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[mzaman5]

Personal Branding

When considering personal branding, few names match the level to which Sir Richard Branson has gone to brand himself as the CEO and leader of Virgin

From music, airlines, to investment groups, Branson has created a conglomerate of different businesses. Most notably he uses his almost playboy status to promote Virgin Airlines which then translates into the brand as an almost chic, hip way to travel against a backdrop of drab and dated competitors

In that sense his charisma and notoriety has aided the promotion of this particular brand within the Virgin family. Now, shooting even higher, Branson is after space travel

Virgin Galactic fits in the line of the Virgin image as it intends to make space travel sexy and available to those who aspire to emulate the 'playboy' image as Branson does

While Branson's brand has served to bolster the image of Virgin across various industries, it is a delicate balance to ensure Branson nor Virgin cause the other to fall in brand value

[mzaman5]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/22/tech/nypd-twitter-fail/

As the twitter universe blew up after a failed attempt to engage NYC residents, the NYPD quickly recognized the failure of its #myNYPD campaign

In an effort to rebrand, the NYPD attempted to bring light to why residents like the NYPD and encouraged twitter followers to post pictures with themselves and the beloved cops of NYC

Unfortunately this effort evoked another trend where twitter members used the opportunity to express their resentment towards the NYPD and post pictures of police using excessive violence

While it was a noble effort to try and engage the people of NYC to promote the image of the NYPD, we have learned that people generally enjoy complaining. And leaving this campaign open to the masses through the use of a hashtag only exacerbated that innate need

The NYPD could stand to gain from a campaign that focused on proponents of the force and use their testimonials to advertise a better image to the general public

[mzaman5]

Spoilt for Choice

My laptop buying experience involved checking three factors: weight, screen size and battery life. I would like to consider myself a discerning consumer; however, with the multitude of options to choose from when buying a computer, it becomes very difficult to narrow every filter down and find the ONE computer that fits all of my needs. Coupled with the fact that I had no idea what to expect from the MBA experience, it was difficult to forecast what other filters to use

Thankfully Sloan had posted certain specifications that would be useful to consider when buying a computer. Imbedded in that list was “intel Core i3 or better”. The “or better” part is what threw me off a little bit. What were the better options? How much did I stand to benefit from having an i4, 5, 6, or 7?

As it turns out, there was only the i5 and i7 that were better than the requisite i3. Hours of research led to even more confusion between the advantages of upgrading but countless reviews insisted that it was worth the money

In an age when anyone and everyone can post on the internet, one has to be even more careful about the weightage of importance given to countless Amazon and BestBuy reviews. A website I found particularly helpful, CNET, outlines the clear differences and how that juxtaposed against usage type. It was a clear and concise way for me to understand why I was paying hundreds of dollars more for something I would have no direct contact with but would always know was running my machine.

[mzaman5]

Not many people know but J Crew started off as Popular Club Plan. The clothing line was driven towards budget conscious women in 1947.  The 80s brought a new trend in retail in the form of catalogues, starting with companies like LL Bean and Talbots. This allowed Popular Club Plan to make the transition into targeting a higher level of customer with designs comparable to Ralph Lauren, while still maintaining a lower price point. In this rebranding effort the name was also changed to J Crew to foster a sort of ‘preppy’ image.

The catalogue allowed customers to see various items of clothing in dynamic settings, often allowing them to better relate with the product and as a result J Crew saw tremendous growth in sales, close to 25-30% a year.  The catalogue proved to be such a success that J Crew replicated this model to generate further sales and reach out to a larger scope of customers.

With the catalogue business reaching its saturation point towards the end of the 80s, J Crew found itself in a precarious position of having to recognize continued growth through other means. The pivot would be retail stores. The company let go of the Popular Club Plan name and focused on developing retail store fronts.

In 1989 J Crew opened four stores from Manhattan to Costa Mesa on the West Coast. The areas represented the best performing catalogue locations. Unfortunately, due to the lagging performance of spin off brands, the company’s performance continued to falter and it was unable to recognize any profits from the stores as their overheads grew.

Many PE turnarounds later, today we know J Crew to be the epitome of preppy clothing for young professionals. Juxtaposing its current day positioning against its time as the Popular Club Plan, there has been a clear shift in the way they have attacked the ever-changing consumer landscape. For the moment J Crew is in a seemingly sustainable state, but given the unpredictable world of fashion, who knows how long that will last.

[mzaman5]

Eating our way through China

As part of China Lab, Dominic and I had a chance to work with a relatively high end restaurant in China, Fashion Gourmet, to roll out a go to market strategy for a fast food component of the business. The restaurant had been suffering from a decline in sales and was desperately seeking opportunities to grow the business to grow or take advantage of its existing consumer base

After learning a lot about the nature of consumer eating habits and trends in China, we recognized that preferences were leaning towards Nutritious, Clean, and Quicker lunches. Because most of Fashion Gourmet's clientele tended to be business people, these values made sense as needs of that consumer base

Keeping that in mind we determined how the new brand, Fang He, would fall with respect to Fashion Gourmet. Determining the branding relationship was key to our assignment

Because Fashion Gourmet was already considered a Nutritious and Clean dining option, we decided that it would be advantageous for the restaurant to sponsor Fang He in a 'Shadow Endorser' role. As a enw brand with no association, it would be very difficult to build a trusting relationship with a consumer base right off the bat. It would take time and investment that the Fashion Gourmet brand had already embarked in

The 'Quick' component would be a brand value that Fang He would have to build through time and off of customer experience

[mzaman5]

In college my friends had a game for picking wine. There was one rule, and a simple one at that. The label must have an animal on it. That was it.

At an age when knowledge of wine is limited to knowing if it's red or white, there was no other filter that was understood well enough.

What started off as a game became the purchasing habit of many of the same friends. It was a constant quest to find the most ridiculous label, all the while, not particularly caring for the taste.

Now a bit older, the same finds have preferences based on region and a few different types of reds or white wine, but most still admit to not having a palette to really differentiate between all the different varieties, vintages, and geographies.

Moving to India, I discovered there to be an up and coming wine scene out of the Nashik Valley (between Delhi and Mumbai) which is starting to gain a tremendous amount of headway. With the old world wine biases removed, wines from the Nashik Valley fair quite competitively and demonstrate themselves as a contender.

[mzaman5]

At the age of 6 I was told that I would be taking a trip from Pittsburgh to London to visit grandparents. However, this would not be an ordinary trip. I would be flying myself for the first time. Personally, this was a dream come true, a tremendous amount of independence being granted to me that I refused to squander. At that point I had only flown a hand full of times and the experience was still quite novel and thrilling.

I found excitement in everything from packing and checking in my bags to going through security and finding my seat on the plane. A 7 hour flight, I still feel bad to this day for the woman who had to sit next to an eager 6 year old, spewing out nonsensical ramblings. She was a principal at the middle school so I imagine she wasn't too unfamiliar with the situation but I was a sponge prepared to absorb every aspect of the adventure.

Ten years later I find myself begrudgingly dashing to the airport at the very last possible minute, stripping down to just about nothing at security, and squeezing myself into the seats that once seemed so large. Flying has gone from an adventure that I couldn't get enough of, to a chore that I enjoy about as much as doing laundry. I don't try to engage my neighbors, I either load as many books and movies on my iPad as possible, or stare down the wrong end of a Nyquil bottle in the hope that I will find some solace in the next few hours of my life 30,000 feet above ground.

Yet there are still a handful of airlines I can tolerate. These are the ones that seem to remember that the airline industry is in fact a service industry. These are the ones that recognize that while the airline industry remains one of the most competitive in the world, there are ways to differentiate.

Virgin in particular has one of the best customer service experiences I have had the chance to deal with. While I understand that as a customer I may have some ridiculous demands (cancelled or changes in trips is a recurring trend), I always them to be extremely accommodating and prepared to help me in whatever capacity is possible. As a result, even if they are not able to help, I have enough experience with them to understand they have tried everything possible, a precedent that is hard to set.

The airline industry is hemorrhaging money, and as companies rush to cut costs, airlines that will thrive will be the ones that understand how to make those cuts strategically.

[mzaman5]

Product Diffusion

A band aid for every occasion

The band aid, a staple of any person's medicine cabinet, it is the first thing we reach for in the event of an injury. Cut your finger? Scraped your knee? Young or old, it is the first method of self-diagnosis before we consult others or seek professional medical attention

In an age of growing healthcare costs, increased dissemination of information through the internet, we are becoming more cognizant of the ailments that plague us on a day to day basis. As this is self medication and diagnosis increases, we find less reason to run to the doctor with every little thing. As a result, why not have band aids that match that increased awareness and need to self diagnose?

Education of this product will occur organically as the natural self selection of those curious will learn and spread the news through various channels of word of mouth, online platforms like WebMd, or social media platforms.

Peanut Butter Jelly time

With any new idea you have to think about how the end user benefits. Whether a new product services a need in a more efficient way, or sheds light on a need the user was not aware of before, tangible benefits will help the product recognize adoption. In this case we are dealing with the former, sliced peanut butter makes making a peanut butter sandwich more efficient.

Other benefits include an easier way of transporting peanut butter. No longer does one have to carry around a large jar. All users of PB stand to gain from this innovation. The break point occurs where the cost of technology for the wax paper should not exceed the convenience cost that users are prepared to pay for the added benefits

An Age for the Senses

Sound being incorporated into motion pictures. Colors being added to movies. Smell, taste and touch remain. This technology aims to tackle the issue of transporting smell across the same medium as sound and color. While this should be the next logical step to increase how interactive the internet can be, there will be those who worry about how invasive this technology could be

With the growing number of people concerned with their increased digital presence, bringing more of the outside world into our homes and personal lives may not be welcomed and adopted as quickly as the other innovations

This may be better suited as a target for films and movie theaters, where individuals can better understand the technology and how the interaction occurs. This would build a level of comfort that would then encourage home usage

Satellite Radio

There are many factors that stymie the growth of this industry. Focusing on the auto industry for a moment, the price of gas is increasing, people are seeking other methods of transportation or other types of vacations that do not involve driving the way Americans used to

Considering a different side, Pandora, Spotify, and SoundCloud are just a few platforms available to the masses that seek to disrupt the way we listen to music. With connectivity increasing within the automobile, a user can easily start playing his or her favorite Spotify playlist from the house into the car seamlessly. With more control over the songs and playlist I command with a program like Spotify, I am less inclined to listen to a radio that despite has little to no commercials, is not playing the exact songs I want to hear

With this increased focus on the user experience, it is hard to justify satellite radio as a better alternative to enhance the user experience.

#mitbranding

#mitsloanbranding

[mzaman5]

Corona evokes a sense of relaxation, and a memory of spending hours on the beach with friends. The consistent image of beaches has created an atmosphere that we associate with Corona.

Now, not even having to be at the beach, we yearn for that feeling to be at the beach, relive that tranquility we captured for a fleeting moment on our last vacation

Corona has created more than just a name for itself, but an experience

#mitbranding #mitsloanbranding