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?
Category: Positioning
(From Lippincott) Provides the underlying platform for communications, reflecting the company’s/brand’s value proposition. Address:
definition — how the company defines its business or how the brand defines its competitive set; who we are and what we do;
differentiation — what makes the company/brand special; how we do it; and
deliverables — benefit delivered to its customers.
How to create a buyer persona?
“Our target audience is 18-48, female and male, C1, B and A.” You might have heard a similar nonsense statement before… The above sentence is a feeble -and rather soulless- attempt to describe a “target” “audience”. I am categorically against using such lingo as it’s a completely outdated way of thinking. I also believe that in this day…
How to Create a Brand Architecture for Private Label Products
Private label (PL) is a remarkably profitable line of business. Around the world, the retailers’ profit margin of PL is roughly 40%, which is twice as much (!) as the profit they make from other brands. Consequently, so far PL has been treated as a “cash cow.” Money was invested in PL the product, not PL…
How to Brand a Professional Association?
Back in the day, life was easier for professional associations: Whether you were a lawyer, or an accountant, or a doctor, you wanted to be a member of your professional association. Associations used to be the voice of their respective professions. They had unquestioned authority. Being a member was prestigious. Associations used to connect people through their…
Health for all. All for health.
(The below article was written for the city of Izmir to support its bid to host EXPO 2020. Although Izmir lost the bid to Dubai, it is my utmost hope that the ideas in this article will help Izmir in its noble pursuit of creating a healthier planet.) The World Health Organization defines the meaning…
The evolution of private label brands
Did you know that private label brands (PL) have been around for almost a century? Back in 1928, it was the Swiss, who introduced the concept. And since then PL has been spreading like wildflowers. To be fair PL is more than spreading: it is also “evolving.” Today, we are witnessing a quiet renaissance, which…
Branding luxury
At first, this article might sound like a book review, but actually, it is about a miserable experience of mine and a much-welcomed solution. Here’s how the story goes. Years ago, my then-employer wanted to publish a sector-specific “best brands” survey. Our plan was to choose a couple of sectors (or verticals), determine the top…
How to brand a destination?
Is place branding a money trap invented by evil advertising agencies? Is it a fool’s gold for destinations? Has any place ever benefited from so-called place branding? How about this scary stat?: 86% of place branding projects fail within a year of introduction. Is there a way to break this curse? Let’s figure out the…
What makes Apple special?
I’ve been writing about branding for years, yet only one of my articles talks about the greatest brand of our time: Apple… Here is why: As soon as we start talking about brands and branding, it becomes extremely difficult to find an article that doesn’t refer to Apple. Every conference I attend, analyzes Apple as a…
Archetypes or stereotypes?
Recently, I have learned that 86% of place branding projects fail. While the research does not explain why, I am willing to bet that one of the principal causes of failure is “thinking stereotypically instead of archetypically,” and go even farther to suggest the only way to successfully brand a destination. Case in point: Ottawa. The picture on the left was taken…
Know Canada?
Below, is the comment I left on an article on Brand New. My thoughts on Canada’s new campaign generated some interest, so I decided to share them with you. Enjoy it! “I like the simplicity of the design, as well as applications and the selection of images. As usual, BMD has done an excellent “design”…
Are you asking the right questions?
Have you ever left a meeting questioning why you were even summoned in the first place? What was the objective of the session – if it had any? What was the convener trying to achieve? I don’t know about you, but I have been to too many such meetings, in which we, collectively, wasted valuable time…
