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The article I wrote for Forbes earlier this summer, “The Democrats Have A Big Branding Problem, As Does Obama,” talked about how the Obama brand is “more defined by what he is not.” Bill Clinton’s speech last night showed that he, not Obama is a master at branding. In one simple line, he repositioned the …
The Lady Gaga brand is valuable. She is smart to be as aggressive protecting it as she has been building it. Estimates put the value of the brand at nearly $1 billion, including recording sales, concerts, clothing, fragrances, and more. She now rakes in over $90 million a year and hasn’t even begun to exploit …
Protecting the Lady Gaga Brand: Suing Excite World Over Billion Dollar Brand Name Read More »
In the latest chapter of the Apple vs Samsung Battle, the ruling that Samsung stole Apple’s technology could devastate the Samsung brand–but it may prove just as destructive to the Apple brand. Already media wags have been calling the Android phone leader “Samesung.” But Apple could be starting down the path brand ruin. Today Apple …
Samsung vs Apple: Apple’s “Win” Could Hurt Its Brand More than Samsung’s Read More »
Several months ago, we wrote about the unique way Google uses its logo on its website. Most brands consider their logos to be sacrosanct and unchangeable. Google changes and plays with its logo all the time with what it calls Google Doodles. BBC News covered the Google Doodle phenomenon and interviewed Merriam Associates about the …
BBC News Interview: Merriam Associates About Google Doodles Read More »
Nokia’s brand problem is outlined in an insightful article today on Bloomberg. The Nokia brand has been so thoroughly buried by competitors that stores no longer mention it, much less carry the product. Smart phone buyers consider an Android phone vs. an iPhone. Nokia missed the smart phone revolution and compounded the mistake by playing …
The latest AIG rebranding is actually re-rebanding: Returning to its old name, finally correcting a an ill-considered and ineffective name change. AIG Rebranding 2009 “AIG is trying to outrun its old reputation by adopting a new brand. Will it work? Most people aren’t buying it. The entity, formerly known as AIG, is firmly attached to …
At a fund raiser yesterday, President Obama disparaged his opposition by saying: ” “you can pretty much put their campaign on, on a tweet and have some characters to spare.” Obama’s comment shows how far the brilliant marketer of 2008 has fallen off his game. Obama has forgotten what it takes to make a winning …
I gave a webinar on naming brands for the IABC on May 22nd. The presentation is available for replay (and you can also request a download the presentation deck) here:
exampleI posted this article about brand change and Google Doodles last week and just had to update it with today’s (5/23/2012) Moog doodle: Respect for the logo has been a key tenet of brand management for decades. Brands spend millions creating graphic standards and trademark usage guidelines (here’s an example), with careful processes and procedures …
Google: Constant Brand Change Is the Brand Constant Read More »
Transportation Secretary Ray La Hood sent Toyota stock into a nosedive two years ago when he told a congressional House Appropriations subcommittee, “My advice is, if anybody owns one of these vehicles, stop driving it.” Jay Leno quipped, “Things are not looking good for Toyota. In fact, today, two crash test dummies refused to get …