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Just how powerful is branding? National Public Radio recently posted an interesting segment in regards to lard of all things and its lack of popularity due in large part to branding. You can find this podcast as part of their Planet Money feature:
On today’s podcast, we ask — who killed lard? Was it Upton Sinclair? His novel, The Jungle, contained [a] memorable passage about the men who cook lard. Or should we blame William Procter and James Gamble? It was their company which created a new alternative to lard — the “pure and wholesome” Crisco.
One of my colleagues brought the podcast to my attention, being the avid baker that I am. I can’t say I’ve ever used lard in any of my baking but I do know bakers that are strong advocates of the stuff. I’ve gone head to head in pie competitions between friends and lose every time! The winner proudly touts it’s the lard he’s committed to using that creates the best piecrust.
This post by Dan Kelly originally appeared on DuetsBlog, which was born out of the chasm that can divide legal and marketing types and seeks to facilitate collaborations among them.
I recently learned that a number of sugar companies (that’s cane sugar or beet sugar) sued the Corn Refiners Association in federal district court in April for false advertising under the Lanham Act, claiming that calling high fructose corn syrup “corn sugar” is false and misleading. The court recently issued an opinion on the Corn Refiners Association’s motion to dismiss, essentially allowing the case to proceed. A PDF of the first amended complaint is here, and it is fascinating.
Earlier this year I posted an article about how phone manufacturers were losing their brand power by producing too many different phone models. Looks like the situation is only getting worse. I compared the iPhone with multiple phone makers that were building Android-based smart-phones to show the contrast between how one single brand is stronger than many. It seems like the companies are still not getting it.
There was one name that could have become a strong brand and make a huge competitor to iPhone – Droid. But before it could get to that point, phone makers let it roll down the hill and by now pretty much killed it.
What started happening 2-3 years ago in the mobile phone industry absolutely redefined the entire game. iPhone and Android were the ones who changed it. The two questions here are: do mobile phone makers see the big picture of what happened and where this is all going and are they doing something to save their once very strong and powerful brands?
Back in time when first mobile phones came to market, it was all about hardware and design. Nobody really cared about the software piece because it was very basic. All that people used cell phones for was making calls and sending text messages (and sometimes bragging). Things that mattered at that time were reception quality, battery life, pre-loaded collection of ringtones, black and white or color screen, etc. Then mobile Internet came and software became a little more significant because of web browsing quality, email, etc. but people still cared more about features like Bluetooth, bigger screen, camera, EDGE versus GPRS, mp3 player and so on. Even when Windows Mobile OS hit the market 10 years ago, it was still hardware that mattered the most. The mobile phone makers had all the branding power and were on top of the game. (more…)
I find the use of “brand” in a business context to be one of the most logical jargon thefts in our vernacular. The word brand comes from the Norse term brandr, meaning “to burn.” The concept of branding one’s goods, particularly cattle, has existed for centuries.
Fun fact! A “maverick” originally meant an unmarked calf. Samuel Augustus Maverick, a Texan cattle rancher, decided that since all other cattle were branded, he would not brand his. Thus, his brand was none at all. (more…)
Todd’s expertise in this area comes not only from leading Target’s multicultural merchandising strategy, but also stems from his MBC final project work seeking to understand Target’s relevancy with its African American customers and if a singular marketing approach would be effective in reaching them. (more…)
![android_makers[1]](http://blogs.stthomas.edu/opusmagnum/files/2011/01/android_makers1.jpg)
Earlier this year I ![Cattle-Brand[1]](http://blogs.stthomas.edu/opusmagnum/files/2010/12/Cattle-Brand1-216x300.jpg)
I find the use of “brand” in a business context to be one of the most logical jargon thefts in our vernacular. The word brand comes from the Norse term brandr, meaning “to burn.” The concept of branding one’s goods, particularly cattle, has existed for centuries.
Todd’s expertise in this area comes not only from leading Target’s multicultural merchandising strategy, but also stems from his MBC final project work seeking to understand Target’s relevancy with its African American customers and if a singular marketing approach would be effective in reaching them. 
The (Business) “Benefits” of Lard
Wednesday, January 11th, 2012One of my colleagues brought the podcast to my attention, being the avid baker that I am. I can’t say I’ve ever used lard in any of my baking but I do know bakers that are strong advocates of the stuff. I’ve gone head to head in pie competitions between friends and lose every time! The winner proudly touts it’s the lard he’s committed to using that creates the best piecrust.
(more…)
Tags: baking, branding, crisco, lard, marketing, npr, P&G, planet money
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