Mark Ritson: This is not just a decline, this is an M&S decline
Mark RitsonAs M&S sales fall again, its problems are not brand management but brand equity, and a mid-market positioning that is inevitably fatal in a tough consumer economy.
As M&S sales fall again, its problems are not brand management but brand equity, and a mid-market positioning that is inevitably fatal in a tough consumer economy.
McDonald’s appointment of Omnicom to its advertising account is a significant first – both in terms of agency integration and the performance-based pay structure that incentivises achieving brand objectives above media buying rebates.
Your portable toilet business has nothing to learn from Steve Jobs, and if a consultant even mentions Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs you should kick them out of the door.
The huge debate that has exploded around Protein World’s “Beach Body” campaign has made it the big branding story of the year so far.
Tech giant Microsoft owns one of the most enduring software brands in Windows, but almost managed to throw it away with Windows 8, so the product and branding noises coming from its new executive team are reassuring.
Aldi’s arrival in the UK in 1990 didn’t cause much of a stir but it heralded an irrevocable change for the future of branding.
Entrepreneurial brewing legend Jim Koch, of Samuel Adams lager fame, is finding it increasingly difficult to retain the reputation and distribution of his lager in the craft beer market for two reasons: authenticity and changing times.
The recent spat between JD Wetherspoon and brewer Heineken over the pub chain’s pricing in its newly opened pub in Ireland highlights the channel conflict between supplier and discount retailer.
The UK enjoyed an unprecedented boom during the first few years of the 21st century and as households traded up, the major supermarkets followed. M&S, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose all experienced growth that appeared to be without end.
Teaching brand management at a business school is one of the great pleasures of my life. Stomping around in front of a room full of smart 30-somethings while we break down case studies is, by anyone’s standards, a great way to earn an income.
I don’t know much about industrial action but the taxi blockade of London last week to protest against car app Uber was about as misplaced as it gets.
“I love pressure, to manage such a big club as Manchester United is very good.” Bold words but not, alas, quite correct. They were spoken by Manuel Pellegrini, manager of Manchester City, after his team won the Carling Cup at the weekend.
After much deliberation among the august judging committee (me) here are the awards for the best and worst of 2013.
7.38am is a relatively unlikely time to hear sturdy Anglo-Saxon language. But if you rose early on Sunday morning to follow England’s second innings reply to Australia in the first Test at the weekend you certainly got an earful.
This week’s column is an open letter to the members of the HR community generally engaged in what has commonly become known as employer branding. My message to this large and rapidly growing community can be summarised in a single word: Stop.