For many years, I have meant to visit Columbus, Indiana.  You know that’s the town that is differentiated based on the architecture of its companies and buildings. I went yesterday.
If it is possible to overdo branding for a city, Columbus may have done it.  The reason for the differentiation is real.  The logo is just [...]

I learned this morning that new products guru Margot Chapman jumped off the Golden Gate bridge ending her brilliant career.  I will miss her.  We were friends for almost 35 years.
Margot first made waves back in the late 60’s inventing Warm Fuzzies, the very first sheepskin bedroom slipper with the wool inside.  Yes, all the [...]

What do you think about Waffle House vs. Huddle House?  Which is your best choice for a sit-down quick meal?
I personally think that Waffle House is best on service.  I can never remember a bad Waffle House waitress although I once had a bad waiter at a Waffle House in Springfield, Missouri.  But never a [...]

Once in a while I see an item in a store that could be a big idea if advertised, at least in my opinion.  Sometimes it is the concept.  Sometimes it is the industrial design as with the photos below.
 
First of all, this is the most functional dust pan I have ever used, and nothing [...]

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, [...]

A young mother in Atlanta, Britt Menzies started a company based on her children, which she called Stinky Kids.  She created the characters and gave them a Mom-desired reason-for-being.  The focus of her brand is “teaching good.”
Stinky Kids always make the right choice.  Stinky Kids do the good thing.
Britt was wearing a Stinky Kids t-shirt [...]

In one of my favorite all-time marketing books, Macy’s, Gimbles and Me, Bernice Fitzgibbons (“It’s Smart to be Thrifty” for Macy’s, and “Nobody, But Nobody Undersells Gimble’s”) is interviewing a new writer for one of her copy departments, probably back in the 40’s or 50’s, at least during the heyday of Department Store advertising before [...]

Rustoleum Universal is to me an under-marketed potential Killer Brand.
The promise of “covers any surface universally even” is new in the spray paint category, and the actuator over-cap on the aerosol can is just down right cool.
The commercial does a good job of demonstrating that the canister can be sprayed at any angle, including upside [...]