BRAND STRATEGY & CHANGE MANAGEMENT
When Stephen Hawking was asked, how he has sold more books on physics than Madonna has on sex, he famously said, “Someone told me that each equation I included in the book would halve the sales!” So, he avoided using equations in his writing and became a bestseller. In the field of communications, there is …
In the field of communications, there is a rule: If you want to turn off your audience, then use Latin words! To tell you how to create a brand personality, I will have to break that rule. Bear with me. It will be worth it. I promise. I see things with faces We, humans, have …
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On our last essay, we analyzed the three youthful archetypal meanings of ice cream, which were the Inner Child, the Companion, and the Jester. Let’s pick up from where we left off and interpret three more mature archetypal meanings of ice cream. The Seductress Etymologically speaking, seduction means “to lead away, lead astray” in Latin. Back …
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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 …
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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 …
Continue reading "What went wrong with brand Guadalajara? Part 4/4"
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 …
Continue reading "What went wrong with brand Guadalajara? Part 3/4"
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. …
Continue reading "What went wrong with brand Guadalajara? Part 2/4"
I stumbled upon this concise and precise essay on the topic of "complicated vs. complex." Particularly "the potty training" example demonstrates so well what happens when the two clashes. I could not have written it better. So I decided to reblog it. Enjoy,
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 …
Continue reading "What went wrong with brand Guadalajara? Part 1/4"
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 …
Continue reading "Keys to successful place branding – Part 1"