What more could the most passionately loyalist Applephiles crave more than their own personal Steve Jobs sitting next to them as they ponder the use of their new iPad or Macbook Air, looking over to see Steve watching with approval; what could be better?

So the brand is really a creation of our personality and chunk of our identity in our lives. It’s our story combined with the brand’s story.

Although most people think of an Apple Store as being part of an upscale mall or some other a high-end retail location, Grand Central Station really is the perfect location, and it shows that the Apple real estate group really “gets it” about retail. It’s about nurturing the ecology that brings together consumers, location and buying opportunity.

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 [...]

In marketing and branding it’s all about the target audience and how you get your message across. Who will you attract? What will be the value they see? It’s not always easy when you have a place called Fred’s diner or Maria’s Taco Shop.

Okay, tell your super-loyal customers that you are giving them two months notice, then you are doubling the price of the products they know and love. You get a choice to get streaming movies, which have a limited number of titles, or continue your DVD deliveries, which have just about everything

We say that an iconic, recognizable label needs three things: a clear visual that represents the name – an icon like the bison, the brand name and lastly the style of beer. This is what consumers are cruising for as they cover the shelves.

Cisco, like many technology companies, thinks only linearly. What they do is in the context of their technological hold in the market, but the Flip does not fit this model

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.

You can have a GroupOn activity that happens an hour from now and done by the end of the day targeting a self-selected group of customers who are actually interested in your offers. This is the maximum use of incentives to the right motivated customers. It’s just another way to create opportunity in the marketplace– a reason for customers to buy now.