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When a brand’s strength is tied to a real person–when it is a celebrity brand–its fortunes rise and fall with that person’s reputation and behaviors (see Osama bin Laden, Michael Vick, Tiger Woods). In the case of the Livestrong brand, Lance Armstrong’s “doing the dirty” complicates his business and his charity. The Livestrong brand is …
Lance Armstrong’s Profitable Non-Profit Livestrong Brand Read More »
Jets player Tim Tebow has filed trademark applications in some seven categories for the term “Tebowing.” The blogosphere has erupted in complaints that the football player is trying to trademark kneeling in prayer. A look at the actual filings (you can look at them here) show that is simply not the case. The applications are …
Al Qaeda is making headlines again. We had covered the death of the Al Qaeda brand for Forbes over a year ago. As the presidential candidates argue about what happened in Libya, Stratfor, an intelligence analysis group, has written a great article on the Al Qaeda brand architecture problem. As Al Qaeda fades as a …
Al Qaeda Brand Architecture Problem and Taliban as Media Bias Victim Read More »
eBay unveiled its new brand logo today–Now! Personality-Free! Gone in the new brand logo is the quirky all-over-the-place lettering and eccentric typeface. In its place you have a bland, flatness that conforms to the safe and generic facelessness that has become synonymous with a corporate look. While it is true that eBay has evolved to …
eBay Removes Personality from Its Brand with Its New Brand Logo Read More »
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 »