The Archives

• 06.11.08
  Real-World Value Litmus Test for Startups
  Brands and Marketing

  Maybe it’s because I studied a decent amount of economics in school, but I think the first step in marketing anything on a large scale is to know the economic conditions and trends you’re selling into. The best products will address gaps and problems being actively discussed on the public record. While a valuable product will sell regardless of economic conditions, strategic positioning can still be influenced by astute economic observations. The best place to get a quick overview of macro trends and conditions is by paying attention to quality newspapers. As an example, here are paraphrased quotes lifted ...
  
  
• 06.09.08
  Free: The Business Model of Paul Coelho and the Grateful Dead
  Social Media

  A reader from Sydney, Ian van Niekerk, sent me a great article featured in February’s Fortune Magazine. The article discusses how Brazilian author Paulo Coelho has been an apostle of the economics of free Internet distribution for years. In 1999, best-selling author Paulo Coelho, who wrote "The Alchemist," was failing in Russia. That year he sold only about 1,000 books, and his Russian publisher dropped him. But after he found another, Coelho took a radical step. On his own Web site, launched in 1996, he posted a digital Russian copy of "The Alchemist." With no additional promotion, print sales picked up ...
  
  
• 03.24.08
  The Resurrection of Starbucks
  Brands and Marketing

    It’s been a while since I wrote about brand reputation optimization, a term I coined last year. However, Starbucks has recently been facing a storm of controversy and I believe how it is handling the adversity is well worth paying attention to. Not too long ago as I sat in a Starbucks already annoyed at having to pay $9.95 for wifi, a barista awkwardly approached me – clearly something was up. “Sir, all Starbucks will be closing early tonight. We are having a major training session among all locations worldwide.” The events of that ‘training session’ have been chronicled on many blogs. While ...
  
  
• 01.20.08
  Time to be Worried?
  My Experiences

  I'm composing this post on a Blackberry while in the woods of New Hampshire, so apologies for any sloppieness! This weekend has given me an opportunity to read several articles on the state of Fed as well as a post by Paul Kedrosky on why the tech sector may not be immune to a recession.Overall I'm not as optimistic on the economy's outlook as I was several months ago. Indeed I am border line worried. At my grandfather's 90th birthday dinner last night he spoke about the difficult economic conditions he grew up in during the 1930's and then treated us all ...
  
  
• 01.17.08
  Apples Latest New York Times Ad is Killer
  Brands and Marketing

  Apple has a new ad placement spot that is tough to miss – the front page of the New York Times. What’s particularly cool about this ad is that ‘PC guy’ actually appears to use the architecture of the Times’ website and clearly plays off the fact that the ad is being displayed on a newspaper's homepage (references the Wall Street Journal, etc). This is a great example of where ads are headed in 2008 (more interactive and more aware of their environment). I expect this campaign will continue to kill – I mean, even PC guy is now ...
  
  
• 01.14.08
  Patent Reform: Boring but Important
  Tech'nomics

      Patent reform is an under-discussed topic among bloggers and entrepreneurs, likely because it is so complex, esoteric and costly. According to some VCs, patent defense is so improbable that they consider patents the most "overvalued assets" trumpeted by startups seeking funding. While most people understand the need for reform stemming from patent trolls, less well understood are the other issues embedded in the proposed new legislation reforms. In this weekend’s New York Times, John Markoff does a decent job of covering some of these controversies… “Passed by the House of Representatives with relatively little debate, the Patent Reform Act of ...
  
  
• 01.07.08
  The Shifting of Employment and Status Conventions
  Tech'nomics

  Rarely do conventions shift in terms employment and work -- especially as related to issues of class and education. The New York Times has one of the most though provoking articles I have read in a long time. ‘Sensible’ young people are taught early on to aspire for the following: if you are fortunate to be both smart and most well-off you should slave away on homework, attain a high GPA and attend private college. If at all possible, an ivy. Next, these same smart, wealthy types should then go on to more advanced education in the form of graduate ...
  
  
• 12.24.07
  Identity Through Brands
  Brands and Marketing

  More articles discussing the role brands and consumer products play in self-identity and personal branding... In The Only Sweater a Mom and Analyst Could Love, author Matthew Weiner describes the ‘between the lines’ nature of gift giving, “…the reality is that getting a gift is like being set up on a blind date. Like it or not, your friend or family member is sending you a message telling you in a coded way what they think you want, what you deserve and, on some level, who they think you are.” Weiner then unfolds a wonderful story, culminating in his ...
  
  
• 12.23.07
  Shopdropping: So Dope!
  Brands and Marketing

    The New York Times is a running a great article highlighting a new trend in the fashion, come art, come merry prankster world known as shopdropping. The idea is to legally purchase a consumer product, take it home and “improve it," then return it back to the store racks as though it had never been purchased. Such product improvements range from artistic projects, to humor, to outlandish messages and stunts… One of my favorite concepts is “cement cuddlers.” A group of pranksters purchased cute teddy bears from a toy shop and then proceeded to fill the bears with cement. ...
  
  
• 12.10.07
  Is It Possible to De-Luxurize? Squashing a Misperception
  Brands and Marketing

  The sport of squash was mentioned in the New York Times yesterday and not surprisingly the article focused on squash as an elite sport played by the wealthy and used as a means to get budding yuppies cubs into the nation’s top colleges and private schools. Squash currently suffers from a problem that most brands would kill to have: its perception as a luxury product. The issue is one of mass appeal. In order for squash to attain more mainstream sports status, it must shed its connotations of the Ivy League and Greenwich, and instead return the focus to ...
  
  

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