There’s a clear line between the things you need to do to build a brand and the things that are nice to do. Where and what you spend your time and energy on can be the difference between being a Zappos, Patagonia, Apple (or any of the brands that I like...
What makes you care about an organisation and their brand? It’s a good question to ask yourself because your customers are just like you and the things that make you care will probably make them care as well. So put yourself in their shoes for a bit and you’re sure to get...
For many years I’ve practiced yoga. And in our practice we spend a lot of time looking at the little things and their impact on the whole. How is your weight distributed over your feet? Are you bending forward from your waist or your hips? Are your inside elbows facing...
I was moderating an event last week for The Churchill Club about forming a disruptive hypothesis. And after the discussion was finished and people were mingling and talking it occurred to me that every day with my clients, and every week with you, I talk about my version of a...
I can’t tell you how to build your brand. Only you will know how to do that. Only you know and control the combination of culture, values, promises, products, services, profit, non-profit, audience, market, location, online, offline, investment, revenue, story, profile, awareness and too many other things to list here that...
A couple of weeks ago when writing about loyalty starting on the inside of an organisation, I noted that a key element in building loyalty was consistency, with the promise I’d expand on the topic. Whether you make stuff or sell services; whether you’re in a B2B or B2C business, non-profit,...
In October 2010 I featured a story about TOMS Shoes – a social business that promises to give a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair you purchase. It’s a hell of a promise and my story celebrated them reaching a million shoes. This past month they...
I’ve been asked by a number of people what my “brand” take on the Labor Party shenanigans is. I’ll start by saying I’m an interested observer of politics, but by no means am I a political commentator (shudder). And since returning to Oz from the US I’ve been, by turn, bemused,...
I was talking to a reporter about the so-called Coca-Cola “weight washing” announcements last week and it got me thinking about a broader issue. We all have ideas on what promises organisations should be making, but that isn’t our job. Coca-Cola doesn’t promise to keep you thin. They do promise to “refresh the world and...
I often talk about brand as being evolution not revolution. And reading a book over the weekend about the impact of denial by leaders on everything from business to economies, I was reminded again about how easy it is to get caught in the mindless “rebrand” cycle and miss the real opportunities...