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When the Old Spice brand announced that Fabio would be replacing Mustafa, the outcry was instantaneous. Was the Old Spice brand going to end up like The Gap and quickly backtrack when customers on social media screamed loudly enough? Not so fast. It was a set up from the beginning—a set up perfect for generating …
Old Spice Brand in a Win-Win Duel Between Mustafa and Fabio Read More »
I was right in the middle of writing a blog entry on how the well-documented trust problems of the Facebook brand have left a gaping strategic hole that could have allowed Google+ to topple the social media giant. But then Google+ messed up brand trust in a big way. They no longer can claim trustworthiness …
Will the News of the World fiasco hurt the News Corp brand? I doubt it, for the same reasons that brands like Martha Stewart and Michael Vick have bounced back. While the hacking has slowed down the business side of News Corp., most notably in its bid for BSkyB, and criminal charges for top execs …
News Corp. Brand Will Survive News of the World’s Demise Read More »
Advertising Age reports the launch today of Consumr, a new social media ratings site. It’s meant to be Yelp-meets-Foursquare to rate consumer packaged goods like Cheerios and Tide. This is a service without a need. Consumr is working with publisher Rodale to import Yelp-style product reviews for some 50,000 products you can find on grocery …
Marketing Daily has a great article on brand security. Once brands were built on great products with well-communicated features and benefits. That’s no longer enough: “now security, transparency and privacy are required ingredients for great brands.” During the Wikileaks crisis, brands like Mastercard, Visa and Paypal were threatened by “hacktivists.” We pointed out the massive …
If copying is the highest form of flattery, businesses in China truly love American brands and American advertising–but counterfeit brands from China are causing serious problems for the reputation of “Made in China,” with long term financial impact. Sometimes the counterfeit brands are funny, like this Chinese take on KFC: Sometimes counterfeit brands are so …
Back in January, 2011, when Michael Vick signed his first endorsement deal with a local NJ Nissan dealer, we predicted the Michael Vick brand would come back as strong as the player himself. Today, Nike announced they have re-signed Vick to a multi-year brand endorsement contract. To recap why the Michael Vick brand comback was …
Nike Brand Endorsement Deal Signals Michael Vick Brand Comeback Read More »
Your brand name is a good start in creating the verbal expression of your brand. To convey a richer story, you need more than that. Call it a tagline, strapline, or slogan, a short, catchy phrase may help take many brands to the next level. I’ve had many clients struggle trying to create the …
Brand Taglines Straplines Slogans and Catchphrases Read More »
ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) has voted to allow an unlimited number of new branded top level domain names. That means companies won’t be limited to just .com, but can go for.mcdonalds and .starbucks. On the face of it, the decision looks good for brands. But think again. The result could just …
Branded Top Level Domain Names: Help or Hindrance? Read More »
Last week, I had the pleasure of talking to Christopher Ibsen, Chief Marketing Officer of the Piggly Wiggly grocery chain. I was on the receiving end of his charming rebuttal of my comment about Pig Swig (Piggly Wiggly’s private label beer) being one of the growing ranks cheap beers fighting to be the lowest price …