I’m blessed with a client who is a conceptual thinker and providing a lot of food for thought.  The “opportunity” facing us is that he is in an industry sorely in need of a new image.  It is an industry which, for a number of reasons, lacks the necessary image to attract younger workers, especially […]

I’m a Malcom Gladwell fan.  I’m also a self-proclaimed “challenger brand marketing” expert.  So, Mr. Gladwell’s latest book: David & Goliath, is right up my alley.

He reminds us that the industry giant is not often what it appears to be and that size alone is not a strategy.  In fact, size can often be a […]

My friend Ann sent me this.  It’s a little funny but mostly sad.  The last time we were in Greece, we were gathered up and found ourselves at the receiving end of a “micro-public-relations” campaign.  We discovered–between the grape leaves–that our hosts were on a mission.  The premise was that the international media and particularly […]

One of the questions I like to ask my clients, or ask myself about my client’s business, is: where are you?  Are you a movement, an organization or an institution?  It’s a question essentially about organizational energy levels and social dynamics.  And, the implications for branding are significant.

A movement is exciting.  A lot of businesses, […]

Admittedly, this is an unfortunate acronym.  It just doesn’t sound good.  But it is good.  A BHAG is a big, hairy, audacious goal.  Or, to put it more mildly, a “reach-goal.”  But BHAGs have a couple of characteristics worth noting that separate it from a typical reach goal.  Chief among these is that it isn’t […]