When I first visited Chicago in the late 1970s, you couldn’t find a road without a pothole or an alley that wasn’t blocked by someone’s abandoned Pinto. Much of the near southwest side was a mire of unmarked streets and buildings scarred by riots from a decade before. Every complaint you heard was followed up [...]
This button, inspired by a remark that Dean Martin supposedly made about his Rat Pack buddy, reminds us of the value of a strong brand personality. A brand personality isn’t a nicety — nor is it a color palette, a logo or guidelines for photographic style. Think of how human personalities you’ve known have inspired [...]
I met last week with Gary McCullough, President and CEO of Career Education Corporation. Gary came up through the Procter & Gamble brand marketing group, and is the former chief marketing officer for Wrigley. He shared with me how he took “a page straight out of the P&G handbook – fewer brands with better differentiation” [...]
The nonprofit galaxy grew a bit dimmer this month with the loss of one of its brightest stars, Woody Wickham. Lipman Hearne staff had the pleasure, and honor of partnering with Woody on multiple occasions. His unmatched acuity was evident in our joint work on behalf of the MacArthur Foundation and with one of our [...]
Are brands powerful signifiers of social identity, or are they mere corporate claptrap – or both?
Joselyn Zivin, Senior VP, Brand Stategy and Planning, recently read two books that make provocative arguments.