11 for 11 : Brand & Marketing Trends for 2011

By Dr. Robert Passikoff
Author Ursula Le Guin wrote that “legends of prediction are common throughout the whole Household of Man. Gods speak, spirits speak, computers speak.” What Ms. Le Guin left out were consumers. Consumers speak too. Volumes if you know how to read them.
Predictive loyalty metrics allow marketers to decipher consumers’ emotions, expectations, and [...]

Duplicating Brand Success, Xerox Moving Up

By Robert Passikoff

As seen in many product categories , copier brands find themselves in a state of flux. To begin with, there is the more accurate description of what today’s copiers actually are, however, that remains a mouthful; “multi-functional product office copier” doesn’t exactly roll trippingly off the tongue. And that’s just the copier side [...]

The Good Brand Spokesperson

By Robert Passikoff
L’Oreal announced a new addition to their roster of celebrity spokespeople this week, signing actress Julianna Margulies as a new ambassador and celebrity face for the brand. Ms. Margulies currently stars in the critically acclaimed TV series “The Good Wife,” for which she won a Golden Globe and SAG award for her portrayal [...]

Slouching Toward Brand Accountability

By James R. Gregory, Founder and CEO CoreBrand
Many departments within a corporation will argue the need for accountability in marketing, but none steps forward to take ownership of how to account for brand equity.
Theoretically, the CEO is responsible for the value of the corporate brand. Unfortunately, it is a rare CEO who understands how brand [...]

Tiger: Getting (and Giving) the Benefit of the Doubt

By Robert Passikoff
In “When a Human Brands Bogies” last Tuesday we noted, “[sic Tiger] Woods as super-athlete cum Human Brand, resonates with values that sports fans and non-sports fan adore: skill, planning prowess, the ability to get of out of sand traps with a single stroke. PR traps, too. These values -beyond his ability to [...]

Starbucks’ Via, Strikes a Cord with Marketers

By Kate Newlin
Here’s my take:
1. There’s a PowerPoint someplace in Starbucks headquarters which outlines what percentage of the US population relies on instant coffee. Some sub-section of that instant-using universe does it for convenience and portability, but isn’t happy with it.
2. Someone noticed that very few of the instant coffee drinking folk come into Starbucks [...]

Good Marketing that Really Sucks

By Robert Passikoff
Everywhere you look the overbite is back in fashion. This time coming with more than just incisors in an extra-long and a strong distaste for garlic.
Today’s vampire culture has evolved into a buff crowd of populars, seemingly as interested in cool couture as they are in blood donations. True Blood, the smash-hit [...]

Branding Breaks Through Middle Management Bottleneck - @ Issue

Middle managers are like waiters shuttling between the kitchen and dining room as the intermediary delivering the restaurant’s “brand.” In a corporation, middle managers deliver the company’s brand while managing a workforce charged with its tactical execution.

Eddie Bauer - Climbing to Higher (Brand) Peaks

By Robert Passikoff
Eddie Bauer, the iconic outdoor-clothing chain that sold goose-down coats to Mount Everest mountaineers and modern outdoor clothing to ski- schussing college students, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday.
Eddie Bauer has been struggling to repay its debt. And the fact that consumers slowed down spending on anything but necessities can’t have helped. [...]

“Dead Brands Walking …”

By James R. Gregory, CEO CoreBrand
Many corporate brands are being damaged or destroyed by the current economic crisis, but it is through no fault of the brands themselves. Even strong brands that help support the reputations of corporations in difficult times can be overwhelmed by mismanagement or financial conditions beyond the ability of the brand [...]