Brand Minute: National Donut Day
This past fall, we took a look at the brand loyalty among coffee brands as the start of cooler weather rolled in. Notably, pumpkin spice lattes versus Dunkin’ Iced Coffee.
The Unexpected Connection Between Branding and Pride.
Many people equate branding with a logo and some colors. But, well before we can create those visual elements of a brand, we have to define who that brand really is. That comes from sometimes asking tough and introspective questions: Why do you do what you do? Why does that matter? What is it about […]
Hey Internal Comms, Marketing Needs You.
The following comes from content hosted on The FIR Podcast Network: Douglas Spencer knows brand strategy. The former VP Global Brand Management for Thomson Reuters and founder of Boston-based consultancy Spencer Brenneman has spent two decades traversing the globe to work with brands in every sector from financial services to nonprofits. He has the same […]
May Newsletter 2019
BRANDING BULLETIN: THE BACK TO BASICS ISSUE Plus, an online education program, blog posts, and more! Don’t overthink it. Stick to the basics. How many times have you listened to someone struggle to explain what their company does? Or, perhaps you yourself are the one struggling. There’s no shame in that! You’re not alone. Those […]
Competitive Differentiation Among Streaming Services
For a while, Netflix was the only streaming option in town; competitive differentiation was not something it thought it had to worry about at first. While it first started out as DVD mailing, it has since evolved to streaming third-party content, original series, movies, and more. However, as the landscape of streaming services changes, more […]
McDonald’s acquisition of a machine learning startup
McDonald’s acquisition of machine learning startup Dynamic Yield was almost as big a surprise as when we found that out their fries were once fried in beef fat. Some were surprised. Others? Not so much. By taking a serious interest in machine learning—well, literally a full interest— McDonald’s is simply keeping pace with technology and […]
Five ways to get branding projects back on track
My, how time flies. It seems like just yesterday we were making those New Year’s resolutions and plotting out all those audaciously ambitious goals for 2019. Well my friends, Q1 is history and if you’re like most people (including yours truly), you have probably been distracted by less important but more urgent matters. That means […]
The Apple Brand and its Business Model Shift
How will Apple’s shifting business model impact the Apple brand strategy? Great question! On March 28, 2019, Apple announced its plans for news distribution, content creation and distribution, and money distribution (vis a vis a new credit card). These announcements are the latest signs of the company’s shift from a device to a content […]
Doing Business in Ireland and the United States
St. Patrick’s Day may officially memorialize Ireland’s foremost saint, but it’s expanded to celebrate Irish culture in general, all over the Western world. In our hometown of Boston, the holiday is especially popular. This year, we thought it would be fun to look at the similarities and differences of doing business in Ireland and the […]
Competitive Differentiation: Why it Matters
A Cornerstone of Any Successful Brand Competitive differentiation. It’s something we stress a lot here, and if you’ve been following us and our work on how to brand your business, you know that we urge brands to make themselves as relevant and competitively differentiated as possible. Sure, the product or service you are offering […]
