Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is integrally linked to brand strategy. An company’s approach to CSR can differentiate it from competitors, lend credence to its purported brand promise, and strengthen the brand’s relevance and emotional currency with customers. But making sure CSR activities are “on brand” doesn’t only benefit the brand. When organizations align these initiatives with a well-defined brand, they can also give back more effectively.
In the aftermath of the tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan last week,
Last week I was honored to be asked to present to a group of French business students called Le Club des étudiants français de Shanghai. I was asked to discuss “branding,” but keep it high-level and light rather than getting too didactic or detailed. When one of the club’s founders invited me to speak, he thought it would be fun if I introduced myself in French, which I can’t even pronounce correctly much less speak. At first I declined, citing the stereotype that Americans are monolingual. And then I realized that would be an interesting way to kick off a conversation about brands. Here’s basically what the presentation (above) covers:
As a brand strategist, I’m sometimes asked to name a few favorite brands. While companies like Apple and Starbucks seem to show up in every branding presentation and book (not to mention my own blogposts), the truth is that my interest in these brands is more detached and academic than emotional or personal. I am professionally impressed by how often these marketing machines seem to be “right.” But perhaps it’s precisely because I’m so keenly aware of their marketing activities that Apple and Starbucks rarely have the power to move me—to connect with me beyond a clinical curiosity.
One brand that has made me sit up and take notice is REI, the American chain of outdoor and adventure sports equipment retail stores. To my knowledge, the company does not yet do business in China, and my affinity for the brand may partly be a case of “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” But REI, seemingly without a massive marketing budget or a paradigm-shifting retail strategy, has built a powerful brand through at least three basics of brand strategy:
I was doing a little desktop research (fancy way of saying “surfing the web”?) to learn more about some of iPod’s competitors. Remembering that SanDisk had launched a portable mp3 player named “Sansa” awhile back, I checked their site and was a little disturbed by what I found.
The page opens to a video about slotRadio, a memory card preloaded with music, compatible with some Blackberry models and presumably all of SanDisk’s music players. The video features this guy…
Last week Microsoft opened a retail store. Saw this video of what Ed Cotton calls “faked euphoria” as customers are let in to the blue-screen-of-death-colored wonderland.
Of all the differences between an Apple Store and a Microsoft Store, there is one difference that matters most. One that cannot be ignored—that I believe will prevent Microsoft Stores from succeeding.
The critical difference is that we all work at the Microsoft Store already.
In cubicles all over the globe, Microsoft’s customers and potential customers are already experiencing what the brand has to offer (if you have recent statistics on what percentage of office computers are Dells running Windows, please share). Experiences include:
You can always count on the checkers at Cold Storage to 3x bag any raw meat and generally use as many plastic bags as possible. #Singapore Saturday 04 February
"P&G perfected the modern art of branding with Crisco" NPR: Who Killed Lard?-More at http://t.co/uY4c7sBP Saturday 04 February
I’m not sure how I missed this, but the designer know as Velociraptor has updated his original Crayola Color Timeline that I posted about last year, into the the new Crayon-Bow (half rainbow - half rising su...
I missed this Inception Chair by Vivian Chiu because it was being exhibited in Noho during ICFF. It was a big regret of mine being unable to get to Noho to check out the great installations.The Inception Chair...
My friend Tina (AKA Swissmiss) has launched Tattly, a new online store for — get this — designy temporary tattoos! Yes, now you can wear your love of design right on your sleeve. Why get a permanent MOM whe...
