From Shareholder to Stakeholder – A New Corporate Purpose And Brand Identity
A huge, fundamental change on “the purpose of a corporation” was announced by The Business Roundtable on August 19 which basically re-defines the role of business in society. This seismic event represents a definitive recognition that Government can no longer be trusted to resolve many hot-button problems in our society. It also marks a possible end of investors focusing solely on maximizing shareholder profits, and a shift to a broader commitment to all stakeholders – e.g. employees, customers, suppliers and communities. The philosophical...
read moreHow Elvis Re-Branded Las Vegas
A lot happened in 1969 – the moon landing, Woodstock, the grisly Manson murders, the Stonewall uprising, etc. Perhaps less noteworthy, yet significant for a city known for entertainment, was Elvis Presley’s comeback 50 years ago at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. After a decade of artistic doldrums, boring movies and no live performances, he returned to the stage on July 31, 1969 with a memorable 4 week performance that not only reinvented his career, but re-branded Las Vegas. For strategic marketers, this experience provides some...
read moreA Branding Paradox: Build But Don’t Dominate
Marketers are encouraged to maximize the awareness, trial and usage of their brands. They also know that a brand is more than just a fanciful name. Insightful research and prudent positioning will make a brand “special” in the eyes (and hearts) of their target customers, offering a meaningful promise, a credible reason to believe this promise and a competitive edge. The name is the face of this brand positioning. Ideally it should be memorable and generate associations that can help create a special relationship with the...
read moreLatest Trends & New Perspectives On Brand Risks
Branding is the core of marketing, yet it is a strategic discipline that has been dramatically impacted by social media in recent years. It has opened the door to a great variety of activism and disinformation and as a result, companies are facing new types of brand risks. In light of this surge of threats to brands, it is important to stay updated with the latest trends and new research that can provide insights to help protect (and ideally build) brands. A few weeks ago (May 22), Boston University’s Questrom School of Business held a...
read moreHow Storytelling Can Enhance Authenticity For Purposeful Branding
Branding has evolved over time, opportunistically responding to what will best motivate customers and differentiate it from competition – from product branding, to rational branding, to emotional branding to today’s altruistic purposeful branding. With young consumers increasingly demanding brands give more back to society, the challenge today is to create a promise that can be trusted and delivered – with credible authenticity. This trend for brands to create and communicate their CSR (corporate social responsibility) promises reflects a...
read moreThe Rise Of A New Type Of Brand – The Outlier
A good brand offers a relevant promise and a credible point of difference, its “reason for being”. What is emerging today however, is a form of branding that focuses so much on being different that this distinction often becomes the main focal point, instead of the promise or benefit. This is happening in politics where new candidates (i.e. “outliers”) strongly emphasize their stance as a unique alternative to established rivals. Similarly new business ventures are offering a better value choice compared to traditional brand leaders....
read moreWhy Creativity Is Critical For Future Jobs…And Branding
In our world of rapidly evolving technology that is encroaching on everyone’s lives, there is no bigger transformative trend on the horizon than the expected impact of automation, artificial intelligence, robotics and algorithms on the job market of tomorrow. Clearly there is growing anxiety that technology developments will crush the jobs of millions. How can society prepare for such job replacements by automated technology? Many experts believe the answer lies with developing new creative skills that will enable people to adapt and even...
read moreWhat To Expect From Generation Z – Implications For Branding
We have heard a lot about Millennials (i.e., Generation Y), their impact on business, politics and society, and how different their values and practices are. Well, get ready for Generation Z. Their attitudes and actions are even more progressive and even more confounding to marketers. This Generation Z (born after 1996) is the best educated, most diverse and easily most open to emerging social trends of any prior generation. And their potential impact on commercial and political brands will be transformative. All brands should be...
read moreHow Zuckerberg Has Undermined Trust In The Facebook Brand
In 2018 Mark Zuckerberg showed the world how a steady stream of blunders and insensitivity to consumers’ concerns over privacy and fake news has tragically damaged trust in the Facebook brand. The Facebook founder and CEO essentially traded a core value, privacy, for profits. His performance last year provides a classic case study for all companies on how to manage brand risk, or at least what not to do. Facebook’s new mission statement says it seeks “to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together”. A...
read moreThree Trends That Spell New Opportunities To Re-Brand Cities
The internet has been a catalyst for so many changes in our values, economics, lifestyles and even geographic living preferences. Millennials, the first true internet generation, have initiated many of these changes. Their digital competency and social impact have fueled three key trends that can lead to new branding opportunities for progressive cities around the world that are eager to adapt new innovations: Millennials’ Preference for Urban Living – their passion for experiencing new events, their keen interest in entrepreneurial...
read more
