Radical innovations in the value chain, are creating promises that sit above the specifics of a product or a solution. Brands are saying, we stand in this space, we stand for this promise, and we are constantly improving. Branded business concepts that are brought to life through branded value chains, are increasingly the way business creates … Continue reading
Tagged with point of difference …
The cloud undermines the competitive advantage of scale
or so says Maxwell Wessel of the Forum for Growth and Innovation at Harvard. As Wessel points out, some companies have been able to leverage scale rather than innovation as a point of sustainable competitive advantage. Advantages of scale, such as discounts through the buying muscle of retailers and the scale of distribution for packaged … Continue reading
Invest in brands where CEO’s care for customers
Whenever I hear people talking about the dark side of capitalism, I turn to the principles of Warren Buffet, which remind me, that the best of human nature can bring immense success. In his letters to his investors, Buffet shares that he invests in companies where CEO’s care about customers. Buffet has found the genuine … Continue reading
First find your customers then land in their world
Talking to marketing virgins, one of their biggest challenges is to pick the right media and channels to promote their brand. Twenty years ago, mass media had a big footprint and you could confidently find your customers in a specific time and place. Today, media has fragmented greatly, and finding your customers is no walk … Continue reading
Why are branded concepts the pointy end of the brand?
One thing every good brand planner knows is, “we do not see with our eyes, we see with our heart”. Our heart and our unconscious mind first see concepts. Branded concepts, which some people call ads, are the nano second take, which draw the customer in. A strong concept is based on the emotional connections to … Continue reading
A model to link the emotional connection of the brand, to the data in your business
How well does your business use the intelligence it gathers at its branded interface? Do you harvest information from social media? Do you understand how customer relationship management data can be used by the business? Do your customer metrics, link to the business metrics? Most importantly, is this all built around the emotional connections to … Continue reading
Clean air, fresh food and pure water increase brand value
After decades of unbridled economic growth, China’s worsening air pollution, cost the country $112 billion in 2005 in lost economic productivity, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Climate Spectator. I only received this staggering news yesterday, why they quote the 2005 figure in 2012, I am not sure, but if this is true, we can expect the … Continue reading
Does brand confusion kill your sales results?
I would say, if you cannot answer this question, than most likely, ‘yes’, confusion is killing your sales results. Brand confusion, does not usually reside in one place, if it is there, it is often at every touch point ie: advertising, communication, service and sales experience. All these touch points are opportunities to clearly articulate … Continue reading
Mavens – finding those who carry the message of your brand
In Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point, he talks about the spread of new ideas and behaviours, as creating a social epidemic. For marketing this means creating a viral brand, one that spreads through word of mouth and trend setting. Certainly in the post mass media era, if your brand does not have some viral … Continue reading
Why is the emotional experience of fun so important to an innovative brand?
Children are naturally drawn to having fun. When they play, they are having fun in the “learning state”. Fun helps all of us more deeply engage in learning. Just watch a young child’s mimicry of adults in play, to see how important fun is for their adoption of life skills. One of the reasons fun, … Continue reading