News last week that Meridian Energy has inked a deal to sell green energy company Powershop sent people heading for the exits. It seems the acquisition by global energy behemoth Shell and its investment partner Infrastructure Capital Group struck customers and environmental groups as a betrayal of the promises they signed up...
Taking measured action over and over is decidedly unsexy. Especially given it runs counter to the more common ‘splashy launch’ mindset.Yet, when I encountered the idea laid out a decade apart by two authors, it seemed like both an antidote and a helpful way to think about achieving a brand...
Analogies to Google Inc becoming Alphabet abound amid recent speculation that Facebook Inc. is planning to change its name — not the ubiquitous ‘app’, but the corporate wrapper it shares with Instagram, Snapchat, Oculus and others. A better choice might be Phillip Morris, which, beset by bad press and yearning to cleanse itself...
Experience without expectations is unthinkable — literally. What I believe will happen plays a prominent part in how I feel about what does happen.Even when it’s part of a subconscious story I didn’t know I was telling myself.So, why should organisations even try to shape people’s experience?Because even a modicum...
The trial of Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO of disgraced blood-testing startup Theranos, has begun in a San Francisco courtroom. Holmes sits accused of defrauding patients, doctors, and investors of more than $700 million — charges which she denies but which may land her in jail for up to 20 years. It’s...
You know the page. There might even be one in your organisation. At the top is purpose, and from there, the cascade continues…PurposeVisionMissionCore ValuesStrategic pillarsBrand promiseBrand valuesEssencePersonalityExperience principlesPositioningEtc. I frequently see organisations that have the entire shebang including some I haven’t even listed. It’s madness. No one can hold all of...
A recent article here on SmartCompany highlighted the findings of a “Breakthrough Brand” list. Put together by agency Interbrand, the list included a grab bag of companies they like, chosen using an approach that reflects their brand world view. So far, no big deal. There are plenty of best of brand surveys and lists out...
The book “Noise, A Flaw in Human Judgement” by Daniel Kahneman, Cass Sunstein and Oliver Sibony explores the information and choices that interfere with judgement when people make decisions.Reading it got me thinking about noise of a different kind.Brand noise.The interference comes from many quarters (and here I am adding...
Are you a trust given or a trust earned person?In my experience, everyone is one or the other, and like oil and water, the two don’t mix. When earners run into givers, things quickly become the trust edition of a Mexican stand-off.It’s one of the things I look for when...
Breaking promises has consequences, and Crown Resorts and its Melbourne Casino are under the microscope because they chose to break theirs to the government about how they would run the casino. Not because there weren’t enough people keeping watch. It’s like a kid stealing from the cookie jar, and now they’ve...