Lisa Merriam

Brand Strategy

A Political Manuever by Any Other Name Would Smell as Rotten

Creating a great brand name means finding names that fit with products and that generate true and motivating associations. In politics, the opposite is more often true. Politicians of both parties seems particularly attracted to doublespeak. Take note of the new Democratic strategy of replacing the word “Reconciliation” with “Simple Majority”. What is behind the …

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Marketing Executives Networking Group Top Marketing Trends 2009

The Marketing Executives Networking Group, an national organization of top-level marketing professionals, has just released new study of top executives on marketing trends across industries and marketing disciplines. We spoke with Tom H. C. Anderson, founder and CEO of Anderson Analytics, the firm that conducted the study:

Heavy Equipment Branding

While buying a steam roller is very different from buying a can of soda, brand still matters. We talked to heavy equipment operators at work sites around the Chicago area to gather their opinions about construction and heavy equipment branding. How Do Heavy Equipment Brands Compare? Caterpillar and John Deere are the dominant brands. While …

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Promote Uganda: Focusing the Message for Place Branding

Focusing The Message of an NGO Doing Place Branding Promote Uganda is a non-governmental-organization (NGO) founded by successful ex-patriot Ugandans with the goal of improving the economic lot of people in Uganda. The organization is an ambitious one. We helped them organize and articulate their agenda around several key place branding initiatives: Providing tourists information …

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What is a Brand?

You can find dozens of academic definitions of what constitutes a brand. In today’s competitive world, you have to cut past the academic and get practical. So what is a brand? The answer is really quite simple. Brand isn’t a name or a logo; it is what your customer thinks and feels about your company …

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Creating Iconic Brands in China

Lisa Merriam, New York brand strategy expert, advises top Chinese marketers on how to efficiently create global brands Originally published in the Beijing News, October 21, 2006. Branding may still be a relatively new concept in China, but the nation can be expected to reach a high level of sophistication in a relatively short period …

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China Business News Interview: China Brands and Globalization

China Business News interview with Lisa Merriam, originally published October, 2006 discussing China brands, marketing challenges and globalization. Question: What do the developing countries get from globalization in the economic and social way? Answer: Trade can be short-term disruptive for the societies of both sides, in this case both the developed nations that multinationals call …

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