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Brand + Strategy Archives
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What Fly Fishing Reminds Us about Prospects2.18.2012
I have been a fly fisherman for 30-plus years. Even lived in Montana for a couple years and in Colorado for several more. Yet, I'm still breathlessly average in every aspect of the craft. As part of my mid-life journey, I'm currently reading Gary Borgor's, Fishing the Film. I can do better than a C minus, right? The film is the few molecules of skin that constitute the … » more Big isn’t necessarily impersonal, small isn’t always intimate2.13.2012
What would motivate an athlete to commit to your football program? The son of a friend vacillated between two great choices: a Division 1AA university and small Division 3 college. The 6' 5" high school senior liked the idea of playing for the small college, which recruited him hard. The campus was only an hour away from home, and has a strong academic reputation. But there are no … » more Chemistry Precedes Performance – an excerpt from Native Tongue1.30.2012
How do prospects come to trust a person, product, or firm? Prospects make what appear to be snap judgments that are not based, necessarily, on the best rational choice for them. It’s more akin to the alchemy of love than to the step-by-step process of solving an algebraic problem. Crassly, it can be likened to how men in a crowded bar crank their heads when a … » more Vouchers trump surveys1.30.2012
Prospects and existing customers simply don't think like folks trying to market to them. I just returned from a trip out West, and of the four legs of the flight there and back, three were delayed. One was due to weather, the other two because of "mechanical failure." I wondered if the pilot shared too much information with us when he said, "The motor that runs the … » more No comprendo, but I love your service5.15.2011
Customer service is still so often an oxymoron. I'm always amazed how ebullient I feel when a company makes good on its promises. Our home computer had a virus with more tentacles than a octopus. After trying to download anti-virus software to aid my anti-virus software, I finally gave up. The virus had stolen my browser. I was cooked. My anti-virus software was McAfee, so I called … » more What the Comanches Teach Us about Strategy1.17.2011
Every American Indian tribe (and every Texan and Mexican) feared the Comanches in the 1800s. Their rise to dominance is in part a story of positioning strategy. I'm just finishing Sam Gwynne's recent book, Empire of the Summer Moon - a riveting narrative on the rise and fall of one of the most feared tribes in American history. Only the Sioux on the northern plains come … » more Starbucks and McDonald’s Square Off11.4.2010
I like coffee, and I'm not a snob. I enjoy Starbucks, but I'll drink almost any other brand, including drip from a greasy spoon. In recent years, I've stopped dreading our stops at McDonald's for our kids while traveling to and from our vacations. When McDonald's got serious about coffee a few years ago, it put Starbucks on notice. I read the recent Harvard Business Review interview … » more Brand Search, Brand Power10.20.2010
In the wide world of the web, how do you ensure that when a consumer hops on a search engine they find you first? Bruce Philp, branding guru to ING Direct and co-author of The Orange Code says that the answer is differentiation. Here in the third of three interviews, Philp talks about how the Internet has changed brand management--and relinquished control to the … » more Messaging for the Homeless8.10.2010
Several weeks back my family and I attended a Chicago Cubs baseball game. Yes, they lost. In the 12th inning. As we walked out of Wrigley, a middle-aged homeless-looking guy stood in the middle of the sidewalk with a cardboard sign: "Why Lie? I need money for cold beer." Gutsy, I thought. But I didn't reach for my spare change. Three other stories of need: The other day as … » more Story Behind the Store Front7.27.2010
In April I spent a week fly fishing in Montana with a friend of thirty years. It's our annual trek to Bozeman to fish the lower Madison and the Yellowstone in Paradise Valley. I'm always puzzled by large number of fly fishing shops near Bozeman, Montana. How do they all survive? Every fly shop looks to be the same. Each carries rods, flies, waders and boots, rain … |