Find your purpose. Define your promise. Create your personality.
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 … Continue reading How to create a brand personality that stands out
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? … Continue reading Symbolic Meaning of Numbers
Are you trying to define what keeps your organization together? Do you want to discover your organizational values? Would you like to write down "the way things get done around here?" Then, read on! I am frequently asked to help brands and organizations to discover their values. Not so rarely, my clients give me a piece … Continue reading How to discover your organizational values?
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 … Continue reading How to Create a Brand Architecture for Private Label Products
Previously, we analyzed the Toronto Raptors as an organization, focusing on the causes of its perpetual mediocrity. We mentioned that there is a systemic problem that’s been bothering the Raptors since its inception. Our first analysis focused on the Shifting the Burden archetype. Today, we are going to focus on another Systems Archetype: Escalation. A … Continue reading Systemic Solutions for Toronto Raptors – Part 2
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 … Continue reading The evolution of private label brands
I am an immigrant living in Canada. Years ago, I decided to move here, and I could not be happier with my decision. If you are like me, which means if you are someone who enjoys observing and analyzing his surroundings, then living abroad is great fun. As an outsider, sometimes you see things that … Continue reading The Canadian Archetype
This is the last installment of our three-article series: "Why 86% of place brands fail?" First, we talked about the mistakes consultants make. Then, we addressed some of the common misperceptions of places. Today, we will conclude by discussing the role of leadership, consistency, and honesty. Let’s start with leadership. Needless to say, places need … Continue reading Why do place brands fail? The human-centered mistakes. Part 3
Previously, we mentioned that 86% of place brands fail. Then, we first examined the mistakes that brand consultants commit. Today, we will talk about the other half of the equation: The errors that places make. This essay is the second installment of our three-article series. As always, let's start by stating the obvious: a … Continue reading Why do place brands fail? The mistakes of the places. Part 2
NEWS FLASH: Around the world, the place branding failure rate is 86%! Over the past ten years, k629, a place-branding consultancy, has developed a database of more than 5,000 place brands. From that data source, they have found that only 14% of place brands continue a year from launch, meaning the rate of place branding failures … Continue reading Place branding failures caused by consultants