Probably no surprise to those who chronicle our fractured behaviors, we have become unwilling to compromise. As uncompromising consumers, we want benefits that contradict and complement at the same time. We want brands to consistently deliver a paradox promise.
The news from YUM! is that Pizza Hut may be sliced. The other two big brands in the YUM! portfolio – KFC and Taco Bell – are managing. Sadly, Pizza Hut is not hot.
Not to beat this Cracker Barrel fiasco into the ground anymore, but there is a problem when brand marketers use age as a definer of relevant values. When Cracker Barrel and its crack consultants decided that modernizing the Cracker Barrel brand meant jettisoning the totems of Cracker Barrel’s provenance, those involved made a mistake. It is possible to be old and new at the same time.
For some serious insight into the challenges facing grocery packaged goods, the Barron’s recent interview with Robert Moskow is an important read. One of the points made in the interview is that packaged goods’ focus on competing with own-label grocery brands seems to push a lot of buttons, except for innovation. Packaged goods seem to be fighting fights of the past rather than focusing on the future, in which packaged goods brands can win. Packaged...
How will businesses use AI in the short-term and the long-term? There is a lot of speculation regarding its potential for specific businesses. Right now, for a lot of people, the exposure to AI is a digital entity on the other end of a customer service phoneline. For those creating platforms or running enterprises, AI is creeping steadily into day-to-day internal and external job activity, offerings and experiences.
