http://www.stealthunderblog.com BRAND MOVES THAT GET OUR ATTENTION Thu, 26 Apr 2007 22:25:27 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I'll admit it; blogging software had me a bit intimidated. Not that the software we're using here--WordPress--is bad; it's not at all. Just takes some getting used to. Requires a bit more effort than I've been willing to invest. And somehow I've always had this lingering feeling that I was ... http://www.stealthunderblog.com/2007/04/26/vox-tops/ Anyone pondering the challenges of differentiation should check out a recent blurb in Reveries about Trader Joe’s. It’s full of nuggets. Like a really simple, clear customer profile that instantly clicked: “…people who are well-educated, well-traveled, and underpaid.” Or products from all over the world with unique stories, ultimately chosen ... http://www.stealthunderblog.com/2006/03/14/trader-joes-knows/ Meanwhile out there in the more mundane universe beyond the universe-unto-itself we know as Google, a couple of other things recently caught my attention. Specifically in the retail arena. “OK, I’m heading out to the store,” I announce last week, grateful for a break from the PC screen. The shopping ... http://www.stealthunderblog.com/2006/03/11/taking-a-position/ Sure, I came, I saw, and I dismissed Google Video back when it first burst on the scene at CES in January. But give anything a couple of months, and opinions can change. It's not that the "store" aspect of Google Video is stocked and ready to go. That ... http://www.stealthunderblog.com/2006/03/11/veni-vidi-videovamoose/ The appearance of a new message from Osama bin Laden—another scratchy cassette tape with an uncanny ability to cut through the daily global communication noise—reminded us of a somewhat incredible paper we ran into a year ago on the web. This is the Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force ... http://www.stealthunderblog.com/2006/01/19/the-war-of-the-words/ Meanwhile, the Google Video story led us to think more about the "Beta" trend, and especially its deeper implications for branding. Maybe we are witnessing a sea change in the classic art of brand building? It used to be axiomatic that a company's products had to create definite assurances, and ... http://www.stealthunderblog.com/2006/01/17/beta-thoughts/ Why is there so much trash talk about the newest kid in the cyber mall? My first take was that it was because Google had gone ahead and launched a half-baked product, rather than holding off until it was ready for public consumption. It's an easy impression to get, especially ... http://www.stealthunderblog.com/2006/01/13/a-store-is-a-store-is-a-store-except-when-its-the-google-video-store/ That seems to be the predominant sentiment around the Googleplex. Insiders proudly point out they turned Google into a household name and an $8.5 billion dollar brand with hardly a dime spent on marketing. So who needs marketing? It's an evil; we don't do evil. Maybe that sentiment played a role ... http://www.stealthunderblog.com/2006/01/07/marketing-doesnt-matter/