The modern Mini Cooper—offered in a variety of eye-popping colors—burst onto the scene in 2001 as a chic version of an old British classic. It quickly became a fixture in trendy urban neighborhoods around the globe. Today, nearly twenty years later, the car still hasn’t lost its freshness: demand for Minis has remained robust with annual sales increasing at a steady pace of 5.2% per year.
During all the years of my practice, by far the best definition of branding I have used is ‘managing perceptions in people’s minds’. It tells us where the effect of branding takes place – in people’s minds – and it tells us what that effect is – managing perceptions.
This is arguably the most exciting time – ever – to be in business. We are experiencing sweeping changes worldwide that are affecting business today in ways that we have never seen before—and providing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
When Steve Jobs met Robert Friedland in 1972, Robert was the spiritual seeking proprietor of an apple farm commune. He introduced Steve Jobs to a principle called the ‘reality distortion field’.
The specific contributions of marketing to the success of an organization are rarely found on balance sheets or income statements.
