Helping good people build great brands.
I submit to you that there are three levels of brand values.
Here, you’re saying, “Values are irrelevant – profit is what we’re here for.” You don’t think about your Why; you’re focused on your What and your How.
It’s unimaginative, but at least it’s honest. If you’re up-front about your desire to relieve me of some of the money in my wallet, I can work with you on those terms.
Continue reading “Three Levels of Brand Values”
There’s a question that’s asked far too rarely as we develop brand and business strategies. It’s simple but extremely powerful, since it shapes everything that you’ll do as a team or organization.
The question:
Who do we want to be?
It’s challenging to lead an organization in the best of times. In a time of scarcity – like the one we recently, abruptly entered – it can feel impossible.
But navigating difficulty is one of the roles of a leader. As FDR said, “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.”
Continue reading “Don’t Waste This Crisis: How Strong Values Improve Strategy”(Reading Time: 4 minutes)Budweiser debuted one of this year’s most-discussed Super Bowl ads. Called “Brewed the Hard Way,” it’s still running. I saw it twice on CBS yesterday.
In this spot, Bud declares, in screen-filling block text, that it’s “proudly a macro beer.”
“It’s not brewed to be fussed over,” the text announces, as a bearded, bespectacled hipster inhales deeply from a tulip glass filled with a stout-like brew. “It’s brewed for a crisp smooth finish.”
“It’s brewed for drinking, not dissecting,” it continues. We see more hipsters, this time sampling a beer flight.
“Let them sip their pumpkin peach ale,” it proclaims. “We’ll be brewing us some golden suds.”
Why the broadside against craft brews and those who drink them? Continue reading “Dove, Bud and the Quest for Real Brand Values”