Brand = protection
Nokia went from being dominant to almost non-existent when the market for mobile phones dramatically shifted with the advent of the iPhone. What’s interesting though is this example shows that even though Nokia’s product was so inferior to the iPhone, the brand reputation and protection insulated Nokia for a number of years. Even 3 years […]
It doesn’t matter what industry you are in…
Words spoken from one of the ‘gods’ of the advertising world, John Hearty, and words that ring so true. If business owners don’t understand that they need to entertain and they need to be fashionable, well then they will go extinct pretty soon. It’s the emotion and packaging around a product and service that drives […]
How do you get someone to buy?
This is probably the only marketing model I recall and use from uni days. The hierarchy and the path is so true. When it comes to advertising, clients think you can jump from awareness straight to action. It doesn’t happen! That’s why advertising only works over a period of time. If clients have budgets to […]
Are you a commodity or a brand?
When building a business there is choice that all entrepreneurs make whether they are conscious of it or not. And that is are they building a commodity or are they building a brand? Being one of many in a marketplace doesn’t require much thought, you just copy what everyone else is doing. But to be […]
Production vs Promotion
Well this might not be how you have spent your startup budget exactly but it paints the picture that I’m way to familiar with. Where budgets get blown to set up a business and nothing is left in the pot to actually promote it. I’ve seen stores that have been fitted out for over £500k […]
Hollywood gets it!
We should all follow the example of Hollywood, they get how hard you have to market when you have a product to sell. They don’t blow all their budget just on production, if anything they scrimp on that a bit but they ensure they have enough coin to push out their film. Cos, there is […]
Nike Brand Development
Phil Knight at Nike commented that unless a Nike garment, shoe etc ended up in a Nike Town store, a Nike employee would never even touch any of the products they produced!!! This realisation brought a change in business philosophy, from seeing themselves as a producer of sports apparel they went to being a marketing […]
Who does all the heavy lifting in your business?
When I look at businesses I often see wonderful products, kick-ass service offerings, and dedicated staff, but what I don’t see is the brand doing any of the work!!! For most a brand is just really a meaningless logo that gets stamped on stuff and even that only sometimes. Brand is so much more than […]