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State of the Brand

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State of the Brand, written by Ecra Creative Group co-founder Jason Voiovich, is a weekly discussion of how branding affects the world around you.

Recent Posts Tagged With 'positioning'

• What a Bratz

  Posted on Monday August 18th, 2008 at 09:00 in adam soffer, barbie, barbie doll, bratz, carter bryant, contract rights, ecra, ip law, jason voiovich, legal, mattel, mga entertainment

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group Apparently, dolls can fight dirty. Designer Carter Bryant came up with the original concept idea for a new line of urban, hip, and flirty dolls sometime in t...

• Pro cycling is no dope

  Posted on Monday August 11th, 2008 at 09:00 in barry bonds, crisis communication, doping, ecra, floyd landis, international, jason voiovich, mitchell report, performance enhancement, positioning, pro cycling, Public Relations

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group When you think of illicit performance enhancement in sports, what comes to mind? Pro baseball, certainly. Plenty of “enhancement” there. Pro fo...

• Reverse mortgage: Hero or villain?

  Posted on Monday August 4th, 2008 at 09:00 in Advertising, bell mortgage, demographics, ecra, finance marketing, jason voiovich, positioning, Public Policy, Reputation Management, reverse mortgages, senior marketing, tony weick

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group Perhaps it is just poor timing. Just as the word ’sub-prime’ became part of the everyday vernacular, just as mortgage industry giants fell, and j...

• Everyday differentiation from Wells Fargo

  Posted on Monday July 21st, 2008 at 09:00 in design, ecra, interface, jason voiovich, positioning, user interface, wells fargo

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group We sure have come a long way from the dreaded “green screen” automated teller. Without much fanfare, Wells Fargo’s reintroduced ATM user in...

• The case of the incredible shrinking laundry detergent

  Posted on Monday July 14th, 2008 at 09:00 in ecra, food marketing, grocery shrink ray, jason voiovich, Packaging, packaging shrinkage, positioning, shipping cost

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group It all started during a recent trip to Target to purchase Tide. Imagine my surprise when the plastic jug to which I had been accustomed - the 100 fluid ounce...

• Back from Las Vegas: A lesson in unnecessary superlatives

  Posted on Monday July 7th, 2008 at 09:00 in Advertising, movies & media, positioning

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group When everything is “the best”, nothing is. Don’t get me wrong. My wife and I spent the better part of one week in Las Vegas this month, an...

• The brain: A smart brand position for Medtronic

  Posted on Monday June 30th, 2008 at 09:00 in alzheimer, brain pacemaker, dbs, deep brain stimulation, ecra, jason voiovich, market research, med tech, medical technology industry, medtronic, parkinson, positioning

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group It’s a brain pacemaker. Perhaps you have heard of it. It has been about a year since most of us got our first look at Medtronic’s Activa Deep Br...

• Attack of the killer tomatoes! Part 2: The silver lining.

  Posted on Monday June 23rd, 2008 at 09:00 in centers for disease control and prevention cdc, ecra, food marketing, jason voiovich, killer tomatoes, market research, outbreak, positioning, Psychology, Public Policy, Public Relations, salmonella bacteria

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group This time, it isn’t funny. Quite unlike the 1978 B-movie spoof classic, these killer tomatoes mean business. Salmonella bacteria contamination has bee...

• An immediate marketing challenge for the Wisconsin Dells

  Posted on Monday June 16th, 2008 at 09:00 in bad news, crisis communication, ecra, events, Illinois, jason voiovich, lake delton, minnesota, positioning, Public Policy, Public Relations, Reputation Management

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group For all intents and purposes, Lake Delton no longer exists. On June 9, after historic and torrential rainfall, a section of the lake’s shoreline surrou...

• Chrysler’s $2.99 gas guarantee: A look inside the All-American gimmick

  Posted on Monday June 9th, 2008 at 09:00 in $2.99 gas, Advertising, big three automakers, chrysler, ecra, fuel efficient vehicle, gas price, jason voiovich, miles per gallon, positioning, price of oil, Psychology

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group You can’t blame Chrysler for trying. Arguably the sickest of the American big three automakers, and the one least well-positioned to compete in a fuel-...

• Geek Squad: Best Buy’s Jiffy Lube

  Posted on Monday May 19th, 2008 at 09:00 in channel marketing, crisis communication, employee marketing, ethics, legal, market research, positioning, Reputation Management

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group They have been called the “Peep Squad”. Allegedly, certain members of the Geek Squad organization have been caught pilfering private customer inf...

• An Applebee’s answer to higher food prices

  Posted on Monday May 12th, 2008 at 09:00 in applebee, applebee's, channel marketing, ecra, food prices, jason voiovich, market research, Packaging, positioning, Psychology, usda

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group Many of us could stand to eat less. That is not a pithy recitation, but a hard fact. Studies conducted by the USDA (among several other groups) consistently...

• From strangely unique (Gluek’s) to positively ordinary (Cold Spring)

  Posted on Monday May 5th, 2008 at 09:00 in anheuser busch, beer wine and spirits, beverage market, brand naming, brewery business, busch, channel marketing, demographics, diageo, ecra, energy drinks, gluek

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group Being in the brewery business today is not easy. The competition for the US alcoholic beverage market remains intense. Beer is a core product, followed close...

• Madonna redefines herself - and more importantly - what it means to turn 50

  Posted on Monday April 28th, 2008 at 09:00 in 50 years old, Advertising, age, celebrity, demographics, ecra, hard candy, jason voiovich, madonna, market research, movies & media, positioning

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group It seems a bit beyond belief, doesn’t it? On the eve of her 50th birthday this summer, the Material Girl, the author of Sex, and the perpetrator of cou...

• People with autism get a second chance in Second Life

  Posted on Monday April 21st, 2008 at 09:00 in autism, autism spectrum, david savill, dustin hoffman, ecra, gary gygax, Hillary Clinton, iraq, jason voiovich, john mccain, linden lab, movies & media

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group David Savill of Gloucester, England, has Asperger’s syndrome. Asperger’s is a disorder in the Autism spectrum, marked by difficulty in social interac...

• Edina Realty: 1. Coldwell Banker Burnet: 0.

  Posted on Monday April 14th, 2008 at 10:00 in Advertising, coldwell banker burnet, ecra, edina realty, fud, housing market, jason voiovich, positioning, residential real estate

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group Two of our biggest Twin Cities residential real estate organizations are at it again. For the last few months, Edina Realty and Coldwell Banker Burnet have w...

• The wind storm cometh

  Posted on Monday April 7th, 2008 at 10:00 in Alternative Energy, ecra, government incentive programs, jason voiovich, migratory birds, minnesota, positioning, Public Policy, Public Relations, renewable energy sources, wind energy, wind farms

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group Minnesota is now the number three wind power producer in the country. That’s the good news. In 2007, Minnesota reached an installed base of nearly 1300...

• A plum worth more than gold

  Posted on Monday March 31st, 2008 at 10:00 in Advertising, american express, brand naming, ecra, jason voiovich, mastercard, Packaging, plum card, positioning, visa

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group There was a time when having a Gold card meant something. To obtain one (a Gold VISA or Gold MasterCard) meant you had achieved a certain point in life. A c...

• Deadly Medicine, The Science Museum of Minnesota, and the changing image of science

  Posted on Monday March 24th, 2008 at 10:00 in body worlds, deadly medicine lecture series, ecra, gunther von hagens, jason voiovich, movies & media, pompeii exhibit, positioning, science, science museum of minnesota

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group Under a looming Pterodactyl fossil, a line of humanity snaked nearly out the door. In front of us were, literally, more than 500 people. On a Saturday morni...

• The Green Bay Packers have a Favre-sized image problem

  Posted on Monday March 17th, 2008 at 10:00 in aaron rogers, celebrity, fantasy football, fantasy sports, green bay packer, green bay packers, ichiro suzuki, international, jason voiovich, market research, merchandising opportunities, michael jordan

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group After 17 seasons, two SuperBowls, one championship team, and just about every passing record worth having, iconic Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre i...

• Victoria’s Secret: Too sexy for its own good?

  Posted on Monday March 10th, 2008 at 10:00 in channel marketing, ecra, jason voiovich, limited brands, lingerie fashion, Packaging, pink, positioning, sharen turney, sleepwear, victorias secret

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group In the pantheon of “good problems to have”, this has to rank right up there. All kidding aside, Victoria’s Secret CEO Sharen Turney thinks ...

• Trader Joe’s takes action to protect itself from the Chinese (brand)

  Posted on Monday March 3rd, 2008 at 09:00 in agricultural products, channel marketing, china, chinese-produced, global food market, international, jason voiovich, Packaging, positioning, Public Policy, Public Relations, trader joe

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group They just don’t believe the label. Trader Joe’s customers don’t believe Chinese-grown products are actually organic. Trader Joe’s cus...

• What the Delta-Northwest merger means for the Minnesota brand

  Posted on Monday February 25th, 2008 at 09:00 in delta, minnesota brand, northwest airlines, positioning, Public Policy

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group It is not the first time we’ve lost one. Corporate headquarters, that is. The upcoming Delta-Northwest merger (though not officially “set in sto...

• The stickier name wins: Blu-Ray stomps HD-DVD

  Posted on Monday February 18th, 2008 at 10:00 in blu-ray, brand naming, channel marketing, format war, hd format, hd-dvd, jason voiovich, market research, movies & media, Packaging, positioning, Public Relations

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group Sony was determined not to let it happen again. For those of you in Generation Y, let me explain. Back in the early days of the Video Cassette Recorder, the...

• The surprisingly costly $1 cup of Starbucks

  Posted on Monday February 11th, 2008 at 09:00 in blind taste test, caribou coffee, coffee aroma, coffee starbucks, dunkin donuts, espresso drinks, golden arches, jason voiovich, loyal clientele, market research, positioning, starbucks

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group Starbucks has lost its way. It’s hard to blame them. Once the undisputed king (queen?) of high-end coffee, Starbucks has seen Minneapolis-based Caribo...

• 50 years of LEGOs: The most successful toy brand of all time

  Posted on Monday February 4th, 2008 at 10:00 in brand naming, channel marketing, international, lego, lego brand, lego star wars, movies & media, Packaging, positioning

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group What makes the LEGO brand so strong? One way might to make that judgment would be to examine the toy brands that (largely) came and went over the intervening...

• “A pacemaker for the eye” - A triumph for clear messaging

  Posted on Monday January 28th, 2008 at 10:00 in copywriting, positioning, Public Relations, scyfix

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group By all rights, ScyFIX should not have this kind of attention. Chanhassen, Minnesota-based ScyFIX has no direct link to a med-tech powerhouse. If ScyFIX were...

• The Carbon Motors E7: A great idea in search of a great brand

  Posted on Monday January 21st, 2008 at 10:00 in brand naming, carbon motors e7, kuga, positioning

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group The crucial road test for any 16-year old driver: Recognize the ubiquitous “police car” shape. At any time of day or night. At any angle. With ...

• Rebranding government in Woodbury

  Posted on Monday January 14th, 2008 at 10:00 in government branding, positioning, Public Policy, woodbury minnesota

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group “Government is not a solution to our problem. Government is the problem.” President Ronald Reagan, in his first inaugural address, January 20, 1...

• Burger King’s desperate cry for attention

  Posted on Monday January 7th, 2008 at 10:00 in burger king, positioning, restaurant marketing, whopper advertising

  Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group These days, the iconic Whopper brand has stooped to “running away” to get noticed. At least, that’s the impression you are likely to get fr...