How Growing Corruption Threatens Brands
Corruption throughout the world has grown to epidemic levels. Every day there seems to be another incidence of bribery, cronyism, counterfeiting, slush funds, or a political scandal somewhere. Behind each act is someone abusing his/her power to unfairly gain personal wealth at the expense of the common citizen. While corruption takes many forms, each type can have a devastating impact on brands that are directly involved or even just affiliated with such unfair acts, – e.g. in our political systems, business leaders, governments, etc. In particular, this trend undermines the...
Read MoreRe-branding The Republican Party, With Lessons For Business
The Republican Party is in turmoil, no doubt about it. White males in suburban and rural areas, their core base, are fed up with Government and want an “outsider”, even Donald Trump. Meanwhile young voters love Bernie, and women and minorities support Hillary, despite questionable trust in her. The Republican establishment is bewildered because their traditional message no longer resonates with most of their constituents. In short, the world has turned upside down for them. And these dynamics are not so different from the constant changes in the marketplace that force companies to...
Read MoreHow Tim Cook Is Transforming The Apple Brand
Apple has clearly been a worldwide leader in innovation. Their brand mission states “we’re on the face of the earth to make great products”, and they certainly have proven themselves, thanks mainly to the brilliance of Steve Jobs. But now Tim Cook is broadening the Apple brand to also “make a significant contribution to culture”, and “enable customers to engage the world in more meaningful ways”. This additional dimension to Apple’s company brand represents an extraordinary transition to a next generation concept for why a corporation exists and what it should stand for. The traditional...
Read MoreHow Millennials Are Driving The Bernie Sanders Brand
The surge behind this exploding Bernie phenomenon is fascinating for many reasons. It is certainly an indication of how divergent our society and politics have become, and this could even intensify in the future. It also shows the political potential of finding and concentrating on the most pronounced issues that frustrate younger people so much. Interestingly, from a branding perspective, there are some revealing lessons from this unexpected success of the Bernie Sanders brand. In branding, it is critical to first identify the most passionate “sweet spots” of various target segments of...
Read MoreThe Big Challenge for Big Brands Today: Authenticity
Before the internet, marketers had a relatively free reign for making questionable competitive claims, creating a brand image of superiority and hence demanding a premium price. But the internet has changed the ground rules. Instant access to endless information and objective feedback from friends has enabled consumers to seek and find the truth behind such promises. This has also led to an atmosphere of extensive mistrust of companies, CEO’s and even many established brands, especially among Millennials. Today consumers want authenticity. We are living in an age of growing skepticism...
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