Like Apple, ING gets that the “store” environment isn’t just about pushing product. It’s about letting you browse, connect, get conformable with who they are.

So, ultimately, the best thing for the shopper and the brand is understanding and using customer reviews, comments, and ratings as you beging to learn what a brand is about, who they are really making this product for, and what you need to know to discover the brand that will fill your needs.

Back in May of this year Overstock.com, the well known — did I say well recognized and branded leader in online discount sales, changed it’s self-descriptive name to a meaningless wonder O.co. This brilliant move lead by the president and CEO Jonathan Johnson ignored all the rules about branding, brand value and building the position [...]

Only a month ago Qwikster was launched to repair the damage of mid July’s disasters announcement of the take-it-or-leave-it strategy of doubling the price of both DVD deliveries and streaming movies. After two ridiculous moves, resulting in tons of nasty comments and thousands of lost customers and a stock drop from $245 a share to [...]

Linking your cause with the Nabisco brand can’t possibly hurt. There is a new cause marketing campaign launched recently with boxes of Triscuits, the wheat crackers in the snack isle of your grocery store.

This was the time when retail was immediate and visual as you passed one store front after another. Seeing if you could get pulled into the store by what’s in the window.

The brands that convey the most customer loyalty like Apple, Coke and Nike are the you brands. The brands that convey your personalized experience that empowers you as part of a greater community.

When you think your consumer brand is well-known and enjoys incredible loyalty, that you can’t possibly loose your core customer, be wary. No matter how loyal customers are, they can desert you, especially if they, well, age and die off.

Yahoo seems to have no idea what it’s trying to do with it’s site. They don’t even power their own own search now that it has been “outsourced” to Microsoft.

When you go into a store, whether it’s a Safeway, a Macys or a Trader Joe’s, the signage immediately sets the tone. Is the place fun? Is it formal? Is it “hip”? And lastly, does this place communicate that they have what you want? Beneath the simplicity of hanging signs or shelf talkers can be [...]