One Experience to Rule Them All: How Omnichannel Marketing is Transforming the Retail Industry
While omnichannel is omnipresent in marketing today, the concept is quite a recent development. Though it was first...
Brooks Brothers: Bad Distribution = Deathbed
When you’re the oldest continuously operating retailer in the United States and a purveyor of classic clothing, it’s not unreasonable to think that you’re going to...
That Time When Cosmo Mag Dipped into Dairy…HUH?
In the words of Elle Woods, Cosmopolitan Magazine—or Cosmo, as it’s more commonly referred to—was once hailed as “the bible” for women. It’s been referenced in more teen movies and TV shows over the years than perhaps any other magazine. Its focus is on...
Fading, F a d i n g, F a d i n g… The Case of Two Rival Department Stores
There was a time when Sears—then Sears & Roebuck—was king of retail. The Sears catalog was an eagerly anticipated item around the holidays, when children and adults alike would dogear pages of things that they wanted the metaphorical Santa to get them. Sears catalogs even sold...
We Can Learn What Not to Do from Pepsi’s Attempts at Corporate Social Responsibility
At several points in recent history, Pepsi has decided to position itself as a driver of social change. In 2010, it started the Pepsi Refresh Project, an initiative that...
How Ralph Lauren Manages—and Leverages—Its Brand Equity
When was the last time you bought something from Ralph Lauren Rugby? How about Ralph Lauren Blue Label? How about the Black Label? Are you wondering to yourself if you have ever even...
Keeping Cool: How Yeti Drives Sales of Its High-Priced Coolers
To say that the coolers company Yeti has high brand equity is an understatement. In reality, what it has is brand loyalty that is more like a cult-like following. Just picture someone...
In Sperry’s “Odysseys” Campaign, A Little Adventure Goes a Long Way
“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” This ultra-short narrative, questionably attributed to Ernest Hemingway, tells an entire tale and takes the reader on a rollercoaster of emotions—in only six words. These types of succinct stories are known as flash fiction, but they’re not limited to just text on a page. In fact, the most interesting and effective form of flash fiction, I would argue, are...
Warby Parker, Monopoly Disruptor
Last year, after years of trudging to opticals to search for my next pair of glasses, I took a chance and requested my five-day, five-pair home try-on kit from Warby Parker. I’m late to the game, I know, but as the saying goes...
Kiel James Patrick: The Man, the Brand, the Storytelling Star
When it comes to storytelling marketing, no one does it better than Kiel James Patrick. For his namesake brand, Kiel James Patrick has harnessed the full power of social media to craft a world all his own. When the goal is to connect with your audience, the most important factor is...