The New Year brings significant challenges for many brands. Here are several brands that are worth keeping an eye on as 2013 unfolds. J.C. Penney is implementing a major turn-around plan under the leadership of CEO Ron Johnson. Results to date have been fairly grim; sales and profits have slumped and the stock with it. […]
This week Chobani opened one of the largest yogurt factories in the world. Agro Farma, Chobani’s parent company, celebrated the event with a marching band, Olympic athletes and Idaho’s political leaders. You can read more about it here: https://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/12/17/2384277/chobani-getting-ready-to-open.html The Chobani story remains one of the more remarkable tales in business today. Back in 2005, […]
Last week British grocery giant Tesco threw in the towel and announced that it would stop investing in its U.S. business. The company will either close or sell its nearly two hundred store “Fresh & Easy” chain. This isn’t surprising news; the U.S. business had apparently been struggling for years. Since its opening in 2007, Tesco has […]
Ford is in the news today for its efforts to reposition and rebuild its Lincoln Brand. One thing is clear: the company knows how to get attention. The story is everywhere. Ford staged a big media event at Lincoln Center in New York yesterday and CEO Alan Mulally is giving interviews to the big media […]
Frank Hurt, head of the second largest union at Hostess Brands, seems to have made a classic branding mistake, confusing brand awareness and brand value. Mr. Hurt’s union, as you know, recently went on strike and continued even when company management said that doing so would force it to liquidate the company. On Friday, company […]
The new James Bond film “Skyfall” brought in a remarkable $87.8 million in North America this weekend, an exceptionally strong start for the production. The strong results are largely due to two things: a good film and a terrific brand. You can learn three important things about branding from James Bond. First, a strong […]
Now that President Obama has secured another four years in the White House it is time to reflect on the election and what we can learn about marketing and branding from the past few months. There will be time for in-depth analysis and consideration, but here are three initial observations. 1. Marketing isn’t cheap. Total […]
This week Apple, one of the world’s strongest brands, announced some major staffing moves. Several key executives are leaving the company including the head of the mobile software, Scott Forstall. According to The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times and other publications, one of the reasons that Forstall is leaving is that he would not […]
This week I talked about launching new products in my marketing strategy class at Kellogg. The students and I spent a lot of time discussing new product strategy in familiar categories including technology, FMCG, pharmaceuticals and financial services. We didn’t spend a lot of time on the biggest new product battle taking place right now: […]
Today Felix Baumgartner jumped from a space capsule and plummeted 24 miles back to earth. The entire event, broadcast live on TV, was riveting. I watched it all unfold, riveted to the screen. The event was a triumph for Felix and his team. It was a triumph for Red Bull and an example of world-class brand building. […]
Today’s New York Times has a wonderful article about the patent wars currently raging in the technology industry. You can read the article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/08/technology/patent-wars-among-tech-giants-can-stifle-competition.html?hp Securing and enforcing patents is a classic defensive strategy; I spend a fair bit of time on it in my new book, Defending Your Brand. In theory it is all […]
This week I’m busy teaching in the Kellogg on Branding executive education program. Earlier today one of the participants asked me for my thoughts on the new Kraft Foods. This was a timely question; Kraft is in the news because the company just completed its split. The fast growing snacks business is now a distinct company […]