Directors & Boards articles from June 1993

Directors & Boards archives from June 1993

Of brand value and ballyhoo. (Building Brand Strength)
June 22, 1993... Are brands losing their appeal? On both Wall Street and Main Street investors and consumers are concluding that a household name is worth less now than it once was. In the 1980s, huge prices were paid for companies with strong brand names. Brand...

The challenge for brands. (Building Brand Strength)
June 22, 1993... The days of brands are not over. But the need to articulate the quality and value of a brand has never been greater. It is my firm belief that the two main assets of any corporation are its people and its brands. While I believe that Seagram...

A CEO's role in brand building. (Building Brand Strength)
June 22, 1993... These seven guidelines for product development at The Dial Corp. show how the CEO can be a catalyst for vigorous brand management. The brand manager holding sway as the ultimate decisionmaker on product and marketing decisions is a familiar...

Best practices in brand management. (Building Brand Strength)
June 22, 1993... The game has already changed. Here's what it will take to unlock fresh growth opportunities and to prosper in the years ahead. Philip Morris's recent price cut on Marlboro dramatically illustrates just how tough things are for consumer products...

How to avoid the 'empty middle.' (mediocre brands) (Building Brand Strength)
June 22, 1993... The market for 'average' brands is dwindling. Here are some methods for gaining brand focus and implementing 'empty middle avoidance.' Some of the worst advice that has ever been repeated to general managers responsible for overseeing the...

Restore brand equity! (Building Brand Strength)
June 22, 1993... This must be the clarion call of the '90s. Here is a set of strategic responses to the trends that would undermine the potency of brands. Wall Street pundits recently lowered their sights regarding the profitability and long-term future of...

Brand oversight: what's a board to do? (Building Brand Strength)
June 22, 1993... Here are the seven deadly sins of brand destruction, and some recommendations for boards that want to do the best possible job of brand monitoring. Despite a multi-billion-dollar business, Sears recently announced the end of its now...

Fireproofing your brand. (Building Brand Strength)
June 22, 1993... Even the most sophisticated of marketers can find their brands going up in flames. Most fires start from within, so here are some safety precautions. The subject of branding is very "hot" today. Business people are well aware of the mega-deals...

Maximizing trademark protection and value. (Building Brand Strength)
June 22, 1993... The steps outlined here are the foundation of an effective, custom-tailored program for decisively protecting your company's trademarks. The cornerstone of any consumer products or services company is the goodwill and recognition value of its...

The case for a brand steward. (Building Brand Strength )
June 22, 1993... Call it brand steward or brand ombudsman, this position would have a special role to play in protecting a company's valuable brand equity. Companies continually seem to become involved in highly public incidents (domestic and foreign) that...

Banking on a single brand name. (Building Brand Strength)
June 22, 1993... A brand can't be all things to all people. Here is an approach to developing a single brand-name identity strategy. The proliferation of names for products and services is a long accepted fact of everyday life. We are all accustomed to buying...

The acquisition value of a brand. (Building Brand Strength)
June 22, 1993... With the frenzied brand buying of the 1980s over, here are some issues that will be key to determining values in today's acquisition environment. Ever since Philip Morris sent consumer product manufacturers for cover when it announced massive...

An antitrust guide to brand acquisition. (Building Brand Strength)
June 22, 1993... The acquisition of a brand or branded product may raise unique antitrust issues in merger analysis. Several years ago, the Department of Justice challenged the proposed merger between the manufacturers of Bumble Bee and StarKist canned tuna,...

Getting serious about customer focus.
June 22, 1993... Here are the principles of becoming a customer-focused competitor. Companies successful at this have a fundamentally different way of operating. Many business leaders preach a "customer-focus" philosophy. Few have seen any reward from these...

The corporation as a brand. (Building Brand Strength)
June 22, 1993... A company is not just a holder of brands but is itself a brand -- subject to pivotal criteria applied to virtually every brand shopping decision. The setting was distinctly Japanese. Simple yet elegant. I was honored to have been received into...

CEOs and boards: reform or gridlock? (Building Brand Strength)
June 22, 1993... With the proxy season now concluded, following one of the most turbulent years in American corporate history, we owe it to ourselves to consider the changing relationships between directors and CEOs -- those individuals charged with delivering...

Youth gets the call. (Building Brand Strength)
June 22, 1993... The board is "too old." That charge was lobbed at IBM Corp. management at the company's annual meeting this past spring. The shareholder raising the age issue, reportedly on the elderly side himself, further declaimed, "Most of them come from an...

Where the road runs deeper. (wise investment) (Building Brand Strength)
June 22, 1993... Heads have rolled recently at some major corporations, notably GM, Westinghouse, and American Express. Poorly performing managements elsewhere have been called on the carpet. In some cases, the changes were wrought by once somnolent boards of...

Corporate governance: relational investing to the fore. (Building Brand Strength)
June 22, 1993... Relational investing is a corporate governance concept that came under significant analysis in May 1993 at a major gathering of private and public-sector institutional investors, academics, corporate executives, and governance advisers. The...