I went shopping for tooth paste today.
As a human being, I hated it.  As a so-called brand marketing expert, I was disgusted.
The major brands and companies have so jumbled and confused this category that it is impossible to shop with either precision or brand loyalty.  Even if you found an individual sku that you liked, [...]

I gave a speech on the principles of KILLER BRANDING a few years ago at the William Mason business school at William & Mary college, and one of the students whose name escapes me now, immediately branded himself as “the Generator,” someone who generates change, who makes things happen.  He put it on his letters, [...]

I discovered Ira Koretsky today, not a very compelling or memorable name is it?  How about if I said that I discovered The Chief Story Teller™ today?  That is how Ira brands himself.
In fact, if  you go to the website of The Chief Story Teller, you will note that he does not use his name [...]

A few years ago, certain bakeries started selling the top of muffins because so may people prefer them.  Problem was, no one could own the idea.
That brings me to the Edge™ brownie pan, where an entrepreneur figured out how to make a pan that would bake brownies all of which had at least two edges, [...]

“You don’t need more sleep.  You need more coffee.” is a new billboard campaign for the am/pm convenience store chain.  This is an excellent example of using advertising to build behavior.  Unfortunately it builds category behavior rather than brand behavior.  You can respond to this ad positively and stop and get coffee at any number [...]

I was working today with Julie Paige Grant, one of our newer people.  We were struggling through the first draft of a Brand Backbone Strategy document for a project of hers.  I sympathized, “This is not easy.  That’s why so few people do it, actually write down a brand strategy document for the long haul.”  [...]

In the previous post, we talked about an excellent new sku (Butter with Olive Oil spread) within a broad line of products by Land of Lakes, and how the fact that it is hidden in a line mostly of “me too” items will keep it from ever being a big idea.
Here is an example of [...]

Land ‘O Lakes has a new spread, Butter and Olive Oil that is so good tasting it is just unbelievable.  Try it.  I am not exaggerating.  The taste will blow your mind.
There-in lies the enigma of modern marketing.  Land ‘O Lakes has so many sku’s that as a brand, they can stand for nothing specific, [...]

Brands die because their owners let them die.  If no-one is in command of the health and welfare of a brand it will go away.  If no-one seizes responsibility, good things rarely happen.
A friend made a statement to me today about the history of the Tango so I did some research and found a few [...]

This is one of the big issues in marketing? When is it time to change the brand’s differentiation?
Overall, it is always time to improve.  It is rarely time to change.
No matter how good your position, you can always improve.  I call your attention to Aflac.  Their new campaign (woman on crutches coming to watch the [...]