BrandCultureTalk

A few months ago, this blog mentioned Samuel Culbert’s book on the pro’s and con’s of bullsh*t in the workplace. Well, one of our favorite organizational renegades is at it again, this time skewering that revered corporate tradition - the performance review. His article is worth a read. But for those of you who prefer the CliffsNotes… [Read more →]

We’re firm believers in vibrant intranets. More than a place to put an office directory and HR documentation, intranets have the capacity to help you communicate better with employees, and measure the effectiveness of that communication to communicate even better with employees, and measure the… you get the idea. What’s so great about intranets? [Read more →]

If you’ve ever encountered eye-rolling at your assertion that shopping is a religious experience, you may now revel in vindication. In his new book Buyology, Martin Lindstrom explains that the neural region that governs buying habits and brand allegiance is the very spot that lights up in response to religious iconography.

[Read more →]

Most marketers, designers, and consultants understand that there’s far more to a brand than a logo, but that doesn’t mean that logos don’t matter.

Your brand is the intersection between the promise you make to stakeholders, and the reputation (or lack thereof) you’ve earned in their minds. That reputation emanates from their interactions with your products, your prices, your offices, your stores, your staff, your partners, and anything else that is associated with you. And 99% of the time, their experience with you begins [Read more →]

With Republicans accusing Obama of buying the vote and the uproar over $150,000 wardrobes just subsiding, it’s a dangerous time for an expensive half-hour infomercial.

While the Obama campaign has largely been a model of branding perfection, its occasional outsized confidence (Berlin? Greek Columns? Thoughts of delaying the Phillies’ victory when Pennsylvania is a game-changer?) may have limited its success in closing the deal with the moderate middle. [Read more →]

What is the measure of a man? This question has sparked rhetorical debate among philosophers and poets for ages, but in the contemporary world of organizational development, proponents of a Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) would say it’s a no-brainer. [Read more →]

There are a few meta-brands that can be many things to many people (Coca Cola and McDonalds, for example), but the vast majority of brands can’t, and too many die trying. We submit that this is a lesson that every organization needs to learn, including a company we’re keeping an eye on: Zipcar.

In today’s economically uncertain, environmentally conscious times [Read more →]

Let us begin with an understatement: The economy is in a bad way. No doubt you’re aware that one of the first casualties was Merrill Lynch, whose acquisition by Bank of America was just the first of several since.

With our brains perpetually attuned to the branding and cultural implications [Read more →]

In a world inundated with logos, taglines, and packaging, where it seems that everything that can be said or designed already has been, is it truly possible to differentiate your brand? And at what cost?

Think back to Econ 101 and the principle of comparative advantage. In simple terms, [Read more →]

And now for something completely different…

In recent years, the apogee of fine dining has been defined by chefs adroit at manipulating and transforming ingredients into virtually unrecognizable concoctions. The pioneering molecular gastronomy of Ferran Adria’s El Bulli. The Fat Duck under Heston Blumenthal, delivering on the assertion that “Preparing and serving food . . . [is] the most complex and comprehensive of the performing arts.” The sous vide mastery of Thomas Keller’s French Laundry and Per Se. The “progressive American cuisine” of Grant Achatz at Alinea, which includes dishes such as Ayu (a Japanese fish) with watermelon, kombu (Japanese Kelp) and coriander topped with the desiccated fried spine of the fish that crunches [Read more →]