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How do we tell the difference between what we feel and what we know? Many of us fear this question, particularly in the workplace, because it reinforces the conclusion that there is a firm line between emotion and rationality. Emotion, however, is a form of knowledge as well as a barometer of intelligence. In a productive organization, emotion is an essential component in the formation of strategy. We’ve learned this from branding. Expressing feelings has long lived in the realm...

Where are you eating this evening? Where are you meeting friends for appetizers and a drink? Where are you having lunch? The buzz in the restaurant business is that casual dining (easy-going sit-down, table service, tip for the wait staff) is having a moment while fast food (ex., McDonald’s) and fast casual (ex., Chipotle) are in the midst of slowdowns. The problem may be that to protect margins, fast food, fast casual, and certain casual...

Ok. I’m going to hold my hands up and admit something. Until about a week ago, I had no idea who or what Cracker Barrel was. Now, I know that may come as some surprise to my friends over in America, but the Cracker Barrel brand really wasn’t a thing over here in the UK. It turns out, it was quite a well-known and well-loved brand over there in America. I say well-loved, but it...

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: Statistical significance is a perilous safeguard in marketing. Most marketing researchers don’t understand the concept of statistical significance. So, marketers — and planners and buyers — can be forgiven for misunderstanding it, too....

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...