights behind Girl Math are valuable […]
Why Teslas Sell and EVs Don’t
There is a strange situation developing in the world of electric vehicles. As companies ramp up production and the government showers the market with incentives, demand isn’t expanding as fast as expected. This all seems strange. Tesla managed to sell a lot of cars, at high prices. As EV prices decline, demand should expand dramatically. […]
Ironman’s Branding Challenges
I am back from a trip to Hawaii; I flew back last Sunday, just in time for my Monday class. That isn’t a best practice but it all worked out ok. I was in Hawaii to see my daughter Claire compete in the Ironman World Championships in Kona. She did great, surviving (the most important thing) […]
Getting Rid of a Tough Business
I’ve had an old Tommy Hilfiger shirt hanging in my closet for about 10 years. I could never figure out when to wear the shirt; it had a bold pattern and didn’t go with anything. Then it started to get dusty, which is always a bad sign. Last weekend I gave up and donated it […]
Presentation Learnings from a Dave Ramsey Event
I am a huge fan of great presentations. Unfortunately, in the business world many (most?) presentations are weak; they are plodding, cluttered and dull. People like to blame PowerPoint, but the issue isn’t the software platform. I think the issue is that people haven’t studied and just don’t know how to present well. My book […]
Jimmy Buffett: Entertainer and Brand Builder
A couple years back I was walking around my neighborhood in Chicago and noticed a group of people wearing Hawaiian shirts and carrying stuffed parrots. It was an unusual sight. A block further along, I came across a similar group. And then another group. It was a bizarre situation; in my part of Chicago, you […]
Rolex’s Big Move and Controlling the Brand Experience
Rolex is in the news today; the brand is buying Bucherer, one of the most important watch retailers in the world. This is a dramatic move which will have implications for Rolex and the broader watch industry. It also reflects an important trend in the world of branding. Rolex Across the globe, Rolex is one […]
Back to the Office
This week has brought three interesting stories, all with a common theme. The takeaway: it is time to get back to the office. The Stories The first big story is that Taylor Swift is wrapping up the first leg of her Eras Tour. It has been a stunning entertainment spectacle. Her performances have brought joy, […]