PepsiCo’s New Definition Of Relevance
In 1967, the song “San Francisco” by Scott McKenzie described “a whole generation, with a new explanation.” The line still captures a central challenge for brands today. Customers continually redefine what they want from the ...
The Decisions That Make A Brand Coherent
Some of the most consequential decisions a brand makes never arrive looking consequential. They appear as cost decisions. Growth plans. New operating models. Policy changes. Shifts in KPIs. Over time, these choices accumulate into patterns ...
AI Is A Platform Shift, Not A Brand Advantage
The buzzword in marketing right now is AI. Well, acronym, that is. But either way, AI is all the rage. Every firm of every sort is working hard to incorporate AI into every process, every ...
AI Is Not A New Marketing Problem. It Is A New Brand Interface.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about AI is that it is new yet nothing new. AI is certainly new to marketing, and bringing all sorts of new challenges with it, although it may not be ...
The New Rules Of Brand Engagement
With audience attention becoming increasingly fragmented across platforms and formats, visibility alone is no longer sufficient to ensure meaningful engagement. Brands continue to produce a high volume of content and activations, but the gap between ...
Brand Positioning That Improves The Economics Of Growth
Most leaders understand positioning. They know their brand needs to stand for something clear, relevant, and defensible in the minds of the people most important to its future. That is clear. However, problems arise when ...
The Brand Architecture Behind Audemars Piguet x Swatch
The criticism was predictable. A revered luxury watchmaker partners with Swatch, introduces a colorful US $400 pocket watch, and collectors immediately worry about dilution. But the Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop Collection is not ...
The Difference Between Positioning And Messaging
Alongside category design, messaging, storytelling, and thought leadership, positioning is where your company claims its strategic seat within the market’s mental map—and, when engineered deliberately, this seat is one competitors cannot easily take. When business ...
Why Iconic Brands Need To Earn Permission To Change
Ferrari’s recent introduction of the Luce, its first fully electric four-door model, has sparked exactly the kind of controversy one might expect from an iconic brand. Just as the Jaguar rebrand did, and many others ...
Why Great Products Fail Without Market Engineering
Each year, research firms such as CB Insights analyze why both startups and new products from mature companies fail. On average, about 80 percent of VC-backed startups fail (and those are the best of the startup ...