article thumbnail

The Ways Customers Use Products Have Changed — but Brands Haven’t Kept Up

Harvard Business Review

Nike, once an athletic apparel brand telling stories of athletic solo willpower, has now taken on a systemic nature by introducing brand experiences , such as Nike Plus, Nike Plus Training Club, Nike Plus Running Club, etc. In other words, the brand becomes the customer experience and the customer experience becomes the brand.

Brand 8
article thumbnail

The Branding Logic Behind Google’s Creation of Alphabet

Harvard Business Review

Consumers evidently felt their needs were met sufficiently well enough that they didn’t need a cola, vodka, or bridal apparel from Virgin, among many other products and services which Virgin has introduced and subsequently withdrawn.

Brand 8
article thumbnail

The 10 Most Important Sustainable Business Stories from 2014

Harvard Business Review

And investors are noticing: in May, Barclays bank downgraded the bonds of the entire U.S. This kind of innovation around food waste is part of the larger discussion going on in many sectors, from apparel to electronics and metals, about how we can build a more circular economy with zero waste. utility sector. In the U.S.,