I've Seen the Future and it's… The Crowd

A couple weeks ago, I attended the first-ever TEDxEast conference, and found a remarkably consistent theme to several speakers’ presentations.  The notion of consumers and the public interacting with brands, concepts, and issues, in a manner that ultimately shapes the evolution of brand experiences, urban environments, and even creative thought and performance.
There’s a spirited debate [...]

Whatever Happened to Flying the Friendly Skies?

I have a confession: I’m a frequent traveler.  By choice.  Even in these days of predictable flight delays; baggage handling snafus; charges for in-flight meals, snacks, and pillows even; and endless waits in long lines on the tarmac while flights takeoff or disembark passengers.
I make regular trips to the nation’s capital at least nine times [...]

Talk about brand allegiance…

A closer at Apple reveals a must-have brand synonymous with trend-setting innovation and technology.

Is 50-Barbie Still a "10" for Mattel?

Now that Barbie’s hit the half-century mark, does Mattel need to give her brand a reality check for the millenium?

Comfort Brands

I have been listening and reading with bewildered awe the vehement anger that consumers have felt over Tropicana’s re-branding, which they debuted earlier this year. And while any discussion about Tropicana is so two weeks ago, the whole discussion has had me thinking about something all together different: Comfort Brands.
In an economic climate where fear [...]

The World Awaits?

So today I came across a banner ad on buy.com that was introducing “The Black Card” by Visa. “The world’s most prestigious and versatile credit card” boasts a limited membership, 24-hour concierge service (whatever that means), an exclusive rewards program, luxury gifts and, wait for it, a Patent Pending Carbon Card…all for the low annual [...]

The Link Between Customer Experience and Brand Loyalty… or

What Have You Done for Me Lately?

A recent study from Forrester Research confirms what most would presume to be true:  a business’s customer experience is often closely linked with its brand loyalty.
Customer experience was evaluated based on usefulness, ease of use, and enjoyability.   Not surprisingly, customer experience strongly correlated (in most cases) with buying more [...]