Brand Autopsy

Three Reads

ONE | The New Yorker visits Snow’s BBQ
The best BBQ joint in Texas keeps getting attention. This time, The New Yorker visits. For those needing a refresher on Snow’s BBQ, read this post and watch this video ditty. >> READ MORE

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TWO | A Scarcity of Achievement
Malcolm Galdwell recently spoke at Pop!Tech and shared some interesting tid-bits from his just published book, OUTLIERS. >> WATCH VIDEO

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THREE | Malcolm Gladwell is "Unoriginal" and "Unserious"
Jason Zengerle takes a critical look into Malcolm Gladwell and his impact. Agree or disagree, its an interesting article about an interesting man.>> READ MORE

Three Reads

ONE | Eat and Tell
With 4-million reviews written and 15-million visitors a month, Yelp is changing the business of reviews for those doing the reviewing and the businesses doing the listening. Individual Yelpers now meet offline to compare notes on what they’re saying online. Business marketers, such as Liz Johanesen (marketing director at Kimpton Hotels) are paying attention to Yelp. Liz says, “It’s an exciting new channel for us to harvest. We went from disbelief to suspicion to fully embracing it.” >> READ MORE

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TWO | In Era of Blog Sniping, Companies Shoot First
“Today, whatever you say inside of a company will end up on a blog. So you have a choice as a company—you can either be proactive and take the offensive and say, ‘Here’s what’s going on’ or you can let someone else write the story for you.” — Rusty Rueff, former HR executive at Electronic Arts. >> READ MORE

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THREE | Getting a Foothold in Social Media
Amber Naslund has published as good of a business-minded primer on Social Media as you’ll find. Since you’re reading about this Social Media primer e-book on a blog, YOU already get it. However, others you know don’t get it. So, share this primer with those you know who still don’t get it. Come on, do it. >> READ MORE

Three Reads

ONE | How Detroit can Create the Next iPhone
David Murphy from Barrie D’Rozario Murphy shares smart thoughts on how car makers can use Limited Supply, New Distribution Models, Functionality, and Advance Buzz to excite consumers. This piece originally appeared in Ad Age, but David shares this must-read essay on his WikiBranding blog. >> READ MORE

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TWO | The 6 Laws of the Customer Experience
This is must-read material for every marketer. Bruce Temkin, Principal Analyst at Forrester, expertly breaks down six important ideals companies must follow to better connect with customers. Law #4 resonates with me – Unengaged Employees Don’t Create Engaged Customers. The five other ideals are just as worthwhile. >> READ MORE

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THREE | Making HABIT Happen with Customers
While perusing the bookshelves at Barnes & Noble I picked up … HABIT: The 95% of Behavior Marketers Ignore. Provocative title and premise. The author, Dr. Neale Martin, details how the unconscious mind controls repurchase intent/follow-though. He gets wonky into how the executive mind (conscious cognitive processing) and habitual mind (unconscious processing) interplay in the consumer decision-making process. In Ch. 5, Neale dispels the notion that customer satisfaction is a reliable predictor of repurchase intent. Smart chapter, worth reading. >> READ MORE

Three Reads

ONE | FREE-DUMB?
“Shopping at sales is just one of the ways I fool myself when it comes to money,” writes Alina Tugend in the NY Times. Her point is that getting stuff for free, such as 2-for-1 sales and Free Delivery, isn’t bad. However, it can lead us to make dumb decisions. Provocative stuff. >> READ MORE

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TWO | Three or Three-Thousand?
Pete Blackshaw, long-time watcher of consumer-generated media, chimes in with his smart take on how companies can better succeed in this upside-down customer-as-marketer world. In the just-published, “Satsifed Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Rell 3,000," Blackshaw says, “Credibility may not be on your balance sheet, but it’s the best asset you have.” To make the most out of amping up a company's credibility meter, Blackshaw says businesses must max out these six drivers: Trust, Authenticity, Transparency, Listening, Responsiveness, and Affirmation. >> LEARN MORE

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THREE | Tequila Shots
To celebrate a worthy team accomplishment, the crew at BRAINS ON FIRE down shots of Tequila. It’s become part of the company culture at this Greenville, SC identity marketing shop. As their Marketer-In-Residence, I’ve experienced first-hand the unique approach BOF takes in shaping a company’s brand identity to ignite a movement of loud and proud customers. To help shape their identity with employees, BOF put together a list of 12 ideals they believe in. More companies should do this, that is … write a manifesto of company beliefs. Get an inside look at how BRAINS ON FIRE thinks by reading their “Tequila Shots” belief book.

Recent Must-See Views

ONE | Social Media in Plain English From Common Craft by way of Jake McKee, we learn how to explain Social Media stuff to those not in the know.

Social Media in Plain English from leelefever on Vimeo.

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TWO | The Five Stages of Missing Plan
Brand Autopsy’s favorite marketing cartoonist strikes again. Marketers from all over will relate to Tom Fishburne latest take:

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THREE | God Made Me Funky
Yep, Frogs are funky. (To learn more about this all-time dead heavy funk classic, go here.)

Recent Reads

ONE | Mommy Mixer
Picture a roomful of Moms with a flock of Nannies and there you have a Mommy Mixer. This is a remarkable business where Moms gather to meet, greet, and interview potential Nannies for their children. Learn about the Mommy Mixer story here and check out MommyMixer.com.

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TWO | Ping-Pong as Mind Game
Little known fact about me … in my teens I played lots of table tennis. LOTS. I was infatuated with the game. Practiced and played all the time until I became pretty good. Wicked serves, strong backhand defense, and one hella forehand slam. Given that … I thoroughly enjoyed this article about Ping-Pong as Mind-Game. I also enjoyed this article because I learned puzzle master Will Shortz is a competitive table tennis player. (My Mom was an avid crossword puzzler and a Will Shortz devotee. So nice to think of my Mom when I read that article.) >> READ MORE

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THREE | The Evil Genius of Apple
Leander Kahney has written a provocative article—How Apple Got Everything Right by Doing Everything Wrong. In today’s open source transparent co-creation business culture, Apple is the antithesis. Apple is opaque. Apple favors closed platforms. Apple doesn’t actively solicit feedback from its fans. Yet, the company succeeds. Interesting read. And, Scott Berkun’s rebuttal is also an interesting read.

Recent Reads

ONE | Can Execs Learn to Ignore the Script
Nice to see Gary Hirsch and Patricia Ryan Madson getting some press in the NY Times. Gary and Patricia are whiz-bang improvisers helping businesses learn to appreciate “happy accidents” and “cool mistakes.” This article shares how basic improv principles can create a culture of cooperation and affirmation within businesses. >> READ THE ARTICLE and read past Brand Autopsy posts about Improv & Business here, here, here, and here.

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TWO | A CEO Sells the Store
Mickey Drexler is a master merchandiser. First with The Gap and now with J. Crew. His run at The Gap ended in 2002 when Drexler admits he lost touch with his muse, the consumer. He’s since turned around J. Crew’s financials and brand cache because he listens and reacts to customers. The NY Times gives us interesting peek inside the mind of a master merchandiser. >> READ MORE

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THREE | Haute Chipotle
Jim Adams, Chipotle’s executive marketing director, wants to change the perception of quick-service restaurants of serving crappy food and crappy customer experiences. In this HUB Magazine profile, Jim explains how Chipotle uses design to deliver better tasting food and more interesting customer experiences. >> READ MORE

Three Reads | Feb. 25

Seems like I took an unplanned blogging sabbatical (my last post was Feb. 9). Didn’t mean to—just happened that way. To ease back into posting, here are three recent reads I’m grooving to...

ONE | FREE! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business
Here’s another free-view of Chris Anderson’s to-be-published book on “… the trend lines that determine the cost of doing business online all point the same way: to zero.” >> MORE

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TWO | Servicing Customer Vigilantes
Pete Blackshaw runs the voodoo down on BusinessWeek’s cover story about Customer Service Champs which highlights how “customer vigilantes” are forcing companies to address critical business issues. The article pairs well with Pete’s upcoming book, Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000. >> MORE

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THREE | Odd Co-Branded Ad
Not really a read, but a look-see. Does anyone else find this GOT MILK ad highlighting how “Starbucks drinks have a lot of milk in them.” odd? I do. It’s less sexy to think of Starbucks as a milk peddler than a coffee peddler. It’s true though. A Grande Latte (16 oz.) has two-ounces of espresso and the rest is milk. Not sure its smart for Starbucks to highlight they are just as much in the milk business as they are the coffee business.

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Three Things Today

ONE | The Rage of Conversation
Drew McLellan, Gavin Heaton, and others are in for a second go-round with The Age of Conversation. Advertising Age lauded this project, now you can join it. A call to action has been issued for any marketer wanting to author a piece for the 2008 version of The Age of Conversation.

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TWO | Jay Ehret's Marketing Podcast
Jay Ehret, from The Marketing Spot, has started a regular podcast on marketing stuff. His third episode is up and I'm his guest. Listen.

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THREE | The Pirate's Dilemma
Mix two parts Malcolm Gladwell with one part Chuck Klosterman and you'll have Matt Mason's THE PIRATE'S DILEMMA. Learn how today's remixed youth culture and their illegal endeavors are impacting business innovation. It's an early choice for best business book of 2008. Check out the blog, then check out the book.

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One more thing ... have a listen to Phil Gerbyshak's interview with Seth Godin. Good stuff.

Three Reads | Dec. 15

ONE | Free Thinker
Chris Anderson’s book on “Free” is scheduled for free-lease in late 2008. MEDIA magazine has a free-view of Anderson’s book with this worthy read Q&A. Be sure to read the audacious idea Anderson for how book publishers can align the interests of the author with the publisher. >> MORE

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TWO | The Mind of Scott Adams
I’ve never been drawn to Dilbert. However, Scott Adams latest book, Stick to Drawing Comics Monkey Brain, is an interesting read. Thankfully, for me, it’s not a book of Dilbert comics. It is, however, a romp through the mind of a very creative thinker with lots of funny quips. He also says some smart business-minded things like, “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” And, “Great ideas often look identical to stupid ones right up until the moment they work.” Reckon I should start reading Scott Adams’ blog. >> BOOK | BLOG

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THREE | Bathroom Reading for Marketers
Further proof exists that there is no such thing as boring product categories, only boring products. Virginia Miracle gives us a first-hand account how Charmin is making toilet paper photogenic. If Charmin can make toilet paper interesting, just think what we can do with the products we market. >> MORE

THREE READS | November 29

ONE | Ad Agency as “Brand Navigator”
Kevin Roberts (of Saatchi & Saatchi Lovemarks notoriety) is grasping with managing a behemoth advertising agency against nimble, social media-adept boutique agencies.

According BusinessWeek, Roberts has come to believe following the Lovemarks ethos isn’t enough for businesses to create loyalty beyond reason with their brands. Roberts contends businesses “… are desperate for an uber-consultant—a brand navigator” who “… devises an overall message, then subcontracts the work to the relevant people--interactive shops, direct marketers, and so on.”

Hmm … isn’t this just outsourcing the marketing function? The role of a Brand Navigator sounds to me a lot like the role of a company’s Marketing leader. >>READ MORE

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TWO | Print is Dead
Joe Wikert blogged about it. Because I trust Joe’s views, I bought it (and I’m digging it). Joe Gomez’s PRINT IS DEAD is a very provocative book about the impending digital change that will wreck havoc in the traditional publishing world. There is nothing new in Joe’s thesis. What’s new is how Joe explains the real reason why we’ve formed emotional connections with the printed page. Joe writes,

“In the end, we may be in love with books, but it’s words that have truly won our hearts. It’s words that whisper into our ear and transform us, that make us believe in other worlds or new emotions we didn’t know existed; it’s words that keep us company in those planes, on subway trains, or our comfy couches. It is words, not books, paper, papyrus, or vellum pages that transform our lives.”

Preach on Mr. Gomez. Preach on. >>READ MORE

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THREE | Confessions of a Starbucks Barista
The curious marketer inside of Alex Frankel caused him to go undercover and spend time working as a front-line employee with admired brands like UPS, Starbucks, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Apple store, and the Gap. He shares his thoughts about the branding of company culture in "PUNCHING IN: The Unauthorized Adventures of a Front-Line Employee." It’s an interesting read.

Sample a bite-size chunk of his book with an excerpt that appeared in the Brown Alumni Magazine. This excerpt shares Frankel’s impressions of Starbucks while spending time as a Barista there slinging drinks. Early in his stint, Frankel became cynical about the Starbucks “heavy-handed culture-building” employee training approach. >>READ MORE

Three Reads | Sept. 16

NOTE | All links are from the Wall Street Journal’s special weekend section titled, THE JOURNAL REPORT ...

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ONE | Think Big
David Aaker, brand management luminary, writes in the Wall Street Journal that for businesses to gain market share, they need to stop “… trying to influence what brand people buy.” Instead, Aaker says businesses “… should be focusing on what people buy.” Aaker is basically saying for businesses to gain meaningful market share, they need to bring truly innovative products to market that create new product categories and sub-categories. >> MORE

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TWO | Together We Innovate
This article says business innovation is stifled because of: (a) failure to gather ideas from all employees no matter their rank and (b) inability to react effectively to new ideas. To solve for this, the authors say employee collaboration must become a part of the company’s culture. You can read any number of books on this topic but you’d be hard-pressed to find anything more informative than this quick read article. >> MORE

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THREE | The Distribution Trap
Businesses think that if they can get their products on the shelves of a Wal-Mart, Best Buy, or Starbucks that sales success will follow fast. Think again says this article from Andrew Thomas and Timothy Wilkinson. The authors advocate a distribution strategy where businesses avoid the trap of succumbing to the demands of mega-retailers, which put a strain on profit margins and wreck inventory management systems. The authors say one way businesses can avoid the distribution trap is to offer exclusive and innovative products only through the company’s website or through handpicked independent retailers. >> MORE

Three Reads | Sept. 1

ONE | Avoiding the Hijacking of your Brand
BusinessWeek and IDEO teamed up recently for a one-day “Unpacking the Networked Economy” workshop. According to this BusinessWeek article, much of the conversation centered around how businesses can avoid having their brand hijacked by “off-brand” consumer generated marketing messages. The takeaway for businesses in today’s networked marketplace is businesses must “be ready to accept and work with consumers’ instant feedback.” >> MORE

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TWO | More from the Presentation Zen Master
I always learn something from Garr Renoylds on how to more effectively use PowerPoint and this post is no exception. >> MORE

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THREE | Cocktail Napkin Wisdom
Paul Williams (Idea Sandbox Blog) has started sharing snappy creativity wisdom on cocktail napkins. Pretty cool stuff. The quote Paul shares from Marty Nuemeier about “Change vs. Being Changed” is smart. As is Paul's “Quid Tum” ditty.

THREE READS | Aug. 12

ONE | Bryan Eisenberg on LuggagePros.com
This online video is super-cool and super-informative. Bryan Eisenberg, online persuasion architect, dissects the LuggagePros website and shows us what they are doing wrong and right with their site . If you’re a fan of Don’t Make Me Think … you’ll want to watch Bryan’s Screencast dissection. You should also watch Bryan’s take on the Target website. >> MORE

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TWO | Smart Marketing or Marketing that Smarts?
Is Joseph Jaffe juicing companies to get free stuff? Or, is he a paradigm-shifting and super-disruptive marketer showing how the advertising game has changed? Decide by listening as Joseph continues his marketing experiment of bartering podcast time for products. >> MORE

UPDATE (Aug. 13): For lots of HMOs (hot marketing opinions) on Jaffe's marketing experiment, GO HERE.

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THREE | The Road to Clarity (by Joshua Yaffa)
Fascinating article from the New York Times Sunday Magazine on why the Highway Gothic font is flawed and how the Clearview font makes highway signage easier to read. >> MORE

THREE READS | July 22

ONE | The NY Times reports on the highest grossing independent restaurant in the U.S.—Tao Las Vegas. In its first full year open in 2006, Tao recorded $55.2 million in sales. The next closet U.S. independent restaurant was Tavern on the Green in New York which pulled in sales o $39 million in 2006. >>READ MORE

TWO | I’m not in Harry Potter. Haven’t read an HP book or seen an HP movie so this primer (.pdf) on the Harry Potter phenomenon from THE WEEK was super-informative. It is amazing to think 66% of children in the US have read a Harry Potter book. >>READ MORE (.pdf)

THREE | Much has been written recently about the John Mackey's “rahodeb” dealio. But this Wall Street Journal article shares interesting insights into Mackey’s hyper-competitive personality. >>READ MORE

Three Reads | May 4

ONE | Do Business Books Work?
Would you go see a doctor who hasn’t read the latest industry articles? Probably not. Now flip that question to ask if you’d trust the marketing of your business to a marketer who hasn’t read the latest marketing articles. (Hmm …) That’s just one intriguing point in Seth Godin’s recent post about the importance of us business folk reading business books and business blogs on a regular basis.

TWO | The Marketer’s Guide to Personal Finance
Another smart posting from Seth Godin … this time he’s riffing on bootstrapping and get-up-and-go-ism.

THREE | Marketing Time
A Seth Godin Trifecta. Read Seth’s take on how the story of ‘time’ is an important marketing trigger.

Three Reads | April 27

ONE | PSFK asks ... “Will MAKE Magazine Save Radio Shack?”
A RadioShack in Sebastopol, CA merchandises MAKE Magazine alongside some eclectic electric doo-dads. Since MAKE Magazine is like Popular Mechanics for the today’s Creative Class, this cross-merchandise play makes a lot of sense.

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TWO | Can Music Live Inside the Big Box? [Wall Street Journal article].
Despite Big Box retailers like Wal-Mart and Best Buy accounting for 65% of all CDs purchased, these retailers are reducing their CD selling space. An interesting, but not surprising, paradox. In the article, a Best Buy executive smartly quips, “Music has become a commoditized item. The CD is perceived by the consumer to be a $10 item, and the manufacturers continue to release new titles at $15 to $18.98.” This Best Buy executive goes on to suggest music labels should release no-frills packaged CDs priced to sell and release more deluxe packaged CDs for die-hard fans.

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THREE | The new Greyboy All-Stars CD.
No longer just mining the depths of the Boogaloo sound, this CD shows that the Greyboy All-Stars have musical breadth to go with their Boogaloo depth. Stream HOW GLAD I AM from their myspace page. And listen to this mp3 of the band sharing stories behind the CD.

Three Reads | Chipotle

ONE | BusinessWeek on how/why Chipotle uses Word-of-Mouth Marketing. [cached article]

TWO | Sam Decker riffs off the BusinessWeek article on Chipotle and breaks down some interesting financial numbers.

THREE | A blog about Chipotle written by a dude who loves Chipotle.

BONUS READ | Adelino de Almeida muses about Chipotle being a case study example of growing a business through Word-of-Mouth.

Three Reads | Feb. 19

ONE | The Freakonomics blog brings us Tommy Bottoms and his Basic Economics def poetry. Sharp and smart stuff … like these business lessons from Drug Dealers.

TWO | Need a primer on Trader Joe’s? Read Barry Silverstein’s overview on Trader Joe’s from Brand Channel.

THREE | Given the Sirius/XM merger chatter seems apropos to share more radio musings from Jeff Jarvis. This time, he’s riffing on what should local radio sound like/be like.

BONUS READ ... Mark Ramsey, super-smart radio marketer/researcher, outlines 14 off-da-cuff fall-out predictions from the Sirius/XM merger.

Three Reads | Feb. 18

ONE | Sunday's NY Times Magazine breaks down how Toyota went from making machines that weave thread to making cars that weave the road. Very informative and very well-written. READ

TWO | Last month, INC. Magazine profiled the potential brand image make-over of Dave's Gourmet, makers of Dave's Insanity Hot Sauce. Learn how Deskey, a Cincinnati-based design agency, creatively approached Dave's Gourment and all about the creative-process they went through to design a spate of new labels. You'll also learn why Dave's Gourmet ultimately decided not to pull the trigger on redesigned labels and remain a schizophrenic brand. A must-read for any brand manager. READ

THREE | Peruse PDF-Mags.com and I'm sure you'll find some creativity fuel. READ

Three Reads | Feb. 17

This marks the first in an irregular series of posts sharing links to recent writings that have captivated my attention and business imagination.

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(1) Ya gotta read the Wall Street Journal article which dissects How Steve Jobs Played Hardball In iPhone Birth (2.17.07).

(2) At the offices of National Public Radio (NPR), Cluetrain Manifesto originators and disciples recently gathered to discuss all things social and new media-related as it relates to NPR. Fascinating conversation captured by Andy Carvin in this blog posting and in these video snippets: David Weinberger; Doc Searls; montage of Jay Rosen, Euan Semple, and Jeff Jarvis; Zadi Diaz.

(3) Fans of John Coltrane will enjoy this documentary of Coltrane’s work and impact done in digestible podcast form.