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.

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.

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.

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

This focus on the customer built incredible loyalty and connection. They educated every customer, they increased their level of awareness and in the end they became the preferred choice in the category.

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 [...]

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.

Rule 1. in building brands is evolve value and keep building on what you have. Most companies that have dumped an old name for a new one to try to “reinvent” themselves have run head on into customer confusion.

The shocking part about the Gap’s disastrous misstep is that it shows their lack of connection to their own consumers, which is incredibly important.