Branding

Luxury has always been built on discipline. Scarcity, heritage, and control transform objects and experiences into symbols of status. Social media, by contrast, is designed for ubiquity. It rewards repetition, frequency, and immediacy. The question for luxury leaders is not whether to participate, but how to participate without losing what makes them distinct. Why Content Defines Performance Most luxury journeys now begin online. Instagram, TikTok, and WeChat are the new shop windows. But in luxury,...

Nuuly, the clothing rental enterprise from Urban Outfitters Inc., also home to Anthropologie, Free People, and Urban Outfitters, is winning in a market that Nuuly did not create. Nuuly is the pioneer. But, right now, Nuuly is the possessor of the prize. There is history behind this sort of situation where the category creator craters and a fast follower flips to the top spot. As The Wall Street Journal’s Heard on The Street column described...

The rebranding of Cracker Barrel has been making headlines for the past few days and is widely criticized…

Exclusivity has always been the currency of luxury. Scarcity, discretion, and control are what transform an object into a symbol of status. From the earliest maisons to today’s most ambitious startups, prestige has been built on what is withheld as much as what is revealed. Social media, by contrast, is built for ubiquity. It rewards scale, repetition, and immediacy. Brands that publish more are pushed forward; those that hesitate risk fading from view. This creates...

Early in my marketing career, I kept running into the same paradox: the marketing campaigns that actually moved the needle led with emotion, yet most clients insisted on leading with facts—bullet points, technical specs, rational arguments. That’s when I began looking for a better way to explain what I’d seen in the real world: people don’t act based on logic—they act based on instinct and feeling. I needed a model that was fast, sticky, and...

From all my years in research and consulting, I think I’ve learned a thing or two about marketing worth sharing. Enduring fundamentals, mostly yet often overlooked. So, this year, I’m sharing some for your consideration. I hope they’re helpful. This week’s thought: It’s all about targeting, not segmentation. Segmentation has become controversial again. While most marketers view segmentation as the foundation of effective marketing, a growing number believe it needs to be reined in. Some...

There is some reporting that Beyond Meat, the meat-alternative parent of Beyond Burgers and more, is headed for Chapter 11. Apparently, the brand’s last quarter was an even bigger disappointment than previous quarters. Founder and CEO, Ethan Brown, opened the latest earnings call with these statements, “We are disappointed with our second quarter results, which reflect ongoing softness in the plant-based meat category, particularly in the U.S. retail channel and certain international foodservice segments. “Before...

A recent study by McKinsey & Company documents the continuing decline in the influence of the marketing function and the growing frustration of CEOs with the contribution of marketing. Much of this frustration stems from marketers’ inability to clearly explain how marketing activities contribute to the firm’s financial performance and the continued use of metrics like brand awareness and brand equity as evidence of performance. There is, of course, nothing wrong with measures of brand health,...

The goal of any business is enduring, profitable growth. All three are critical. Profitable growth that is not enduring is short-term. There is no future. Enduring growth that is not profitable is a losing game. Again, this is a short-term situation. Growth that is neither profitable nor enduring is also a sign of short-sightedness and potential brand failure. Based on its recent reporting, where is Spotify headed? Does Spotify have a plan for enduring, profitable...

From all my years in research and consulting, I think I’ve learned a thing or two about marketing worth sharing. Enduring fundamentals, mostly yet often overlooked. So, this year, I’m sharing some for your consideration. I hope they’re helpful. This week’s thought: Consumer opinions are mushy. The core idea of marketing is consumer-centricity, the foundation of which is knowledge about consumers, meaning that marketing is deeply rooted in data about consumer opinions. Yet, much of...