Seemingly Conflicting Advice For Brands I have been guilty, I realise, of giving brands two conflicting pieces of advice: You should stand out You should fit in You should stand out, of...
Read moreAvoiding Competition To Maximise Brand Growth Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene Romeo & Juliet __ Human beings are copying...
Read moreThe Beautiful Lie Of Starbucks' Strategy Everyone agrees, apparently, that it’s good for a brand to be “authentic”. So much so that it’s become one of those overused words that people...
Read moreWhy your business strategy is not defined by what you make Many projects I work on begin with this rough scenario: Company launches product - sales grow - sales start to plateau - company...
Read moreStrategic Positioning Requires Looking Way Beyond Your Competitors A couple of days ago I came across a great anecdote. It concerned the skirmish that broke out in the early 1750s between an...
Read moreWhy Most Marketing Strategy Doesn't Work Something is wrong with marketing. Looking back at my clients, I struggle to think of any that have a wholly positive relationship with it. For...
Read moreThe Big Brand Positioning Mistake We Are All Guilty Of Occasionally I’ve seen it noted that the more normal, safe, and suburban someone’s life, the more gruesome and unpleasant the novels they...
Read moreSometimes Strategic Differentiation Doesn't Have To Be Smart, Just Different A rotting lion carcass, being devoured by bees. I was surprised to learn the other day that this is what is depicted...
Read moreWhy most brands fail to get brand positioning right If I was going to recommend just one piece of research to my clients - or indeed any business - without hesitation, it would be this: Find...
Read moreThe Power Of Asymmetric Bets In Business And In Life We live under the illusion of control. We believe that we design our lives, we design our companies, we design culture, and we design human...
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