Burger King’s Marketing Coup
It has been a long time since I put the phrases “Burger King” and “marketing excellence” together in the same sentence. For many years, Burger King has been struggling to come up with something notable to say. The brand’s marketing campaigns in recent years included an odd subservient chicken and a creepy King character. The […]
Making Sense of Airbnb’s New Campaign
I am just back from a trip to France with my family. It was a lovely expedition. One highlight was trying Airbnb for the first time; I used the website to book two different stays. So how did it go? Perfect. The first property was an old farm-house in the French countryside. Our hosts were a charming […]
How Porsche Builds Its Brand
Several weeks ago, I received an invitation in my mailbox. It arrived in a black, sleek envelope with the Porsche logo on it. I was intrigued. Inside was an invitation to spend a few hours driving various Porsche models and learning about the brand, and I jumped at the opportunity. The Porsche World Roadshow took […]
A Marketer Looks at Capitalism
Phil Kotler is well-known as one of the world’s top marketing thinkers. He did more than anyone to establish Kellogg’s reputation as a great marketing school. He is a prolific author on marketing topics. I suspect most people don’t know that Kotler trained as an economist, studying at the University of Chicago and MIT. In his […]
Why Greece Said No
Yesterday, Greek citizens voted to reject the proposed EU bailout. Many people are feeling astonished by the decision. How could they do such a thing? This is simply inconceivable! From a marketing perspective, however, the outcome isn’t a surprise. Greek voters had a choice: they could vote to accept the offer on the table or […]
Financial Advice for Graduates
This week, almost one thousand people will graduate from Kellogg with their MBA degrees. They will then embark on careers that will span decades. Last year I posted some financial advice for the graduates, and some people found that useful, so this year I’m sticking with the theme. Those who read last year’s post will […]
Houlihan’s Recovers from a Brand Stumble
Every brand stumbles on occasion: an employee makes an inappropriate comment, service falls short of expectations, or a fly lands in the soup. These things happen. In today’s connected world, a small stumble can quickly become a big problem. People often share unpleasant incidents on social media, and if the story resonates, it can create lasting and significant damage. This means that brands have to move quickly to deal with […]
Effective Advertising: 3 Keys to Success
Advertising isn’t that complicated. If a spot is going to have an impact on sales, it has to do three things. First, the spot has to stand out. It has to break through the clutter. People see thousands of ads everyday, and the number is only increasing, making it all too easy for individual spots to […]
Three Reasons to Fire a Customer
Shipping and logistics giant UPS reported its quarterly earnings last week. Results were good and the stock jumped. One reason UPS did well is that it dropped several large customers. On the surface this makes no sense at all. Companies generally want to keep customers, not lose them. The way to grow a business is to […]
U.S. Airlines Fight Back
The big three U.S. carriers are fighting back. The aviation giants are appealing to the U.S. government, claiming that Emirates, Qatar and Etihad are competing unfairly. They hope the government will limit the new carriers’ access to the U.S. market. The strategy makes perfect sense. Delta, United and American have to defend. The Mid-East carriers […]
Learning from Kraft: Results Matter
It has been a rough few months for Kraft Foods. In late December CEO Tony Vernon stepped down. This was a blow for the organization because many people at Kraft liked his approach to leadership. He valued brands and people and was making some smart moves. Then in March, 3G Capital announced plans to acquire […]
March Madness Advertising
Last night Duke and Wisconsin battled it out for the NCAA championship. It was a terrific game. The advertising wasn’t as impressive. Some advertisers ran the same spot over and over. Other brands got so caught up in the basketball that they lost track of their basic task: selling some product. Here is my assessment […]