When it comes to marketing strategy, there are three critical steps. The first step is developing a powerful strategy. The third step is executing well. The second step, however, is sometimes overlooked: selling the plan. HP CEO Leo Apotheker recently demonstrated why selling the plan is so important. On August 18, HP announced that it […]
Yesterday Steve Jobs announced that he was stepping down as CEO of Apple. The news is unfortunate but not entirely a surprise given his ongoing health issues. The stock is holding up pretty well today, just down a tad. And if I had any stock in Apple, I would sell it. First, let me note that […]
Wal-Mart is an incredibly strong brand. It has very high awareness and an exceptionally clear positioning: Wal-Mart stands for low prices. The company is relentlessly focused on reducing costs and giving consumers the lowest prices. But Wal-Mart has a very big problem; many people no longer think Wal-Mart has the lowest prices. The Wall Street Journal is reporting today […]
Kraft Foods today announced plans to split the company, spinning off the North American grocery businesses. The company has about $48 billion in revenue today. After the transaction there will be two companies, a global snacks business with about $32 billion in revenue and a grocery business with $16 billion in revenue. The move makes enormous […]
Netflix’s new pricing plan is not going over particularly well with customers. Yesterday the company announced that it was separating its DVD and streaming services and increasing the cost of the combined offering from about $10 per month to about $16 per month. While Netflix pointed out that the price of a DVD-only plan is actually […]
Last year executives at PepsiCo made a rather bold move: they would spend less money promoting the Pepsi brand through advertising and invest instead in helping communities. To bring the idea to life, they created the Pepsi Refresh Project, inviting consumers to submit applications and vote for the most promising ideas. Pepsi then funded the […]
Two weeks ago I wrote a post about the Chicago Tribune’s new strategy. At the time, it appeared that the newspaper would be introducing a new premium edition of its daily paper. I thought this seemed like a rather complex strategy and one not likely to succeed. It turns out that the Chicago Tribune is […]
Today executives at General Mills announced they were pulling its latest ad for Yoplait. The ad features a slim woman debating eating a piece of cheesecake. She tries to rationalize the decision, eventually going for a yogurt after another woman makes that choice. You can see the ad here: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/15/yoplait-pulls-ad-that-pos_n_877618.html?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=061611&utm_medium=email&utm_content=NewsEntry&utm_term=Daily%20Brief#s292650&title=iMac A number of consumers complained […]
Today the Chicago Tribune announced that it would be introducing a premium edition of its home delivery newspaper. According to Crain’s, the Tribune will apparently now be available in two versions: the standard home delivery paper and a premium home delivery version with expanded content and features. The new version will be more expensive. You […]
Oprah Winfrey is one of the world’s most gifted brand builders; over the years she has demonstrated her ability to create and build a truly remarkable brand. But she now faces a rather big challenge: evolving her brand. Today Oprah signed off, ending her run as a daytime talk show host. In branding terms, she just […]
Today Nokia announced that it was dropping the Ovi brand, replacing it with Nokia. My opinion: the move makes sense but it doesn’t solve Nokia’s core branding challenge. Nokia created the Ovi brand for its software products and services. On the Ovi website you can find software for mapping, email, games and music. The concept […]
The marriage of Kate and William was a joyous event but also an incredible bit of brand building. It all looked effortless and natural, but of course it wasn’t. I am quite confident the entire affair was carefully constructed with an eye on the brand. The organizers deserve an enormous amount of credit; it is hard […]