A Branding Disaster at the Oscars
A disaster. That is perhaps the one word we can use to sum up the Academy Awards this year, an event most notable for Will Smith attacking Chris Rock. The Branding Impact The Oscars were a disaster for Will Smith. At his time of great success, the moment when he should be celebrating and enjoying congratulations, […]
The Transformation of Brand Russia
Brands are the associations linked to a name or symbol, and these connections are usually created over time. At first the Nike swoosh was just a swoosh, but today it has enormous meaning. Once created, brands are difficult to change. Brand repositioning, shifting the meaning of a name, is one of the great marketing challenges. All […]
Building a Strong Personal Brand
This week I’m giving a talk to Kellogg MBA students about building a strong personal brand during their summer internship. I’m looking forward to the session. Here are some of my main points. Personal Branding A lot of things need to come together to have a successful run at a company. You must have supportive […]
Super Bowl Ad Review 2022 Results
The 2022 Super Bowl was one of the most watched television programs ever in the United States with estimated audience of over 100 million viewers. The football was exciting, and the advertising was just as engaging. For the 18th year, a panel of Kellogg MBA students evaluated all the ads to identify which ones took […]
The Kellogg Super Bowl Ad Review Returns
The Super Bowl is just days away, and once again a panel of Kellogg students will be evaluating all the spots in the Kellogg Super Bowl Advertising Review. This is the 18th year of the event. I’ll be teaming up with my colleague Professor Derek Rucker again this year. The Start We started this event in […]
Learning from the 2022 Healthcare Case Competition
Last weekend we hosted the 19th annual Kellogg Biotech and Healthcare Case Competition, sponsored by Moderna. It was a terrific event. More than sixty teams applied and eleven gathered in Evanston for the final round. It was an in-person competition, complete with masks and vaccination cards and tests. It would have been easy to take […]
The Biggest Super Bowl Ever
We are two and a half weeks from the Super Bowl, so it is time to focus on the big event. The Super Bowl is without question the #1 advertising platform in the United States. One could make the case that it is the most important marketing event in the world. The game is important for […]
2022 Brands to Watch
Welcome to 2022! Every year I highlight a few brands to watch, brands that are heading into a particularly interesting year. This year I have five selections. The Olympics Rarely has there been a more interesting time for the Olympics. The big question: can the Olympics separate the event from the host country? The Olympic […]
Looking Back at my 2021 Brands to Watch
Each year I identify a set of brands to watch – brands facing interesting challenges and opportunities in the coming year. With just a few days left in the year, let’s look back at my 2021 selections and see what happened. COVID As I projected, one brand dominated all others in 2021: COVID. I feared […]
CEO vs Economist: Who’s Right?
One of the best things about teaching at Kellogg is that I get to hear and learn from remarkable business leaders. This week I had a particularly interesting morning. I first heard from a noted and gifted economist, who was commenting on trends in the global economy. Then I heard from the CEO of a […]
Grand Seiko’s Branding Challenge
The world of watches is a fascinating space for branding, and one of the most puzzling brands is the Grand Seiko. Watches and Branding When it comes to marketing something, there are two things to consider. First, there is the actual product or service. Second, there is the brand. When people see an offering, they […]