LIFELONG LEARNING IS THE GOLDEN KEY TO A GOLDEN CAREER AND LIFE

This past Saturday, 10 December, I participated in the Commencement ceremony for University of West Florida (UWF) graduates. I, along with others from the class of 1972, was recognized as a Golden Graduate. As you know, a golden anniversary celebrates 50 years. Whew, that’s a long time. My wife and I celebrated our golden wedding […]

Read More

TO AVOID LOSING LOYAL CUSTOMERS, DON’T MAKE THIS MISTAKE

Cadillac has been our automotive brand for nearly forty years, and we’ve owned and leased them year after year. Our most recent Caddie was a CT6 luxury sedan. It was roomy enough to carry clients. It was sleek and attractive, prompting compliments from people who saw us driving it. The car was quiet and took […]

Read More

POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING – OPPOSITIONING AND FUD

Today is election day in the United States. Thank goodness! I’m tired of the relentless barrage of ads by politicians engaged in oppositioning to discredit their opponents. You know oppositioning as negative advertising. Competitive positioning is how we want our target customers to perceive, think and feel about OUR brand (or, in the case of politicians, their political party, […]

Read More

POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING – OPPOSITIONING AND FUD

Tomorrow is election day in the United States. Thank goodness! I’m tired of the relentless barrage of ads by politicians engaged in oppositioning to discredit their opponents. You know oppositioning as negative advertising. Competitive positioning is how we want our target customers to perceive, think and feel about OUR brand (or, in the case of politicians, their political party, […]

Read More

VALUE-ADDED BRAND BUILDER OR EXPENSE?

When we offer an additional service, even if it comes with a price tag to customers, is it a value-added brand builder or expense? The answer to the question will impact how you use it and the customer experience you deliver. First, let’s address what value-added means. It’s about going beyond the tangible product or […]

Read More

CHECKLIST FOR MAKING YOUR MARKETING STRATEGIES MATTER MORE

Our marketing strategies do two things of critical importance. First, they direct brand development—our aims. Second, they serve as a filter to help ensure that everything we do for the brand is consistent with a given strategy. However, most strategies are poorly written, and that’s because they’re poorly thought-out. So, our aims can be inappropriate […]

Read More

ACHIEVING A SUCCESSFUL BRAND TURNAROUND

A turnaround is quite different from a brand or business rejuvenation and revitalization. A turnaround is just what the name suggests, turning the business around from failing to succeeding. It is not a snapshot in time, although the turnaround has an inflection point. It’s moving 180 degrees from failing to restoring viability and promoting success […]

Read More

DO YOU PRACTICE EMINENCE- OR EVIDENCE-BASED MARKETING?

In the early days of medicine, as late as the last century, during which many current marketers entered this world, eminence ruled medical practice. The practice included bizarre and radical treatments such as performing lobotomies on patients suffering from mental illness. Or bleeding patients with leeches to rid them of excess “humours” believed to cause […]

Read More

THINK ABOUT IT: COMPETITIVE BRAND POSITIONING STRATEGY

Do you have a physical copy of your brand’s Competitive Brand Positioning Strategy? If not, does that mean that you don’t have a brand positioning strategy?  Au contraire.  We define competitive positioning as “how we want target customers to perceive, think, and feel about our brand relative to competition.” Not having a memorialized statement doesn’t mean that […]

Read More

SOME PLAIN & SIMPLE PERSPECTIVES ON ADVERTISING

Advertising works; argue if you may. However, it doesn’t work for every brand. Promotion works too. But again, not for every brand. It’s too bad because spending behind what doesn’t work reduces the bottom line. The bottom line is what funds your brand and organization. Let’s not forget that growth opportunity losses are also a […]

Read More