All posts tagged Branding

American Airlines’ Rebranding Effort

By on January 17, 2013 in Branding with No Comments

AA-Logo1A for Effort, B for Execution

Back in my management consulting days with Ernst & Young, I spent a lot of time with my butt in the seat of many airlines. And one of my least favorite, but most frequently traveled was American Airlines. It’s always boggled the mind how American was one of the carriers that succeeded, while more progressive airlines failed. Sure the service sucked, but don’t they all now? But AA never even bothered to try to modernize their branding and marketing (at least not in my lifetime), while all the other airlines, at least have paid some attention to it by upgrading their planes, brands, messaging, etc.  Read more…

Perfecting the Art of the Pitch

By on July 24, 2012 in Branding, Startups with No Comments


Ahh – my favorite topic- the pitch. I heard a great article on NPR’s Morning Edition about how the NewME Accelerator is helping startups perfect their pitch. In the piece, Amy Standen talks about how the “pitch is everything”. It’s how you sell your company, how you create buzz and how you get investors. But lots of startups continue to really stink at this. Read more…

Beyond the “Why”

By on July 18, 2012 in Branding, Marketing Strategy, Startups with No Comments

I love Simon Sinek, but ….

… I fear some entrepreneurs are missing the boat on his “Getting to Why” message.  In his popular Tedx Talk,  Simon explains his philosophy of starting with Why, then explain How, and finally give the What. He gives the example of the inspired way Apple Computers presents itself to the world. Read more…

Top 10 Product Game Changers – #3 Plum Organics

By on May 17, 2012 in Branding, Design, Product Marketing, Startups with No Comments

I’m taking a short break from my Infographics articles, to return to a topic I started writing on a few years back – product game changers. I recently attending a talk put on by Inc. Magazine that featured Dan Heath Read more…

Sunk Costs? Forget About Them

By on November 10, 2011 in Branding, Startups with No Comments

In my new favorite podcast – from the Freakonomics guys – Stephen Dubner talked about “The Upside of Quitting.” The podcast covered a lot about why people quit various career paths, but it got me thinking of a simple concept I learned in b-school about sunk costs and how this applies to marketing. Read more…

Business or Personal Brand

By on September 15, 2011 in Branding, Startups with No Comments

I often run into people wondering what they should name their company – use their name or create a business name. Now that I’m a marketing consultant and my product is essentially me, I’ve struggled with the decision of branding myself, but in the end went with a corporate brand for the following reasons: Read more…

Top 5 Logo Mistakes

By on June 2, 2011 in Branding, Design with 2 Comments

Often I find myself trying to work with existing brands that weren’t really thought through before they started design and as a result we end up making lots of design compromises to accommodate a poorly-designed logo. The first thing a lot of start-ups do is run out and hire someone to design a logo before they’ve had a chance to think about their desired brand identity and marketing plan. The logo design process can’t effectively be done until you’ve got a very clear picture of who you are, why you are in business, and what are your business objectives for your brand. Read more…