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.

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.

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 [...]

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

If you’re like me most of your banking is done online these days. I go the accounts area, pay bills, move money around and occasionally check out other services, all with no person involved. I then deposit checks at nonhuman ATM machines. I usually only interact when I need something fixed or just plain don’t [...]

The motivation to protect what’s unique to a specific community, a region, or a particular street has come as a reaction to the mass influx of chain stores in the last 30 years.

The actual design of the new labels along with the methodology to change the names is a disjointed and confusing with sports illustrations that look like a collage gone bad. There are so many activities I can’t figure out what I’m supposed to be doing. The visual images are more evocative of an energy drink than a beer.