Brand Mix

Here's my summary of interesting things I read (or saw) this last week. No theme this week:

1) Brand Assets: Egg Strategy
Beckham wants out of LA. His 2 year mission to transform soccer in America hasn't gone that well. He's been injured a lot and the Galaxy are a mess. Now he wants to stay in Italy and play for A.C. Milan permanently. (He's on loan at the moment.) Egg Strategy points out that, if that happens, the MLS brand gets a double shot in the guts brand-wise. Bet it does.

2) Lazy Marketing: Tom Asaker
Many people commented one way or another on Denny's Super Bowl ad and follow-up grand slam breakfast giveaway. Tom points out that some the measures used to describe the promotion as a "success" are lazy at best. Yes, 2 million people free breakfasts were served but was this a good return on the $5 million spent? Did they have a good experience? Will they go back again? Tom doubts it. For a more upbeat assessment, see here.

3) brand you? denise lee yohn
Not surprisingly, given the times, personal branding is a hot topic again. Denise worries that some of the self-described personal branding experts don't really know what they're talking about and will contribute to what's already a high level of misunderstanding about what branding is. She takes her own stab at translating her definition of branding to the realm of individuals. Meanwhile, I spent some of this week going the other way i.e. trying to apply personal branding back to the realm of business. Results soon!

4) How I'm trying to change the world now Bill Gates



Bill Gates, speaking at TED about malaria, unleashed mosquitoes on his nervously-laughing audience. "More money is put into baldness than malaria" he points out. For comment on his first foundational letter, see here.

5) On bathroom signage: Made to Stick
Dan Heath saw a sign in a coffee shop that read: “THE BATHROOMS HAVE BEEN LOCKED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE.” Although this appeared to be self-serving and not convenient at all, it turned out that there was a perfectly good reason. By not sharing this real reason, the coffee shop kept Dan at arm's length and let him jump to the wrong conclusion. Better to give them a glimpse of reality rather than obscure it.

6) Monday morning quarterbacking: Almost everyone ('cept me!)
Tons of opinions about the Super Bowl ads. In case you haven't read enough already, here's a selection (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9). Freakonomics points out that, in fact, the best Super Bowl ad strategy is to get your ad banned. That way you get the PR and YouTube boost without having to pay $3 million. PETA succeeded with that strategy this year with this ad.

That's it. See you next week for more stories from the world of brand strategy.