Branding Steve Jobs — in a doll

What more could the most passionately loyalist Applephiles crave more than their own personal Steve Jobs sitting next to them as they ponder the use of their new iPad or Macbook Air, looking over to see Steve watching with approval; what could be better?

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Apple Store in Grand Central Station: A Brilliant Retail Strategy

Although most people think of an Apple Store as being part of an upscale mall or some other a high-end retail location, Grand Central Station really is the perfect location, and it shows that the Apple real estate group really “gets it” about retail. It’s about nurturing the ecology that brings together consumers, location and buying opportunity.

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Five Stars – How reviews shape brand experience

So, ultimately, the best thing for the shopper and the brand is understanding and using customer reviews, comments, and ratings as you beging to learn what a brand is about, who they are really making this product for, and what you need to know to discover the brand that will fill your needs.

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Qwikster is dead. Too little too late.

Only a month ago Qwikster was launched to repair the damage of mid July’s disasters announcement of the take-it-or-leave-it strategy of doubling the price of both DVD deliveries and streaming movies. After two ridiculous moves, resulting in tons of nasty comments and thousands of lost customers and a stock drop from $245 a share to…

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Super Giant Breakfast Teriyaki

In marketing and branding it’s all about the target audience and how you get your message across. Who will you attract? What will be the value they see? It’s not always easy when you have a place called Fred’s diner or Maria’s Taco Shop.

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Bad Naming: Pyramid’s Haywire is gone (finally)

We say that an iconic, recognizable label needs three things: a clear visual that represents the name – an icon like the bison, the brand name and lastly the style of beer. This is what consumers are cruising for as they cover the shelves.

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Who owns brand colors?

It’s easy to pick a brand color, right? Not as easy as you think. Depending on your industry, the message and focus of your brand everything can change. The color, look and feel not only establishes what you are but who you are. This is why trade dress is so important. It’s happened several times…

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Don’t Mess with Customer Loyalty, Netflix!

When Netflix just announce a 60% increase in rates they drove shock waves through thousands of loyal customers of absolutely loved Netflix. Is say loved because many of the comments, blog entries and Tweets are saying how Netflix is screwing over their loyal customer base.

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Murder of the Flip Camera

Cisco, like many technology companies, thinks only linearly. What they do is in the context of their technological hold in the market, but the Flip does not fit this model

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