We believe in the power of brands. We have to. In action sports/active outdoor, there are very few “moats” around products. That is, there are few distinguishing product features not based on marketing that are sustainable and even long-established brand names run into difficulties holding onto their market positions. Witness Nike’s current struggles. Years ago, […]
Maybe Not Being a Brand Is a Brand Read More »
I want to talk about taking a long term perspective, unforeseen consequences, not learning from history and maybe confirmation bias. A couple of things have serendipitously come across my desk as the same time that made me renew by thinking on these issues. I seem to find my best business lessons everywhere but in business
The Wallons and Skate Longboards Read More »
I love golf. That’s because I have an uncanny ability to only remember the good shots and to believe, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, that there’s no reason I shouldn’t play well next time. This, of course, is one popular definition of insanity- but perhaps I should move on.
A Lesson from a Related Industry Read More »
Branding, they tell me, is all about building a relationship between a customer and a brand. That customer, theoretically, will have a bias towards your brand that encourages less consideration of alternatives, more purchases and, hopefully, less price sensitivity. That’s the theory anyway. It was, most of us would probably agree, a pretty good theory.
The Potential Downside of Successful Brand Building in an Online World? Read More »
Could this time really be different? Recently, a couple of retail CEOs have been pointing out, or maybe bemoaning, the lack of a strong retail trend. They’ve noted how in the past they’ve been able to rely on such trends for big sales boosts and have explained their worse than expected performance partly by the
Retail and Brand Strategy: Cycles or Long Term Trends? Read More »
I came across this short article recently talking about the ongoing improvement in store brands and their importance to retailers. Now, it’s not our industry but I thought everything they said applies to us. I guess the standard explanation for store brands is that they give the retailer some more margin. True, and that margin
The Role of Store Brands Read More »
So, in a market where your customer may value the experience more than the product, how do you know that your product improves their experience? How do they find out it will? Why should they associate your product with the experience? What, exactly, is the experience you are improving? Let me tell you a story
Camp Chairs as a Game Changer; Supporting Your Customer’s Experiences Read More »
What Great Brands Do by Denise Lee Yohn was published in 2014. I met Denise when I was in the San Diego area to make a speech and talk to a company about some consulting. Honestly, I don’t read business books as often as I used to (which explains why this page isn’t updated more
What Great Brands Do by Denise Lee Yohn Read More »
A gentleman named Jerry Useem wrote an article with this title for the June 2015 issue of The Atlantic. You can read the whole article here. It reviews research on how behavior in the work place impacts your success or failure. I would urge you to read the whole thing, but I particularly want to
Why It Pays to be a Jerk Read More »
What’s a brand? These days, what makes brands strong or not strong? I’ve been thinking and writing about that a bit, but I don’t think I’ve ever quite conceptualized it as well as Derek Thompson does in this article in The Atlantic. We’re all talking about the importance of “community.” The article describes a couple
The Cult of Your Brand? Read More »