Have you ever heard of the term “benefit laddering?” It is a traditional technique used by most marketers and researchers. Simply put, you start by listing the key attributes of a product. Then you progress to the product benefits. Next, the direct consumer benefits, and finally the key emotional benefits. Based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of…
Category: Brand & Communication Strategy
(From Lippincott) Long-term plan for the brand including a determination of key audiences and an understanding of what those audiences need to know about the brand and experience.
What went wrong with brand Guadalajara? Part 4/4
This is the fourth instalment of a series of “systematic problems of placebranding projects” illustrating the roadblock faced by the brand Guadalajara. These essays are intended to help practitioners -both city officials and consultants- to launch more successful and resistant brands. (Read the earlier instalments here and here, and here.) Problem #6: Overlooking the change management side of the…
What went wrong with brand Guadalajara? Part 3/4
This is the third instalment of a series of “systematic problems of placebranding projects” illustrating the roadblock faced by the brand Guadalajara. These essays are intended to help practitioners -both city officials and consultants- to launch more successful and resistant brands. (Read the earlier instalment here and here, and the subsequent one here.) By using the weak start of…
What went wrong with brand Guadalajara? Part 2/4
This is the second instalment of a series of “systematic problems of placebranding projects” illustrating the roadblock faced by the brand Guadalajara. These essays are intended to help practitioners -both city officials and consultants- to launch more successful and resistant brands. (Read the earlier instalment here and the subsequent ones here and here.) Let’s recap what we have discussed so far….
The Difference between “Complicated” and “Complex” Matters
Originally posted on Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:
What’s the difference between sending a rocket to the moon and getting children to succeed in school? What’s the difference between a surgeon extracting a brain tumor and judge and jury deciding guilt or innocent for a person accused of murder? Answers: sending a…
What went wrong with brand Guadalajara? Part 1/4
This is the first instalment of a series of “systematic problems of placebranding projects” illustrating the roadblock faced by the brand Guadalajara. These essays are intended to help practitioners -both city officials and consultants- to launch more successful and resistant brands. (Read the subsequent ones here, here and here.) Here we go again. Another city branding project is dealing with a…
Keys to successful place branding – Part 1
It has become a familiar narrative: A city, region or a country launches its new visual identity, only to learn that its habitants hate the logo’s guts. From Toronto to South Australia, and from Caribbeans to Latin America nobody seems to be happy with the brand that is supposed to represent them. Sadly, that has grown to be a…
When to celebrate your brand’s history?
Let’s say you are managing a brand that is about to celebrate its 25th-year anniversary. An interesting question pops up: Should you promote your company’s length of life? Should you say something like, “Since 1990”? When does it make sense to celebrate your brand’s history? What’s the right thing to do?
What can other countries learn from the top country brands? An interview with Jose Filipe Torres
This is the last installment of our interview with Jose Filipe Torres, the founder of Bloom Consulting. This week, we talked about Bloom Consulting’s Country Brand Rankings. What makes it special? How it works? And why you should care… Click to read the first and the second part of the interview.
Does every country need a global brand? (continued)
We are continuing our conversation with Jose Filipe Torres, one of the vanguards of country branding. We talked about success, failure, limits and dreams. This is the second installment of a three-article interview series with Jose Filipe Torres. Click here to read the first part of the interview.
What do countries really mean when they say “We need a brand”?
Meet Jose Filipe Torres, one of the best-known country branding practitioners in the world. We had an opportunity to pick his brain on the most pressing issues related to place branding. We asked, he answered. Candidly… This is the first installment of a three-article interview series with Jose Filipe Torres. Without further ado let’s turn…
Symbolic Meaning of Numbers
Are you considering to use numbers as a part of your brand? Then, you may want to learn about the symbolic meaning of numbers! For instance, why do you think 7 is the world’s most popular number? Or does 5 have a gender? Which of the following is better to convey a sense of uniqueness?…
