June 2024
October 2012
FINDING THE UNFOUND
Over time, I've developed a relationship with the Mensa Organization. What an indescribably intelligent bunch of people! Membership is restricted to the top two percent as measured by performance on standardized intelligence tests. Around since [...]
August 2012
LONGEVITY SPELLS GOLD IN THE BRAND OLYMPICS
A 71 year-old Japanese equestrian is the oldest competitor at this year's Olympics. He first competed in the Olympics 48 years ago. The BBC reports women in Hong Kong (average life expectancy: 86.7 years) now [...]
June 2012
THE DAY THE COOKIE CUTTER CRUMBLED
Who can resist beaming at the sheer power of today's systems. Marvel at how shipment delivery dates have become more reliable. Swim in a veritable sea of information about your customers and slice every shred [...]
August 2011
BRANDING: THE PERIL OF BIG IDEAS
Ad legend David Ogilvy wrote in Ogilvy on Advertising, "Unless your advertising contains a big idea, it will pass like a ship in the night." Big Ideas are essential to success throughout all of marketing [...]
September 2010
CONSUMERS DRAFTING COACHES
The NFL player draft is now a prime-time media event. In ratings this year, ESPN pulled more than seven million viewers on its evening kickoff. That gave it a lofty second slot in audience size. [...]
SURVIVING IN STYLE: IS SIMON GRAJ’S SURVIVAL STORE RETAILING’S NEXT GENERATION?
AFTER YEARS IN THE BRAND consulting and retail design business, Simon Graj and Graj+Gustavsen, the firm he founded 20 years ago, are pioneering new retail formats. Engineering a shopping experience based on human needs, the [...]
July 2010
IS YOUR BRAND LEGALLY COOL ENOUGH?
In the film Legally Blonde, Elle (played by Reese Witherspoon), as an absolutely unexpected Harvard law scholar, comes up with some totally improbable lines. Like: "It's impossible to use a half-loop stitching on low-viscosity rayon." [...]
WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?
Ideas go in and out of fashion. Any fool knows that. A far more interesting premise: It's not just ideas that lose their shine. A certain species of idea may be on the rise or [...]
March 2010
SUSTAINABLE: THE NEW FASHION SMART
During the recent deep downturn, alarmists painted a bleak picture of consumer behavior and retreat: • Frills would disappear forever. • Consumers would agonize endlessly over buying decisions. • High-utility products would drive style and [...]