Brands must establish trust in order to survive. How do you regain trust in your brand when it has been lost? There is no doubt a plethora of people at Boeing asking that question today. By now, billions of people around the world are aware of the crisis that Boeing, a leader in aerospace engineering […]
What Can You Do When Your Entire Industry Is In Jeopardy?
By now, most people are aware of the benefits promised by the transformation of transportation systems that’s already underway. Whether it’s the electrification of automobiles, subscription services, driverless cars, or mobility as a service (Lyft, Uber, etc.), the way we move around is becoming vastly different from how we moved around just a few short […]
Reebok Chooses To “Be More Human”
Early in 2013, Reebok approached our team with the need to develop a deep, emotional understanding of the motivations of fitness customers and the context of fitness activity in 6 countries. Our team spent 6 weeks on a round-the-world journey to uncover the common beliefs, values and motivators for hard core fitness enthusiasts in order […]
What Ford’s and Chipotle’s Recent Actions Reveal About Their Values
Values matter. That’s the message that comes through loud and clear in recent moves by Ford and Chipotle. In Ford’s case, they took on Cadillac by spoofing their ‘Poolside’ ad with an #Upside ad that calls attention to the values that Ford espouses, while mocking Cadillac’s blatant materialist bent. Meanwhile, over at Chipotle, they are […]
A Letter from James Cash Penney to JCPenney
In recent weeks, the saga over the fate of JCPenney has been all over the media and advertising industry trade publications, most recently with a warranty spat involving a customer unhappy with a defective engagement ring. We’ve been tracking the situation and decided to dig into the history of the brand and its founder, James […]
Elections, CSR, Hurricanes and Common Threads
The US electorate has been locked into a bitter divide over the Presidential election for the past year and a half, and while voters can get caught up in issues of the moment, in some ways, it really doesn’t matter who wins. The basic realities of the global market will continue to come into sharper […]
A World of Customers is Sustainable, a Consumer World Isn’t
We believe that “consumer” is a kind of four-letter word. When we hear it we can’t help but wonder if people are really thinking critically about what they’re saying.
You Must Understand Your Most Valuable Customer
Brands can realize dramatic short term improvements in profitability and long term improvements in brand health by focusing attention on their Most Valuable Customers.
Brands Are Accountable To Society as a Whole Beyond Their Customers
We live in a time where a quick Twitter search can deliver the pulse of the global community on any topic imaginable in real-time, including a brand’s activities in the marketplace.
Brand Value is a Direct Result of a Brand’s Values
As customers gain access to more information about brands’ activities in the market and on the global stage, they naturally develop affinity with brands whose values align with their own.