Cuba is a fascinating country. With its weather, culture and history it might be “the” country to visit. Also, Cuba is special because of its politics: unlike China, Cuba is a communist country that does not embrace capitalism. In that sense, being in Cuba is a unique and a priceless experience that you can’t have …
Postmodern Leadership
A beloved professor of mine from McGill, Karl Moore, is about to publish his new book: Post Modern Management. Here is an 18-minute video of him talking about the content of his book. We previously talked about some of his points but it is always entertaining to see Prof. Moore in action. Why don't you …
Branding lessons from a Chinese guru
There is a tea shop in Montreal’s Chinatown. Its name is Speacialtea. We found that shop totally by chance. Since then we have been regulars. There are a couple of things that make that shop special and it is very easy for your business to replicate those. First, for a tea lover that shop is …
Branded customer experience
In 1999, B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore wrote a book named, “The Experience Economy.” In a nutshell, the book argued that offering, solely, products or services is no longer enough for a brand to demand a premium. Authors claimed that, instead, brands should create memorable experiences for their customers. They went a step further …
When do you need to hire a branding expert?
When you create a new company or product: A branding expert can offer you many services including: conducting research, clarifying strategy, naming, tagline development, designing identity, business card and website design and creating customer touchpoints. When you decide to change the name of your brand: Some names don’t age well. Some names don’t have passports. …
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Criteria of a good brand name – 3
This is the last installment of the naming trilogy. Previously we discussed naming criteria such as meaning and strategic fit. Today, we will focus on legal availability. Unless you own and trademark your brand name, it is not yours. I advice my clients not to get caught too much on domain availability. There are creative ways to get …
Indisputable rules of branding
We discussed that a brand is a promise . We also talked about the importance of a brand’s purpose. Defining your promise and purpose are the first steps of branding. Next, you have to deliver your promise and create a pleasant experience for your customers. A brand for a company is like reputation for a …
How to conduct a 360 stakeholder audit? -3
Previously, we talked about how to identify your stakeholders and how to prioritize them. Today, I will give you some insights on the common characteristics of your key stakeholders. As you may recall, we use two criteria in assessing the importance of a stakeholder: its power and its level of interest. Let’s analyze some of your …
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The visual identity of the 2010 FIBA World Championship
The World Cup South Africa is not the only world tournament taking place this year. In August, Turkey will host the 2010 FIBA World Championship. Best basketball teams in the world will fight to claim the top spot. Considering the huge popularity of basketball in the States, in China and some parts of the Europe …
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When to hire a celebrity for endorsement?
Celebrity endorsement is one of the most popular brand building tools. However, more often than not, it does not deliver the desired results. Why some endorsements work and some don’t? Today, I will try to solve this intriguing problem. Here is what I recommend: To begin with, celebrity endorsement is more suitable for established, big …
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