rockwelg

[rockwelg]

Bill introduced in Congress to make using fake medals a crime

Worried about social media backlash?? Then you haven't seen the power of Veteran and Congressional backlash!

  As a lover of the movie Wedding Crashers and a Purple Heart recipient I had mixed emotions when the characters in the movie used fake Purple Heart medals to get free drinks at the bar.  While I thought it was pretty funny at first, the rest of the Purple Heart community (approximately 1.8 million have been awarded since the Revolutionary War) was taken back that a medal, which signifies wounds received in combat, could be used so easily as a punch line in a movie.  What really heated up the controversy was that the marketers of the movie also placed the ability on their website to print out fake medals and encourage patrons of the movie to wear them to bars to try and get free drinks.

  “Print your own Purple Heart,” it invited. “To get one of these babies, some dudes have to prove their physical, mental and spiritual strength with great feats of bravery on the battlefield. All you need to do is press the button below.”

  The backlash was immediate and swift but Hollywood did a decent job of responding to the outrage by immediately removing that part of the website, though the jokes remained in the movie.

[rockwelg]

AMD vs Intel

Hard Core Gamers vs. well... Everyone Else

  You simply only need to watch these two videos (Intel above) (AMD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhqbNTMuWLM) to realize the different marketing strategy adopted by these two processor companies as they continue to build the validity of their brand name and attempt to capture market share.

  As a recovering high school hard core computer video gamer (think basement LAN parties) I absolutely knew the difference between these two companies.  Today the same arguments my friends and I had 12 years ago are still happening online with every new chip set released.  The ultimate question being, are you willing to pay more for Pentium or can you get away with paying less and then overclocking your AMD? See this 15 min clip about running benchmark tests on BF4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvLRZxRL8N8) to truly understand how important these facts are to gamers.

  Ultimately it seems that Pentium has continued to move away from appealing to the hard core gamers in their advertising while AMD has embraced it.  The above Pentium hero film seems more like a Nike commercial with its celebrity sports stars and talks nothing about the technical specs or benefits of a new processor.  

#mitsloanbranding mitbranding

[rockwelg]

"I have always loved the heritage and romance of England.  I am inspired by its timeless elegance and authentic way of living" - Ralph Lauren

  At the beginning of every episode of Downton Abbey this season there are two commercials that specifically target the avid fans of the PBS hit.  One of those is a Ralph Lauren commercial for their Masterpiece Collection (ie PBS Masterpiece Theater).  Based around the Crawley family, as they struggle through the "hardships" of a privileged life in early 20th century England, the fashion of the characters has come to play as important a part of the show as the plot and characters.  As the set and costume designers attempt to capture what many believe to be a lost age of grace and regal beauty, fashion designers also look to cash as they link certain collections with this iconic time (and fans love of the show).

  Burberry has the luxury of not having to create this brand myth as they sit upon a clothing empire long established in harnessing the unique essence of the English country and estate life.  However their push to be contemporary as well as classic might begin to erode this position.  With other mass brands like Ralph Lauren trying to capture market share in the classic collections other will certainly join in as long as this time in our past continues to capture the interest of modern viewers.  Examples of all the fashion houses conducting serial fashion based on Downton Abbey can be found in this 2nd video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnMHZ8CvELk

#mitsloanbranding mitbranding

[rockwelg]

  Jim Beam, the iconic American whiskey company, was earlier this year acquired by the Japanese whiskey company Suntory .  Between extensive media coverage and slightly offensive humor on Conan (as in the clip provided) Americans knew that once again a distinctly American company had been acquired by a foreign competitor much like Anheuser-Bush being bought by InBev. Headline: Everyone also also discovered that Jim Beam makes several other brands of bourbon/whiskey that would have gone unnoticed lest this media coverage.

 What non-regular bourbon and whiskey drinkers discovered was that Jim Beam also produces the extremely popular premium brands of Makers Mark, Knob Creek, and Booker T bourbons.  I have often seen patrons at a bar order one of these premium brands in an effort NOT to be associated with cheap whiskeys like Jim Beam.  What we will discover here is that Jim Beam had set itself up as an effective shadow endorser.

  As opposed to the causal bourbon drinker slightly more "seasoned" drinkers did.  Jim Beam had been able to create a reliable shadow endorsement for all of these brands with this more dedicated group of patrons.  When I would server Booker T's to guests, which at 127 proof is a quite tasty bottle , they would all be at first surprised when I told them it was produced by Jim Beam but then impressed that they did create it.  This ultimately gave these products a bit more ground to stand on in addition to their high quality and strong independent brand reputations.

  With companies like InBev and Suntory scooping up distinctive brands across the world on a regular basis, they have to be careful that large corporate strategies don't ruin the groundwork that has been laid by their acquisitions to create unique situations like the Jim Beam/Makers Mark arrangement.  With all the additional press we will see if the causal drinkers takes notice, and the sales of these spirits are effected.  Who knows, maybe next time someone will just go for the basic Jim Beam over the Premium Knobb Creek knowing it was made by the same company.

#mitsloanbranding #MITBranding

[rockwelg]

and yes, people pay attention to hot flight attendants

Delta's "Deltaina" aka the "No Smoking Finger Wave"

#mitsloanbranding #mitbranding

[rockwelg]

--Taking A Ride on the Emirates/Icelandair/Lufthansa Red Line T Cars--

(aka whatever airline feels the need to advertise EVERY surface of the ENTIRE T car that week to include the outside)

Flying long-haul international is not sexy, but if I pay enough could it be???

  The airlines sure seem to think aggressive advertising will convince consumers of just this, especially those of us who might not be hard core international business travelers.  The question continues to remain though, how bad can they make coach on a 14 hr flight to force my price point to rise at least to the business class level.  The answer is pretty bad and the airlines I fly continually strive to make sure I regret almost every hour of long haul flights.

  Competing for worst part of my last flight was the salad that had accidentally been baked in the galley and the pesky bulkhead that my legs were shoved behind that had been conveniently left off the aircraft seat map when I had booked my ticket. 

  As a veteran of flying Coach internationally the allure of First and Business Class travel is often too much to handle.  After a month in Vietnam during G-Lab I even took the time to see what it would cost for a slightly more comfortable ride home and was greeted with a price that didn't make me mind my coach seat after all.

  So until I can afford Business or First Class tickets, or my new job decides to pay for them, I will continue to follow my first rule of international flights; don't forget prescription sleeping pills and try to avoid as much of the flight as possible.

#mitsloanbranding #mitbranding

[rockwelg]

"I got some Cubans, it was more then I wanted to spend but what the hell"

"Producto de Peru"???

  In certain markets consumers absolutely care which country their favorite brands are produced, especially when it comes to liquor and tobacco.  After reading the "Concha y Toro" case I wanted to find examples of other products where consumers opinions are immediately formed by seeing where the item was made, even before they have tried tasted it for quality and consistency.  As a cigar smoker I immediately thought of the allure of "Cuban" cigars.

  Difficult to find due to the long lasting trade embargo imposed by the US Cuban cigars have become the creme de la creme of cigars based almost entirely now on their country of origin.  Cigar smokers often look down upon cigars from the Dominican and other Latin countries even though they use the same seed varieties, the same production techniques, and literally roll up an identical cigar.  In the case of this Seinfeld clip, I have to admit Peruvian cigars are not very sought after.

  This being said, I believe Concha y Toro and the other Chilean wine makers have made an impact with the "Made in Chile" push.  As an amateur wine drinker I associate Chilean wines with exactly what they have marketed them as, a premium wine that with consistent quality and taste.  I often reach for a 10$-15$ bottle of Chilean wine when I am headed to a dinner party and don't have to second guess if people will enjoy it.

#mitbranding #mitsloanbranding

[rockwelg]

This is my company's newest introduction of a gun they stopped making 5 years ago.  (Note the first shooter you see, that's me!)

When I first heard that Ruger was going to reintroduce shotguns I worried about their ability to penetrate the shotgun market which is dominated by big names like Browning, Remington, and Benelli.  With the amount of firearms in the hands of hunters and sport shooting enthusiasts already I wondered if there was room for the new Ruger Red label.

After spending time with current Ruger customers though I began to see the advantages they were relying on to ensure the successful adaptation of the new shotgun.  Innovation: The new Red label utilized several new manufacturing techniques to cut the production cost nearly in half, saving that could be passe on to the consumer and create a more reliable product.  Adaptation: Adoption of the new product among current gun owners is key for the success of the line.  Current gun owners provide a sturdy testing ground for the product as well as providing industry insight to new owners reassuring them they are buying a quality product. 

#mitbranding #mitsloanbranding

[rockwelg]

Well stocked for this case study #mitbranding #mitsloanbranding

[rockwelg]

Apparently I own a Porter Cable drill #mitbranding #mitsloanbranding