New Year. Same tendencies for trouble. Not a surprise. The lack of understanding of brands and the disregard for brand-building growth and maintenance principles continue to plague organizations, leading to unprofitable, short-term performance.
There was a time in recent marketing history when the CMO’s role was to be the Chief Storyteller. Thankfully, those days are over. There are many who believe that during the “era” of creative titles for the CMO role, the CMO function suffered and still needs more corporate respect.
As 2025 draws to a close, several brands are focusing on revitalization. Why? Poor strategies, sour executions, ignoring basic, evergreen, brand principles, and other given reasons like the weather, tariffs, and, sigh, still COVID. Kohl’s, Cracker Barrel, Macy’s, and Bath & Body Works are redesigning themselves for enduring profitable growth.
If you have spent any time dealing with AI digital entities to solve your brand problem, you will not be surprised to learn that we, customers, are totally frustrated with customer service. The Wall Street Journal recently wrote about our unhappiness with customer service. The title of the article is “American Customers Are Madder Than Ever.” After all, we can buy things and hold them in our hands on the same day of purchase. But...
Amid all the issues surrounding air travel over the holidays, one thing that makes flying worth considering is safety. We do not need to place safety on our list of holiday air travel woes, a list that is already extensive.
