rethinking brand

By encouraging employees to both seek and provide help, rewarding givers, and screening out takers, companies can reap significant and lasting benefits. A McKinsey Quarterly article.

We often get asked, "how can you compete with free?". It may seem like a valid question; with so many free website building tools around, why do web design companies still exist? Surely people can just make their own.

Hilary Kolman considers herself a happy person, but who wouldn’t like to be happier? So when she learned that her employer, media agency MEC, was going to offer a small number of employees slots in a workshop on happiness, she wanted in.

If you’ve spent any time at all recently reading PR and marketing blogs, you know that storytelling is a top trend, and for good reason.  Building storytelling into the communications mix delivers ...

Thousands of company leaders around the world ask: Does customer service truly differentiate a company -- head and shoulders -- above the competition? Do customers return to companies because of cu...

Over the past few weeks, we have been discussing different aspects of change—most recently, with suspension on how we can move forward on our own pace when it comes to change. But once we’ve made the commitment to change, how do we know we are ready?

The value of social entrepreneurship revolves around the ideals of the entrepreneur, who is engaged in a constant balancing act between “profit and purpose”.

iPad vs. Blender (Photo credit: methodshop.com) By Tim Devaney It could be the best content-marketing campaign of all time: the “Will It Blend?

We are more than just shoes! Zappos is a service company that just happens to sell ________. These are two statements that sit at the core of everything Zappos is, and guide Zappos as a company that continues to innovate.

“It makes me proud,” declares Fawnya Ramirez, a Starbucks store manager from San Mateo, Calif.

We can probably agree that public relations tactics have changed pretty dramatically over the last several years, responding to sea changes in information consumption, the role of professional medi...

Innovation isn't just one person's job. A highly innovative company makes innovation the norm throughout the organization, from top to bottom.

The new bottom line of business, customer delight, is something I have discussed in relation to various sectors including: Retailing (Apple) Food industry (Kraft, Sara Lee) Conglomerates (GE) Clothing (Li & Fung) Supermarkets (Wal-Mart) Customer...

Do consumers in emerging economies spend more responsibly? Those consumers seem to be doing the most to reward businesses that support societal causes, according to a recent survey.

“I believe leaders are most inspiring when their message is deeply personal and yet resonant with the concerns of others.” – Gianpiero Petriglieri, INSEAD
There’s a parallel between what makes a strong leader and what defines a meaningful business.

An iconic business brand rocks with the announcement of its latest product. Ben and Jerry's, the ice cream company known for its outrageous flavors is back.

When examining whether a brand is truly fit for the future, the temptation could be to focus too much on the details of the current product or service and identifying how the most material impacts could be addressed through incremental improvements.