Financial geniuses on Wall Street appear to be happy that there is new leadership at Harley-Davidson, Artie Starrs as CEO. As with the appointment of the previous CEO, Jochen Zeitz, analysts and those with significant monetary Harley-Davidson stakes are thrilled with the recent CEO Starrs change in HOG leadership. In 2020, when Jochen Zeitz, a longtime member of Harley-Davidson’s Board, became CEO, the business press wrote that “Wall Street was elated by the news of...
Brand strategy is entering a more demanding era. For CEOs, CMOs, and CFOs, the question is no longer whether brand matters. The question is whether brand can help solve the organizational problems that determine growth, profitability, customer trust, internal alignment, and enterprise value.
For more than twenty years, The Blake Project carried the same identity into the world. It was there when we opened our doors in 2003. It appeared on our first proposals, our first client deliverables, and our earliest expressions of a point of view that has never changed: brand is not decoration. Brand is a source of meaning, preference, trust, differentiation, and economic value.
Peloton, Kohl’s, Target, General Mills, Macy’s have something in common. These brands are engaged in brand turnarounds. Some of these brand turnarounds are brand turnaround-turnarounds, led by smart executive teams, some with new CEOs who offer new strategic approaches. These teams appear to be diligent and creative in improving product offerings. There is just one problem.
A brand needs a vision. A brand vision is not just an idea. A brand vision is a determined goal. A brand vision is your definition of a future world in which your brand will win. Without a brand vision, your brand is aimless. The brand vision is the groundwork for your brand strategies.
