On the last calendar day of 2007, I would like to give kudos to a KILLER BRAND. It’s not delivery, it’s DiGiorno. Market research probably showed that consumers thought that fresh delivered pizza, no matter the brand, was better than any brand of frozen pizza from the grocery store. So instead of focusing on an [...]

Two years ago, President Bush called in one of his long time gurus, Karen Hughes to the State Department job of “public diplomat.”  Her job was to use her Brand communications skills to spread the word for the goodness of America, particularly to Muslim countries. Hughes recently bailed out.  Smart as she is, she got [...]

When I was a kid, we begged for empty tin cans and binder’s twine.  We threaded the binder’s twine through holes in the bottom of two cans, tied knots in each end to hold the cans, waxed the twine (sometimes 100 feet of it) with beeswax, stretched it tight and talked to each other from [...]

This year marks the celebration of the 100th birthday of Nieman-Marcus. Unlike many of our department store brands and specialty store brands, Nieman-Marcus has stayed on the same strategy for 100 years. The orginal partners created it to be a high-end specialty and fashion store. It still is. They have survived four generations of owners, [...]

Ever called a Yellow Cab?  Can you name another cab brand?  Yellow Cab seems to have everything absolutely right and brilliant except the product and service itself. Yesterday on three different calls, Yellow Cabs in San Francisco failed to show up for yours truly.  I was located in a part of town where cabs do [...]

You buy a new Maserati. Parking lot attendants treat you differently. The electric window on the driver’s side has a quirk in and doesn’t always work properly. You have it repaired. It breaks again. You have it repaired. What do you think of the car? Compare this experience to the following. You buy a new [...]