FORWARD THINKING
Would they know you in the dark?
Apple made its own platform harder to navigate in the name of consistency. Most brands make the same move voluntarily — redesign by redesign, until the silhouette that shoppers use...
Lost in Transit
At home, your price is read against your memory. Abroad, your meaning starts at zero. Why "better and cheaper" fails at the border — and the one question to ask...
The $1.50 Brand Decision
Costco's hot dog has cost $1.50 since 1985. Why that refusal is the cleanest brand strategy ever written — and the one test every leadership team should run....
Everyone’s Defending the Wrong Ferrari
A strong reaction isn't a verdict. It's a mood. What the Luce pile-on misses about Ferrari, Porsche, Jaguar — and your brand....
Your Customers Aren’t Bored of Your Brand. You Are.
A brown Gap hoodie, a Skittles Pride pack, and the most expensive mistake in brand management....
Good, Better, Best Is Not a Portfolio Strategy
Most businesses think they have a portfolio strategy because they have a pricing ladder. They don't. They have price points. What MacBook Neo tells us about helping people choose....
Younger Drinkers Aren’t Killing Alcohol. They’re Exposing Lazy Thinking.
The drinks industry has spent years worrying that younger people don't drink. The bigger problem may be that too many drinks brands don't know what they're for. A new thought...
Apple in Three CEOs
Steve Jobs rebuilt belief. Tim Cook scaled it. Now John Ternus inherits one of the most valuable businesses in the world and faces the question that defines every third-era leader:...
The Beer Test
I'm standing at the bar of one of the finest hotels in the world. Marble everywhere. A wine list thick enough to use as a doorstop. I ask for a...
