How Chrysler is Winning Consumer Loyalty
At DBA Worldwide, we’re becoming a go-to source for explaining the new paradigm for branding that our agency is helping shape. Here’s the latest example: an analysis that lead the Think section of the Detroit News this week and relies on our expertise to help explain why Chrysler has become such a great practitioner of our approach […]
What’s Good for Babies is Good For Business
PLUM ORGANICS AND HAPPY BABY CHALLENGE GERBER FOR THE HIGH GROUND… I used to believe that there was nothing healthier than Gerber Baby Food. When I was designing packaging and promotions for the brand, I remember learning that they owned 70% of the market share. That’s because Gerber was made of all-natural ingredients. Peas were […]
Pay it Forward Becomes Pay-If-You-Can
PANERA BREAD PROVES GIVING IS BETTER THAN RECEIVING… Brands often go right up to the edge of outright altruism without falling over it, out of fear of letting some sort of cat out of the bag that they won’t be able to get back. But Panera is finding that its experience with a handful of […]
Proving It’s Easier to Ask Forgiveness Than Permission
LISTENING IS THE BEST FORM OF COMMUNICATION… As online participation provides increased levels of consumer feedback, we are entering a new era of corporate listening. After learning their lessons the hard way, companies like JCPenney and Johnson & Johnson are joining the Participation Age. For JCPenney, the retailer has been attempting to regain customers who […]
Just do it
NIKE – PARTICIPATION MEDIA CASE STUDY #3: Nike was just named innovator of the year by Fast Company. Driven by its stated purpose of “Bringing innovation and inspiration to every athlete in the world,” Nike set itself apart as more than a shoe manufacturer long ago. Nike helped usher in the Participation Age as the […]
Artificial Intelligence Shopping
AMAZON.COM – PARTICIPATION MEDIA CASE STUDY #2: Consumers trust online reviews from other customers on Amazon.com five times more than the message crafted by the brands that sell the products. According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, user reviews have become the most powerful asset in e-commerce. But, even this feature could […]
The King of Content Marketing
APPLE – PARTICIPATION MEDIA CASE STUDY #1: It’s good to be Apple. With 94% year-over-year profit increases, this week Apple announced plans to send $11.47 billion to shareholders, making it the largest dividend-paying company in the world…ever. The secret to the success of Apple is its unwillingness to stay in its lane. While traditional business […]
Don’t just buy media…BE the media
DAWN OF THE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP NETWORK… Most advertising and PR professionals understand “Paid Media” and “Earned Media.”Millennial MadMen are now pioneering “Owned Media” channels. I first read the term in the Harvard Business Review, but before I even finished the article, I calculated the implications. Companies will no longer need to buy or beg for […]
Selling buggies in Facebook
LESSONS FROM THE BUGGY MAKER WHO SAVED HIS TOWN… As a Detroiter, I am enamored with how the Industrial Age was born in my hometown. I’m especially drawn to the legend of Billy Durant, the spring-suspension innovator of the horse and buggy. Flint, Michigan was flourishing as was the Durant-Dort Carriage Company, until Henry Ford […]
The Participation Age
WHEN ALL MEDIA GOES SOCIAL, THERE’S NO GOING BACK… This is not another blog about social media. No, that buzz-word darling was worn out by last year’s marketing books, business seminars and advertising pitches. However, all of our preoccupation with this new phenomenon has been warranted after all. In fact, social media networks are the […]