A friend tipped me off to recent FDA approvals; it seems to me there’s a wedding-ish theme to them:   Something Old. J&J’s new Levaquin is now approved for an affliction dating back to medieval times; the plague. Every year, 1,000 or so people still succumb to that ancient bacteria ‘Yersinia pestis’.   Something New: [...]

It’s Sunday evening; millions fervently await another ‘Mad Men’ episode. The last ended in a battle- literally. ‘Breaking Bad’ is arguably a better quality show, and ‘Modern Family’ is more important, but 1966-era Mad Men has style, earning accolades for depicting then-stylish spending. The show’s characters’ choices are scrutinized by viewers, as these choices convey [...]

I’ve posted previously on the power of the ‘5th P‘ of Marketing, Public Input. I’m genuinely surprised at the rate at which that power is growing. Recently, Rush Limbaugh advertisers dropped faster than RIM share’s price, after his Sandra Fluke ‘slut’ insult generated immediate, furious consumer reaction. Backlash over ‘Pink Slime’ caused Safeway & Fred [...]

To see how brand equity works, look in the ‘hood. Ever since medieval ‘hoodlums’ (protestors, bandits, etc) wore hoods to disguise their identities, the hood has been in fashion. For some, the word ‘hood’ still conveys mysterious or dark intentions. There are ‘Bad Boys’ from a hood, hoodlums, hoodwinking someone, etc. Not everyone carries identical [...]

One more shot at driving this home: Branding is tough. Coming up with a decent brand name is demanding & takes much more work than one assumes. And coming up with a great brand name takes even more time, talent …and, perhaps, luck. A recap of my Strategy Steve’s completely subjective list of criteria for [...]

NFL teams are making moves with Peyton et al leaving Indy; March Madness is on; NHL’s playoff race is on; MLB squad games are being played. North American soccer season has started and the European league championships are on. March is ‘intersection’ season for sports; almost every league has something going. A classic sports dilemma [...]

Lego. A perpetually young brand that should have died long ago, by rights. Toys don’t last, do they? But this one has. Did Lego find Ponce de Leon’s the fountain of youth? This week, my class covered brands that stay young by stretching the ‘Maturity’ phase of a marketing lifecycle- of delaying a slide into [...]

Encountered categories or ads that make your skin crawl? That’s opportunity knocking. Think of the peace of mind if uniform brand standards existed in a seedy category. Some personally selected, highly subjective categories: Jewelry trade-ins; pawn shops; coin appraisals; pay-day & high-risk loans; used cars sales and, in some cases, new car sales. In my [...]

Unbelievable news today! McDonalds has learned – aghast!!- that their consumer perception is trailing their food quality upgrades. Well, doan that just shock ya blind!!! Morning Newsbeat passed on this gem: “McDonald’s Struggles With Brand Perception Issues Advertising Age reports on how, despite the fact that McDonald’s has been seeing steady sales and profits increases, [...]

I was at the AutoShow yesterday; the vehicles were smokin’ hot; but many of the staffers were freezing cold. The staff you select for a consumer show is crucial. It reflects on your image; after all, staff gives a ‘first impression’ of a brand. I never understood why companies bother to exhibit at a show, [...]