Managing Expectations and Google’s Bard
This week Google released a new A.I. chat bot called Bard. The move is part of an epic competitive battle between technology giants. There seems to be a general consensus that A.I. will be a major part of life going forward, and the big players are fighting for leadership in the space. My friend and […]
A Good Reminder from Goldman Sachs
Last week in my Marketing Strategy course we discussed new business strategy. There are different strategies for entering an established category. Perhaps the most difficult one is the attack the core. This approach rarely works but that doesn’t stop people from giving it a try, as Goldman Sachs reminded us last week. Attack the Core An attack […]
2023 Super Bowl Advertising
The cost of a Super Bowl spot keeps increasing—with prices this year in the neighborhood of $7million for 30-seconds! With ever-increasing stakes, Super Bowl advertisers are investing more time and attention on the ads. The 2023 Super Bowl featured upbeat, safe advertising. The number of celebrities seemed to hit a new high, with many advertisers […]
Are Super Bowl Ads Worth the Price?
The Kellogg Super Bowl Ad Review is just a few days away. Once again, a panel of Kellogg MBA students will evaluate all the spots to determine which ones worked and which ones didn’t. I do a host of talks and interviews before and after the Super Bowl. The question I get most often: Is […]
A Debatable Move from M&Ms
It is Super Bowl ad season, a time when marketers work to create excitement and interest heading into the big game. One of the brands that has received a lot of attention this year is M&Ms. The brand is apparently in the middle of an elaborate stunt designed to create interest and excitement. It is […]
It Is Time to Drop the Zoom Events
The Super Bowl is coming up, and the Kellogg Super Bowl Advertising Review along with it. For me, it is a particularly busy and fun time of year. There are campaigns to study and brands to analyze. I speak at a lot of seminars and programs before and after the Super Bowl, discussing advertising trends, the […]
2023 Brands to Watch
Happy New Year! Each year I pick a few brands to watch. These are brands that I think are heading into a particularly interesting year. Some have opportunities to break out, and some are likely to struggle. Here is my 2023 list. In a somewhat risky move, I’ll also include my stock market forecast at […]
Looking Back at my 2022 Brands to Watch
There are just a few days left in 2022 so it is time to look back at my 2022 brands to watch. Each year I identify a few brands that are worth following as they head into particularly interesting situations. I’ll publish my 2023 list next week. Here is review of my 2022 picks, with some […]
Learning from a German Protest March
Last week I taught Marketing Strategy in the Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA program in Koblenz. It was great fun; the students were bright, diverse, and engaged. One evening, after a day of teaching, I was wandering through the charming city of Koblenz and came across a protest march. There were banners, drums, horns and all the […]
Chaos at Twitter
Twitter is in complete disarray. Elon Musk, since purchasing the company for $44 billion, has made a series of moves ranging from strange to bizarre. Will all this work out for Twitter and Elon? Perhaps. Twitter had been a somewhat stagnant brand for many years. Today, it is anything but. The company is making big […]
A Stunning Spot from Ron DeSantis
The midterm elections are behind us, and the expected red wave fizzled out as voters punished the Republicans for limiting a woman’s right to choose. Conservatives hoping to get elected in many parts of the country need to figure out how to communicate a reasonable approach on that issue. The focus now shifts to the […]
The Joy of Inflation
Happy Friday! Inflation is dominating the news these days. The Federal Reserve is boosting interest rates and reducing liquidity in an effort to slow the increase. Inflation is quickly becoming a dominant theme in the upcoming election, with Democrats being accused of sparking the rise with too much government stimulus. There is no question that […]