Are we heading for driverless brands?
In 2000, an article in Wireless called into question whether machines were quite the panacea we hoped they were. It was possible, said the author, that this dependence on machines was not going to a good place.
All posts filed under: Strategy
The end of brand maintenance
It’s tempting when your brand is trending to believe that the hard work is done. In point of fact, it may just be beginning.
Do brands have a finite size?
Marketers talk about brands as vehicles for growth. But does that mean they should just keep growing – or is there a point when they reach critical mass?
Contrasting brand different with brand difference
Differentiation is acknowledged by most as the goal that every marketer should be seeking. But the enthusiasm for the pursuit masks a common misunderstanding – in the context of brand strategy, different and difference are not one and the same.
Brands are much easier said than done
As marketers we come close to taking brands for granted. But while many would say they now get the theory, the practice of brand-building is not as simple as they might like to believe.
Brand continuity in a world of fads
Every marketer is haunted by fear of missing out. As trends are identified and balloon, the decision to ignore or capitalise becomes more urgent. How do you decide what to pay attention to and what do you let pass you by?
Don’t just extend your brand, expand your success
Co-written with Pete Canalichio The entertainment sector is currently evolving the art of building out brand success in exciting ways. And there are lessons in how they are doing that for entrepreneurs and companies with a brand that people want more of.
Decisions for brands under new owners
If your brand is taken over by another company or your company takes over other brands, either as a stand-alone buy or as part of a broader merger and acquisition, what aspects of your current brand should stay as they are and what might you look to change?
The search for brand simplicity
The hardest thing you can do as a brand owner I believe is to insist on building a powerfully simple brand. It’s hard because single-mindedness is difficult in a world where the consideration set is huge and where others will quickly seek to engage you in a relentlessly upgraded features war.
Distinctualising your brand
Our gut instinct as marketers is to go with what is working, because everything in the corporate rewards system is geared towards that: lack of risk appetite; the quest for short term results; even performance incentives. The irony for brands of course is that the more you go with what works for others, the less likely those ideas are to work for you.