Month: November 2015

View from the Trenches: Best Practices Research

Jacob Romansky | Posted on November 20, 2015 |

Many organizations are interested in identifying best practices to help illuminate a path for growth. Often, the task is more complex, and sometimes even more treacherous, than it appears. If you’re not careful, best practices research can turn into a misguided odyssey into literature that ends up serving no useful purpose for the organization that […]

Name-dropping: Nike, Starbucks, and now Target

Jane Alpers | Posted on November 17, 2015 |

I am wondering why major consumer brands lose their names, leaving their brand icons to serve as their entire visual identity? Last week, I drove past a new Target store built into a tight little urban area near Fenway Park that is being rejuvenated with posh, high-rise residences. I knew it was Target because of […]

Volkswagen’s Crisis – What Should They Do?

Phil Ryan | Posted on November 11, 2015 |

Just days after I had leased a new Volkswagen Passat (my second Passat lease), the news emerged that Volkswagen had intentionally programmed many of their diesel engines to comply with emissions standards only when tested. The rest of the time, these engines were found to be producing 10-40x the emissions limit. While it was initially […]

Brand Strategy for Professional Services Firms: It’s Not About You

Ben Cohen | Posted on November 4, 2015 |

If I could give only two pieces of brand strategy advice to professional services firms, they would be the following: Identify the customer segment(s) that you can serve better than your competition; Focus your brand strategy on a benefit you provide to those customers, not your own capabilities. 1: Identify the customer segment(s) that you […]

A Millennial’s Reaction to Under Armour’s New Campaign

Chelsea Andre | Posted on November 2, 2015 |

In an age when marketers are trying to become their consumers’ BFFs, Under Armour’s new ad campaign, Rule Yourself, has turned me off. In trying to appeal to Millennials, its most recent campaign takes a risk, adopting a forceful, parental tone that comes across as lecturing. I, for one, am not enamored. The new campaign, […]