Just Marketing

Mind over Marketing

2013-11-28T16:45:00.001-05:00

Competitive brand battles can be drawn out affairs, outlasting the tenures of several management teams. They can also be very expensive, often requiring outlays in the hundreds of millions of dollars. In some cases, billions of dollars are involved. It’s not just Coke versus Pepsi. These battles occur in every industry and practically every product category. Visa versus Mastercard. Nike

Why Brands are Crucial to Innovation

2013-11-17T11:54:00.000-05:00

Here’s a thought experiment. Imagine the engineers working in the product development labs at Volkswagen A.G. develop three innovations: a suspension for a smoother ride, a more fuel efficient ignition system, and a better safety restraint system. The strategic question for the company then is: which of its brands will carry each innovation? It wouldn’t make sense to introduce all of

Marketing TILT

2013-11-16T12:02:00.002-05:00

TILT was launched eleven days ago. I am thrilled with the reviews the book has received so far and with the reactions of those who have read it and tweeted about it. I have done a number of interviews about the book. Soon, a number of articles expanding on the ideas in the book will be appearing in the Harvard Business Review, Strategy + Business, the Ivey Business Journal, and elsewhere. But

Are Apple’s New Features Convincing Customers to Buy?

2013-11-01T11:45:00.001-04:00

This blog post originally appeared on the HBR Blogs Network. Barely has the hype from the launch of the iPhone 5s and 5c subsided that chatter about the iPhone 6 has begun. A larger screen size is rumored. Apple’s product innovation strategy places it on a punishing treadmill. If the company does not deliver new products or new features to the market’s expectations and calendar, investors

To Win, You Have to Do More than Create Better Services—An Interview with RainToday

2013-10-29T19:03:00.001-04:00

When managers are asked why their customers buy from their company, very few of them say it's because their company has the best services or product—or even that they have the best price. Listen to the complete interview here.

TILT website

2013-09-29T20:03:00.004-04:00

The brand new website about my upcoming book TILT is up and running -- although, it has not been widely announced yet. Check it out here and leave your comments below with your suggestions for improving it. Thanks!

TILT: What Advance Readers Are Saying

2013-08-22T11:14:00.001-04:00

TILT comes out in just over two months. Here's what some advance readers are saying: If you're a marketer, consider this dilemma: what would you do if you know a product you sell is crap, but the customers love it, want more of it, are willing to pay a premium for it, and can’t get enough of it? Would you make and sell more of it, or have nothing to do with it? The ethical choice is to have nothing to do with it, you say?

Too much innovation

2012-10-21T00:01:00.000-04:00