In defence of United Airlines employees
United is the butt of everyone's jokes and derision, including mine, but it maybe useful to consider how they got there. Carlos Munoz was awarded the communicator of the year in March, a few weeks before the unfortunate Dr Dao booked a seat to go and see a patient...
The two faces of a successful brand
People relate to brands, see them as having characteristics best described in human terms Whenever I have done research over 40 years in this game and sought to identify the elements of a brand, the one constant has been that human terms have been used to describe...
Have you ever had a conversation with a ‘chatbot’?
Not sure? I do not blame you, they have suddenly become very smart indeed. A few weeks ago I had a cause to submit a problem I was having with a web service via their website. A very helpful bloke came back to me almost immediately with a response, and we interacted...
Leveraging the flip side of an elevator pitch
Honing an elevator pitch is something we all should do, and many spend hours writing and practising a pitch, following one of the many templates around, most of which are similar. Grab attention. Describe the product. Articulate the benefit. All in 30 seconds. We...
Can you shrink your way to prosperity?
There is the old story of the successful large business becoming an unsuccessful smaller one. Usually it is accompanied by stories of missed opportunities, poor strategies and a focus on cost cutting. The poster boy for this transformation in my personal experience is...
4 foundation principles for brand building
Albert Einstein was a great thinker, he changed the world, but he is not much associated with marketing & business. However, when you read through his various musings, he should be up there in the pantheon of great marketing thinkers like David Ogilvy, Seth Godin,...
Is this the most effective brand destruction strategy you have ever seen?
I know the United Airlines debacle a few days ago has received a lot of exposure, but at the risk of adding to it, have you ever seen anything that even approaches the level of corporate stupidity displayed? You might think that after the lesson of breaking Dave...
Competition for attention creates Opportunity
The nature of competition has changed dramatically in the last decade. We no longer live in a world where information is limited and controlled, where the old truism that information is power gave the few power over the rest of us applies. It is no longer a...
Will your O-ring kill you?
We are all familiar with the notion that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, it makes absolute sense. However, not a lot of us have ever considered the idea that our weakest link could kill us, and yet, it can. On January 28, 1986, the spaceshuttle...
The tragedy of ‘doing a Fairfax’
The once great Fairfax media empire, once a fearless protector of our democracy, on Wednesday announced a further rationalisation in an effort to save $30 million. This is another in a long list of 'Adjustments' and programs which have become code for making...