The Brand Farm
A celebration of brands & the strategy that drives them!
Advertising Reviews & Commentary
Advertising critique from a strategic perspective and blog posts about marketing and brand building.
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5 Stars - brilliant strategy, brilliant execution
4 Stars - sound strategy, good to great execution
3 Stars - sound strategy, acceptable execution
2 Stars - weak strategy, acceptable to great execution
1 Star - weak strategy, weak execution
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Blog Posts
The 5 Drivers of 'Effective Advertising'
Posted by Michael B. Moore on September 12, 2010 at 7:00pm
"What is a brand?" Anyone? Anyone?
The human mind is one of the most complex and mysterious things in the universe. Yet when the word "depression" is spoken, for example, despite it being a concept squarely anchored in the realm of psychology and the mind, it connotes a clear definition and meaning. This is without regard to who says the word, either psychologist, or patient, or psychiatrist, or internist, or talk show host. Depression is depression. When people throughout the business world say "debit" or "credit", these are ideas that no matter whether you are a CPA or a CMO or a CFP or a CHRO, the meaning is precisely the same.
Furthermore, we live in a Western world that is dominated by marketing-driven consumerism. Marketing and advertising are woven into just about every nook of society; they are the fundamental engines that drive business. Wouldn't it be reasonable to think that the basic pillars of our craft would have been set by now, if for no other reason than since the dawn of time it has always been in companies' best interests to maximize revenue and profit?
Why, then, the extraordinary "wishy washiness" in brand marketing? Why is there such confusion and lack of clarity when we start talking about marketing concepts, taken to a completely other level when the topic of brands and branding arises? It's almost like when people talk about the paranormal or near-death experiences. All kinds of stuff from 'left field' makes it into the conversation. :-)
Here we are in 2009 - firmly into the 21st century - and the most sophisticated of marketers still debate the meanings of the fundamental and basic ideas of our craft. We constantly argue such Cro Magnon questions as, "what is a brand"? Two "pros" can be asked this question and come up with sometimes dramatically different answers. As an example, while it is now universally accepted that human emotion plays a critical role in marketing, there's someone on Twitter who promotes himself as… Continue
Posted by Michael B. Moore on October 19, 2009 at 2:00pm — 3 Comments
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A Twinkies Turnaround
It's a marketers dream to have the chance to remake a classic. I've often romantically pondered resuscitating fallen brand powerhouses, re-igniting dormant consumer equity to create new found financial gains. There's just something about looking at a fallen great brand and thinking that you could do better. I'm guessing I'm not the only marketer to do that! The lure of the challenge…Continue
Tags: turnaround, twinkies, brandstrategy, strategy, marketing
Started by Michael B. Moore Jan 13.
The Nivea Ad or 'The Rise and Fall of Cultural Differences in Advertising'
In advertising, companies are obviously wholly responsible for everything that emanates from them - their products, their customer support experience, to some degree their retail context, and of course their advertising. Since every consumer touch point is both precious and contributes to the over-all brand experience, marketers must be sure that each interaction is as strategic as possible. Not only should every advertising dollar be positioned to create the greatest economic benefit,…Continue
Tags: american, african, nivea, advertising, culture
Started by Michael B. Moore Aug 19, 2011.
The True Passion of Basketball 1 Reply
I've played a lot of basketball. It's a sport I grew up with and "play" to this day. I'm also a fan of all levels of the sport: from watching my 5 year old, to the NBA. One of the things that I've always lamented about the highest level of basketball is that it is VERY rare to find it in what I consider to be its most nascent and core form - outside and on the street. I don't know about you, but I didn't grow up playing hoops in a huge stadium or even a gym. I grew up playing it outside -…Continue
Started by Michael B. Moore. Last reply by Larry Taman Aug 3, 2011.
Women: Consumers vs. Creative Directors 6 Replies
I just saw a statistic that bears some conversation. 85% of brand purchases are made by women, yet only 3% of advertising agency creative directors are women. Is there any logic or business purpose behind this statistic? Has it been established that men know more about women than women do? Maybe its just that women are incapable of creating strategic advertising messages to each other?If general market companies go to multi-cultural agencies because they believe those firms can best deliver…Continue
Tags: creative-directors, agencies, advertising, women
Started by Alexandra Hobson. Last reply by Michael B. Moore Jun 6, 2010.
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