Entries by Jay York

LARRY LIGHT BECOMES FORBES CMO NETWORK CONTRIBUTOR

Arcature CEO Larry Light has been tapped as the latest Forbes.com Contributor within their exclusive CMO Network. From his Forbes Contributor Bio: My focus is building brands as the basis for enduring profitable business growth. I have won a variety of marketing awards. In its report on Best Marketers of the Decade, AdWeek reported that […]

LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES OF OTHERS

Almost 30 years ago, Peter Senge, a systems scientist and lecturer at MIT’s business school, developed the concept of the learning organization. This idea became a big wave in organizational development and thinking. Basically, a learning organization is a company that enables the learning of its members while continuously transforming. According to Mr. Senge and […]

THE SIX RULES OF BRAND REVITALIZATION: ETSY’S BRAND RECOVERY

Recent news about Etsy indicates that the new leadership under CEO Josh Silverman has implemented a successful brand turnaround. The online crafts seller was in dire straits just a year ago. There was consensus among many that Etsy was doomed, a victim of not only Amazon, but also other direct to customer selling on sites […]

FUTURE PROOFING BRANDS

Many big holding companies are reexamining their organizations. Activist investors are urging many of their holdings to sell businesses for immediate profit. Advertising holding companies are also considering sales of businesses along with the consolidation of agencies into a more cohesive whole. General Electric, WPP, P&G, Nestlé are just some of the companies that are […]

AND THE REST IS HISTORY: THE ECONOMICS OF A BRAND BACKSTORY

When it comes to brands, history is a valuable asset. A brand’s heritage or backstory is a signal of four things: content, clarity, consistency, and credibility. Some brands have been around for centuries while some brands are relatively new. Regardless of the age of your brand, recent research (Pecot, Merchant, Valette-Florence, De Barnier, 2018) reinforcing […]

BRAND DECISION-MAKING IN AN INFORMATION-RICH WORLD

Today, we have so many ways to learn about brands: there are multiple platforms and information comes in multiple formats such as video, audio, VR, AR, as well as text search. When information is delivered in multiple formats, the information is considered “rich”. New research (Maity, Dass, and Kumar) reveals that the “richness” of the […]

BRAND EXTENSIONS STRENGTHEN BRANDS

The more ways a customer experience the delivery of a brand promise, the stronger the brand connection. Well-managed extended brands build brand loyalty. For example, having great experiences with Samsung mobile phones as a young adult can influence your choice of a Samsung washer and dryer later in your life. Apple is enjoying the fruits […]

THE LURE OF LOCALIZATION

Customization and personalization are increasingly important marketing opportunities. Customization means flexibility of product and service design. Personalization means respecting and reflecting personal differences, attitudes and values. Personalization conveys respect for customers as individuals. There is another powerful force… the lure of localization. Localization is more than the farmers’ market or the neighborhood craft brewery.  Local […]

THE ART OF ATTITUDE

In our increasingly visual, digital, world of video posts and selfie poses, Pinterest, and Snapchat, a powerful non-verbal attitude is a must for a brand. Brand attitude is not claimed. It must be designed into the brand experience. McKinsey & Co. posted an article on their website, “Ten Design Practices to Deliver Business Value.” McKinsey […]

A LOVE AFFAIR WITH MARKETING NUMEROLOGY

A walk through the market research trade press is a frightening experience. The articles are paeans to technology and proprietary methodologies. If we can quantify something, it must be actionable. It is a love affair with marketing numerology. Market research has split into two groups: the academics who publish statistical articles in technical journals. (To […]