If you read The Wall Street Journal Magazine that accompanied the Saturday-Sunday Wall Street Journal this weekend, you were exposed to an ad from Cadillac for its new Celestiq model. Not surprising to see a luxury automotive brand advertising in The Wall Street Journal Magazine among the ads for Cartier, Armani, and Dior. What is surprising is that you must actually seek the brand name Cadillac. Yes, it is there. But the Cadillac logo is...
As we approach America’s 250th birthday, our celebrations reflect on the greatness of our country. Inherent in our celebrations is the belief that America is a great land. America is a great brand. As Americans, we are owners of brand America. As a brand owner, you might have ideas about what a great brand is. What does being a great brand mean to us? Putting politics aside, please, let’s look at the components of a...
Just notice something. Think of a team you’ve been part of. Or maybe the one you’re in right now. And ask yourself, honestly: does it feel clear? Not organized. Not busy. But clear. Many of us were originally taught to treat clarity as a communication problem. Something to fix with a better meeting, a sharper brief, a more aligned deck. And so we kept adjusting words, hoping that feeling would follow. Over the years, working...
Allbirds, the sustainable sneaker brand once the de rigueur shoe for Seattle and Silicon Valley Techs, has sold its assets and intellectual property at a shocking discount. The once high-flying sneaker brand has finally lost its wings. This is not a surprise. For the last four or five years, Allbirds has been struggling and constantly selling on deal. Four years ago, I wrote about Allbirds: “According to The Wall Street Journal, Allbirds, once a Silicon...
Entertainment and brand architecture are now front and center as the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger unfolds. New York Magazine has a story about David Ellison and what Mr. Ellison may or may not do with Paramount and Warner Bros. once the Warner Bros. purchase finalizes. If you are interested in brands, skip the juicy parts of the New York Magazine story and hone in on this paragraph: “Ellison now has $79 billion in debt and a...
There is much angst about the state of advertising. Various commentators in the industry and in the general media have bemoaned a creativity crisis, which is attributed to everything from short-termism to artificial intelligence to the fragmentation of media. There is some evidence that advertising’s persuasive power has declined in recent years. It is less clear that this decline is attributable to a lessening of creativity in advertising. If advertising fails to deliver results, the...
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