Gibson Guitars raided by the government. Really, was this necessary?

Charlie Sheen has reinforced for me one of the immutable laws of branding – The Law of The Word. If you’ve read Al Ries’ famous book The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding,  you’ll remember the fifth law.   This law simply states that the goal of any brand is to own one word in the […]

According to a new study, 66% of consumers have ended a business relationship over bad customer service.  And 61% swiched to a competitor, while 39% just stopped buying. So, for every ten customers you lose due to bad service, you lose both those customers for life (and their referrals), and you have helped your competition by sending […]

AOL has changed it’s logo. It is not a change for the better. This is the easiest post I have ever written, because the visuals tell the story. I really need to dial up my chutzpa and get into branding one of these days….. OLD AOL Logo: New AOL Logo:

You can also file this under “Stupid”, “Jumped the Shark”, “Dumb” and probably a few others. Starbucks instant coffee to be revealed next week http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/02/13/starbucks-instant-coffee-to-be-revealed-next-week/ I thought Starbucks was all about the experience and building friendships? Maybe they took their mission statement the wrong way.

I just learned in the October issue of Scouting Magazine that the creator of the Pinewood Derby passed away at the age of 90. I have participated in over a dozen Pinewood Derby races as a Scout, Cubmaster, and father of two Scouts.  Yet, I had never wondered about who came up with the original […]

Starting tomorrow, 9/11 of all days, I’ll be on the road and hoping to see lots old and new friends. Tomorrow I am speaking at the JFAM:Live! Fall 2008 Symposium at the Bloomberg Building in NYC. JFAM is a catchy acronym for the Journal of Financial Advertising and Marketing, run by Bill and Samantha Wreaks. […]