Brands in the News

Angelina Jolie’s Smart Decision

16 May 2013  

This week Angelina Jolie announced that she had preventative mastectomy surgery to reduce her risk of breast cancer. People are debating her decision to have the surgery. Most seem be fully supporting the move. She clearly made a smart decision in announcing it as she did; Angelina Jolie dramatically enhanced her personal brand. By proactively […]

Brands in the News

$40,000

13 May 2013  

I have a cousin battling ovarian cancer. It has been a long and difficult fight but she has done better than anyone could have imagined. She is amazing. Last week I talked with her mother and learned that the family is rounding up funds to pay for a $40,000 oncology drug. My cousin lives in […]

Brands in the News

A Long Shot

29 Apr 2013  

Last week Michigan furniture retailer Art Van Furniture announced it was entering the Chicago market. The company will apparently invest about $40 million in real estate and marketing as it opens up five new stores and a new distribution center. Art Van is planning to capture 10% of the Chicago furniture market. I’ll paste the link to […]

Brands in the News

A Branding Lesson from France

17 Apr 2013  

This week France provided a very important branding lesson: full disclosure is not the best way to build a strong brand. After a rather embarrassing political scandal, France’s top political leaders released financial statements detailing all their assets. The reports are remarkable. You can read them here: https://www.declarations-patrimoine.gouvernement.fr/ Stephane Le Foll, Minister of Agriculture, for […]

Brands in the News

Three Things We Can Learn from Ron Johnson

9 Apr 2013  

Ron Johnson is out at JC Penney. His seventeen month stint at the retail giant will go down in history as one of the great leadership fiascos of the decade. We can learn a lot from Ron Johnson’s tenure at JC Penney. Here are three of the key lessons.   – It is easier to […]

Brands in the News

The Switzerland Puzzle

8 Apr 2013  

In late March I spent several days over in Zurich leading a program for a global pharmaceutical company. I found Switzerland to be a surprising place. The first surprise was that the prices are remarkably high in Switzerland. I had perhaps the most expensive cup of coffee of my life at Starbucks across from the central train station in […]

Brands in the News

Branding Kevin Ware

1 Apr 2013  

I suppose this isn’t the moment to be thinking about Kevin Ware’s personal brand. After his spectacular and horrifying injury at yesterday’s NCAA game, the Louisville basketball player should focus on his recovery. I’ve had a little experience with orthopedic injuries myself and can only imagine the road ahead. Physical therapy, it turns out, is […]

Defensive Strategy

The Advertising Challenge

20 Mar 2013  

On Monday I flew back to the U.S. from Germany. On the Lufthansa flight I watched a short video called “World’s Best Commercials, 2012.” It featured winners of the New York Festivals International Advertising Awards. Apparently 430 senior advertising executives cast 430,000 votes and selected the finest advertising spots in the world. My observation: heaven […]

Defensive Strategy

Uber, New Product Strategy and the Critical Moment

11 Mar 2013  

Launching a new product isn’t easy. You have to come up with an idea, validate the concept, assemble a business model, develop a supply chain, create or break into a channel of distribution, begin production and get customers to notice you. The most important thing, however, is creating a positive trial experience. Trial is the […]

Brands in the News

Betting on the New York Times

4 Mar 2013  

Struggling companies often do better when they focus on their core brand. There are good reasons to have many different brands. A broad portfolio lets you target different customers with unique brands. It also reduces risk; if one brand gets into trouble the other brands can help offset the declines. The problem is that managing a big brand […]

Defensive Strategy

Four Remarkable Quotes

25 Feb 2013  

There is a terrific article in The Wall Street Journal today about J.C. Penney. It is worth reading. Here are four noteworthy quotes from the story.   “We didn’t test at Apple.” Apparently this was CEO Ron Johnson’s response when asked if he would consider testing a radical pricing change at J.C. Penney before rolling […]

Defensive Strategy

Solving the OfficeMax / Office Depot Branding Problem

18 Feb 2013  

News outlets are reporting today that OfficeMax and Office Depot are apparently considering a merger. The move makes sense for many reasons. The combination will result in significant cost reductions. The new entity will have a stronger negotiating position with suppliers. And competition in the brutal office-products industry will decrease at least a bit. The […]