In January we delivered our “Brand Bailout” stimulus presentation to the local Young Presidents Organization. One of our key assertions was that now, during depressed economic circumstances, is precisely the time to invest in and nurture your brand. Consider that one valuation of Coca-Cola’s business comprises 60% attributable just to the brand value.

As one Coca-Cola executive is quoted as saying:

“If Coca-Cola were to lose all of its production-related assets in a disaster, the company would [survive]. By contrast, if all consumers were to have 
a sudden lapse of memory and forget everything related to Coca-Cola the company would go out of business.”

I was recently asked if the first instinct of businesses to cut marketing and brand budgets was wise. Our opinion we now know accords with that of Walmart and their results as articulated in this February 17 New York Times article are illustrative. (more…)

Confession number one is that last night was the first time that I had ever bothered to watch an Oscars ceremony, and I rather enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed the couture commentary from my fashion maven wife. Confession number two is that we have not owned a television for more than a decade, so I found myself riveted to the advertisements as well as the show.

It is a little early to comment on effectiveness of the TV spots, which must await a few months, at least, of consumer impact and business results. Clearly, even with typical media buy costs being slashed, several companies felt the buy not to be a good return on investment or an appropriate media placement. However, in this post I can offer up just a few subjective thoughts on the day after.

I really enjoyed the TrueNorth TV spot stories, especially the one about The Inspiration Café serving food, support and advice to Chicago’s homeless. Unfortunately, I found the transition from those amazing stories to an image of snack food to be disconcerting. I assume the intention was to create some indelible connection between those illustrations of charitable community selflessness and the brand for a bag of nuts. However, the message as presented seemed discordant to me rather than harmonious. (more…)