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The “King” has a new country. Burger King becoming a Canadian brand has some people up in arms, screeching about lack of patriotism and even calling for a boycott now that it is a foreign brand. (Oddly, the same people complaining about Burger King benefiting from “tax inversion” and questioning its patriotism are totally fine …
Burger King Brand Damage–Does Being a Foreign Brand Hurt? Read More »
Google Doodles have become part of the Google brand. BBC News Magazine interviewed me about how whimsically changing the Google logo defied standard “brand police” rules about brand consistency. Too Many Google Doodles During the World Cup, it seemed Google had a new Doodle every day. While some change works for Google, too much defeats …
Too Much Spoils the Brand: Google Over-Doodles the World Cup Read More »
Working with start-ups is a special joy. Client BattleFrog Obstacle Race Series held their inaugural event May 31 – June 1 at the Atlanta International Horse Park. It was run with the precision and integrity you would expect from Navy SEALs who started the BattleFrog and who designed and built the course. The BattleFrog is …
Congratulations to BattleFrog Obstacle Race Series by Navy SEALS Read More »
Jonah Goldberg has an excellent analysis of candidate brands in “Jeb, Hillary and the curse of tarnished political brands” published in the Los Angeles Times. It will be interesting to see which old brand from decades past people will choose–the Clinton brand or Bush brand–or is it time for a totally new political brand.
I was interviewed by NBC Sports about Richard Sherman’s brand value after his rant following the Seahawk’s victory in the 2014 NFC Championship Game. Did Sherman destroy his brand with his boorish tirade or did he turn golden? Opinion is evenly split between those who decry his poor sportsmanship and those who think his antics …
Sports Hangover: Talking Richard Sherman’s Brand on NBC Sports Read More »
Why is the Redskins team name suddenly a huge controversy? If it is racist, why wasn’t there a huge outcry back in the 1960s? Why has it taken decades for the eternal victim class to make this an issue in 2013? Truly, this is another example of people with nothing better to do suddenly throwing …
The Chevy Volt is the brand failure of today, selling far few cars than that famous bomb Ford Edsel did in the 1950’s and 1960’s. In fact, compared to the Chevy Volt, the Ford Edsel was a blockbuster. 116,000 Ford Edsels sold in three years 55,000 Chevy Volts sold in three years Ford sold …
Chevy Volt Beats Ford Edsel as World-Class Brand Failure Read More »
Brand-jacking is when an existing brand is co-opted and used to promote something else. That is exactly what opponents of genetically modified foods are doing with the Monsanto brand.They’ve grabbed the bumper of Monsanto and are skitching on its reputation to bring attention and understanding to their message. As a kid growing up in Chicago, …
Brand-Jacking: A Political Cause Skitches on the Monsanto Brand Read More »
Buyer of distressed brands Apollo Management Group has cheered the hearts of Twinkie lovers everywhere with its$410 million purchase of the snack food favorite. Big Twinkie brand relaunch plans have been made, including having Dennis Rodman bring several cases of Twinkies to North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, to offering giant Wonder Bread size promotional sizes, to …
Chinese companies made headlines a few years back with lead tainted toys and pet food that sickened cats and dogs. Now a US company is coming under fire in China. KFC is alleged to use excessive growth hormones and antibiotics in their chicken–creating a potential branding problem. This insightful article by Chinese branding expert Milton …