Kraft Heinz is having another “brand-wagon moment.” Its new CEO, Steve Cahillane, announced that the organization would be postponing the previously announced split into two separate companies. This was a split that Wall Street hailed as marvelous. CEO Cahillane believes that a resource-funded focus on \u{2026}

I have a special spot in my heart for Memory Brands, because I have worked on so many of them and found them to be rather misunderstood. Memory brands are not smaller benchmark brands. They have high awareness. They have distribution. They often have decades \u{2026}

I have a special spot in my heart for Memory Brands, because I have worked on so many of them and found them to be rather misunderstood. Memory brands are not smaller benchmark brands. They have high awareness. They have distribution. They often have decades \u{2026}

I have a special spot in my heart for Memory Brands, because I have worked on so many of them and found them to be rather misunderstood. Memory brands are not smaller benchmark brands. They have high awareness. They have distribution. They often have decades \u{2026}

The Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl, as we all know. Numerous video recaps of the game, a wide variety of articles, and a lot of insights from observers, sports analysts, and Monday-morning quarterbacks focused on the Seahawks formidable on-field strengths. So, let’s segue to \u{2026}

Decades ago, in the annals of advertising agency history, BBDO had an approach to creating winning communications. It was called The Four Point Process. The Four Point Process was a really big deal because, at the time, ad agencies had the best, most innovatively profitable \u{2026}

Today, heritage brands occupy a difficult position. Squeezed between private label that sets value and insurgent brands that speak to values. Having worked on several, I have found that they often take the same approach of maximizing margins, targeting younger consumers, and launching line extensions \u{2026}

In 1968, computer scientist Melvin Conway made an observation that’s been shaping how we understand teams and technology ever since: Any system’s design will reflect the communication structure of the organization that created it. Engineers call this Conway’s Law. This article is part of Branding \u{2026}

Category Benchmarks are the reference point for the category. They define quality expectations. They anchor price ladders. They shape what “normal” looks like. They are widely distributed, culturally familiar, and top-of-mind. Their risk is gradual dilution of differentiation. This paradox is structural because the systems \u{2026}

Recent brand news is full of brand value chatter. Chatter, not serious discussions. Why? Brand executives still seem disconnected from how customers perceive brand value. Consumers understand that value, not price alone, is the priority. Consumer-perceived value is based on the total brand experience relative \u{2026}

I am occasionally asked which metric I consider best for tracking consumers. There’s no hesitation with my answer. It’s new home starts. Let me explain why. First, what is it? The metric of new home starts is exactly what it sounds like—it’s the number of \u{2026}

Let’s stop pretending this AI rush is brave. It isn’t. It’s terrified. Across marketing holding companies, executives are racing to adopt AI not because they understand it, but because they’re scared of being the last one without a slide. “We can’t afford not to,” they \u{2026}

When an iconic brand begins to fade, the decline is rarely dramatic. In iconic brands, financial performance often lags changes in cultural relevance and brand meaning. Revenue may hold steady. Market share may appear stable. Awareness remains high. Yet competitors begin shaping the future while \u{2026}

Last week, I discussed the new brick-and-mortar Amazon entry: a big box store with a large helping of Amazon logistics, data mining, and merchandise expertise. As part of that Amazon discussion, two brand stumbling blocks came under scrutiny. One: Amazon’s continued lack of understanding of \u{2026}

My mentor Clayton Christensen taught us that disruptors win by being cheaper. They enter the market at the bottom with “good enough” alternatives that cost less, then gradually move upmarket, as Toyota’s economy cars eventually gave rise to Lexus. Yet urgent care is disrupting American \u{2026}

Brands that lead today do three things exceptionally well. They create an emotional advantage that customers cannot get elsewhere. They establish a distinctive advantage that customers recognize as meaningfully different. They build a connective advantage that keeps the brand relevant over time. These are not \u{2026}

The most important component of long-term sustainable advantage for any firm, regardless of its size, is its ability to attract, retain, inspire, and grow talent. Talent is the sustainable advantage. It is talent and only talent that creates and/or preserves every other form of sustainable \u{2026}

Face à la fatigue émotionnelle des Français, le groupe Publicis Media France a publié une analyse intitulée “The Power of Joy”. Ce rapport démontre que l’émotion positive devient un levier d’influence et de rentabilité pour les entreprises. The post La joie, nouveau moteur de performance \u{2026}

Le constructeur automobile Hyundai Motor Company et CNN International Commercial intensifient leur collaboration historique. Par le parrainage exclusif de la série « K-Everything », les deux partenaires explorent l’influence mondiale de la culture coréenne. The post CNN et Hyundai : partenariat historique autour de la \u{2026}

From all my years in research and consulting, I think I’ve learned a thing or two about marketing worth sharing. Enduring fundamentals, mostly yet often overlooked. So, this year, I’m sharing some for your consideration. I hope they’re helpful. This week’s thought: Marketing is the \u{2026}