In the CEO Afterlife

FEBRUARY 5, 2011

Brand Surgery – excerpts from my Marketing Magazine article. by John • February 5, 2011 • Branding , Leadership , Marketing , Strategy • 1 Comment. The role has been relegated to middle managers who are brand custodians, not leaders in innovation. Human Resources. Search My Site.

Magazine 100

Magazine Brand Article Marketing 100

In the CEO Afterlife

MAY 1, 2012

Magic can’t happen in cultures that don’t worship innovation. Innovation starts with leadership. Most big company cultures are not innovative. Oh yes, they talk about innovation in their annual reports and their mission statements. But this isn’t the Apple, Google or Amazon type of innovation. Failure is lauded.

Mission Statement 222

Mission Statement Innovation Committee CEO 222

In the CEO Afterlife

MAY 6, 2012

So much has been written about business innovation this past year. Those walking the talk are on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies. These are the businesses whose products and services are having an impact across their industries and our culture. These innovators love playing rocket man.

Chief Operating Officer 202

Chief Operating Officer Chief Technology Officer CEO Innovation 202

In the CEO Afterlife

AUGUST 1, 2011

After the stint at Bristol-Myers, I moved on to Beecham Products (now GlaxoSmithKline) as Brand Manager of Brylcreem Hairdressing, Macleans Toothpaste and Silvikrin Shampoo. But, sure as God made little green apples, that brand is done, short of a magical and tangible innovation from R&D. Human Resources. Leadership.

Brand 170

Brand CEO Stage-Gate Marketing 170

In the CEO Afterlife

JULY 24, 2011

by John • July 24, 2011 • Branding , Marketing • 3 Comments. ABSOLUT Vodka’s advertising campaign is one of the most successful and longest running consumer products campaigns in the history of advertising. When consolidation and cost cutting becomes the strategy, creativity and innovation erodes quickly.

CEO 100

CEO Advertising Brand Creativity 100

In the CEO Afterlife

AUGUST 1, 2011

After the stint at Bristol-Myers, I moved on to Beecham Products (now GlaxoSmithKline) as Brand Manager of Brylcreem Hairdressing, Macleans Toothpaste and Silvikrin Shampoo. But, sure as God made little green apples, that brand is done, short of a magical and tangible innovation from R&D. Human Resources. Leadership.

Brand 131

Brand CEO Stage-Gate Marketing 131

In the CEO Afterlife

MAY 23, 2011

And like Nike’s Just do it, this slogan unites the consumer with the athlete and the product. To better connect with the strategy, General Mills began featuring athletes on the box in 1958 and they’re still doing it. Formerlife: CEO of Jacobs Suchard (Nabob, Kraft), Strategy/Branding Consultant. Human Resources.

Brand 196

Brand CEO Marketing Proposal 196

In the CEO Afterlife

FEBRUARY 26, 2012

Clout allows these giants to grow, but there is absolutely no reason why a smaller player cannot become a market leader within their chosen market(s). As long as the “Davids” are able to resist the urge to become generalists by expanding into too many markets with too many products, they can win.

Creativity 240

Creativity Brand Management Marketing Resistance 240

In the CEO Afterlife

APRIL 5, 2016

The outcome is lower stress, lower turnover, and higher productivity – in business, a ‘win-win’ for employees, customers and shareholders. Companies say they want to be customer-centric, to be innovative, to produce outstanding products and services, to be environmentally responsible, to be socially responsible, and so on.

Teamwork 100

Teamwork Real Estate Mission Statement Merchandising 100

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 12, 2011

Most leaders are interested in growing their businesses through innovation, but it's risky business: most innovation efforts fail. After years of helping to make innovation happen as chief communications officer at Steelcase and as a consultant, I have a point of view that I'm willing to bet on. Don't lose sight of the horizon.

Innovation 15

Innovation Brand Project Storytelling 15

In the CEO Afterlife

AUGUST 6, 2013

Never in the history of marketing has there been so much talk about branding. The conversation in the world of branding is well beyond product and service brand discussion by marketers and ad agencies. Wouldn’t you expect more innovation? The ramification is clutter, the arch enemy of brand identity.

Brand 260

Brand P&L Human Resources Brand Management 260

In the CEO Afterlife

DECEMBER 29, 2013

There’s more: a marketer’s product or service better deliver on the promise. If it doesn’t, great marketing cannot exist. For the sake of brevity, I’ll list just five similarities between HR and brand marketing. Marketers determine how to bring the brand promise to life. HR brings human capital to life.

Marketing 173

Marketing Human Capital Human Resources Brand 173

In the CEO Afterlife

MARCH 19, 2012

Web opportunities will expand one-to-on marketing, negating middle-men. Businesses that help them achieve a balance through relevant products and services will reap the commercial rewards. This quest for balance will also affect labor strategy. People will demand balanced lives.

CEO 204

CEO Competitive Advantage Teamwork Marketing 204

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 9, 2014

The free flow of workers between companies is central to economic growth and innovation. Although it might seem that greater control and stronger enforcement are beneficial—it is important for firms to protect key trade secrets, after all—the evidence shows that these changes critically undermine employee incentives to learn and innovate.

Incentives 13

Incentives Policies Innovation Human Capital 13

In the CEO Afterlife

OCTOBER 17, 2011

by John • October 17, 2011 • Branding , Human Resources , Leadership , Marketing , Strategy • 3 Comments. Never in the history of marketing has there been so much talk about branding. Wouldn’t you expect more innovation? Human Resources. The CEO as Chief Brand Custodian.

Brand 168

Brand CEO Stage-Gate SWOT 168

In the CEO Afterlife

APRIL 22, 2015

I consider Google a tier-one innovator. This company is constantly searching for revolutionary new products and services. You “fix brands before they break” with innovations that add value and fortify the bran d’ s raison d’être. Twenty years ago, Nestlé could see that the instant coffee market was broken.

Brand 100

Brand Core Competence Retail Advertising 100

In the CEO Afterlife

MARCH 18, 2015

This can mean expanding product lines, entering new markets and geographies, line extending brands, acquiring new businesses, creating projects, and adding layers of management to manage the self-created complexity. With 60% of annual sales coming from innovative new products, it is clear that LEGO has not been idle.

Apparel 100

Apparel Brand Franchising Competitive Advantage 100

In the CEO Afterlife

NOVEMBER 4, 2012

On a productive day, aside from the mountain of dead trees (recycling hadn’t been invented in 1982), stacked polystyrene coffee cups and an overflowing ash-tray, there would also be a satisfying thick sheaf of “concepts.” But even artists have to eat, and the fuel of commerce and industry is innovation and novelty. Let’s trade.

Advertising 265

Advertising Creativity Industry Bottom-up 265

In the CEO Afterlife

JUNE 10, 2015

For example, we know that a great strategy without great execution isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. Culture, strategy, leadership, branding, innovation, customer orientation and employee centricity must co-exist. So why then, has strategy been singled out as the whipping boy? Most leaders and managers know this.

Strategy 100

Strategy Critical Success Factor McKinsey Retail 100