Brands Taking a Social Stand: Risks and Benefits
October 22, 2020
There is no doubt that consumers like to feel connected to the brands they are buying. According to a recent Sproutsocial survey, 64% of consumers want brands to connect with them, and 70% feel more connected to active brands on social media. All well and good, but what do we want our brands to say? Brands Read more
How Much Product Choice is Too Much, Or Too Little?
August 27, 2020
The rule of thumb in business and marketing is the more choice you give your customers, the better. Recent studies and the experience of several Fortune 500 companies have shown that’s not always true. In fact, it seems at a certain point, the more choice you offer consumers, the more complex and confusing their decision-making Read more
The Goldilocks Principle: Finding the ‘Just Right’ Spot
February 20, 2020
Much of the human experience resembles a bell curve: things on the upward slope might not be interesting at all, while move too far to the right and things can get downright scary. This is true for brands and products as well. What is a brand’s sweet spot? How can a company assess factors like Read more
A Brand Apart: How Brands Can Stand Out from the Competition
February 5, 2020
Rising above and standing apart are critically important in today’s increasingly crowded market. Going with the flow and being part of the crowd are recipes for a failing brand. But how, specifically, can a brand set itself apart? Be Different We often associate products with a particular feeling or attitude. Mattresses = comfort. Roses = Read more
Why Some Stores Thrive In a Tough Retail Environment
December 19, 2019
The holidays and retail shopping go together like hot chocolate and marshmallows. But recent trends have not been kind to retailers. We read about the impending death of retail channels nearly every day. We’re told that brick and mortars retail is in a steep decline, that consumers are buying everything online, and that Read more
Why is Whiskey Winning?
November 3, 2019
When you look at spirit sales, whiskey is right there at the top of the heap in terms of success. According to the New York Post, in 2016, sales of whiskey were up 7.7 percent, which outpaced the rest of the spirits industry quite handily. With those numbers staying on track, the question everyone Read more
Experiential Marketing: Because Experiences Last Longer than Things
August 7, 2019
There’s often an initial rush of pleasure we get when we buy something new. Maybe it’s a burst of confidence from a new pair of shoes, or the rush of freedom you feel when you get behind the wheel of a new car for the first time. It’s a sensation we all know and can Read more
Coming Distractions: Living in Virtual & Augmented Realities
July 25, 2019
Elon Musk recently revealed his plans to implant computer chips in human brains starting next year—a key milestone towards the science fiction vision of a brain-computer interface that will allow direct communication between a human brain and a computer. But while a viable brain-computer interface is probably still some ways away, advances in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are coming fast Read more
The Difference Between Strategy and Tactics
June 12, 2019
Businesses always talk about strategy and tactics, but sometimes the terms get confused and are thought to be interchangeable. It is important to understand that the two terms are different, but both are equally important for successful branding. So what exactly are the differences between strategy and tactics? Strategy vs. Tactics Strategy defines your brand’s goals Read more
Emotion Marketing: Using Emotion to Carry Your Message
February 28, 2019
The last time you went car shopping, did you notice something interesting about the front of all the cars you saw? How some cars looked like they had friendly faces, with upward curving grilles and wide headlights to make them look like they were smiling at you? Or how other cars have a glaring headlight and angry Read more
