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It hasn’t been smooth sledding lately for the venerable Flexible Flyer brand. The iconic downhill coaster was invented by businessman Samuel Leeds Allen outside of Philadelphia just over the river in New Jersey. Seems the stern, hard-working Quaker was serious about winter sport. His daughter reports he tested every hill on his property, [...] Corporate restructuring can make perfect financial sense, yet create a perfect mess out of the brand. Take Marathon Oil, which just announced it is spinning off its “downstream” refining and retail operations. Those low margin businesses drag down the finances of the whole company, so a spin off is a shrewd move. Still, calling one company [...] Today’s Wall Street Journal Law Blog has an interesting article on naming laws and statutes. This is an area I have covered a time or two from a branding perspective. Naming anything is actually an act of persuasion–your name says something about your company, product or idea for a new law or policy. It’s no [...] Automotive News is reporting the Jeep Wagoneer brand will be back in car showrooms come January 13th. The Brand That Invented the SUV The brand pioneered the concept of the sport utility vehicle in 1965. Though it was discontinued in 1993, the brand still has it’s fans: “That was such an awesome rig!” enthuses one Wagoneer devotee. [...] Politico reports that Nancy Pelosi wants to fix her personal brand and has asked Steven Spielberg to help her out. Companies often think they can fix their brands by tinkering at with their image—a new logo, a name change, a new statement of purpose. The problem is that brand isn’t something so superficial as image. [...] The book Doublespeak by William Lutz defines the term as language that: Pretends to communicate but does not Language should serve communication, but doublespeak is about “misleading, distorting, deceiving, [...] The potential break up of Fortune Brands will unlock tremendous brand value. The brands in this company’s portfolio have little relationship with the parent company or each other; they simply happen to be owned by a single holding company. Fortune Brands today is a prime example of how a poor brand architecture strategy actively diminishes [...] |
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