The Business of Brand Management | Page 2

SHORTS

In Praise of Boredom.

Alexander Rauch

TO BE DISCUSSED

When mainstream brands want to go “premium,” there’s a good reason for it: profit margins. In saturated markets, it’s difficult to increase sales volume; due to persistent […]

The blue team needs to step it up.

Laura Schreiner

TO BE DISCUSSED

Nivea is one of the world’s best-known skin care brands. The blue tin symbolizes trust, reliability, and care for everyone. Now, of all brands, this core brand […]

A cookie for the cooler bag.

Laura Schreiner

TO BE DISCUSSED

Today is another one of those days when the question of what to snack on practically answers itself: something cold, please. Ice cream, watermelon, and a drink […]

Who's actually going to get the crown here?

Laura Schreiner

TO BE DISCUSSED

The König Pilsener brand is meant to come across as more modern and youthful, playing a clearer role in the everyday lives of younger people—without losing its […]

Are Supplements the New Snake Oil?

Alexander Rauch

TO BE DISCUSSED

One of the iconic characters of the American Western is, of course, the quack, the “snake oil salesman” —for example, Mr. Merriweather (that name!) in the magnificent […]

Death by Greedflation?

Alexander Rauch

TO BE DISCUSSED

For global luxury brands, things have actually always been great since the turn of the millennium: unless there was a financial crisis or COVID, demand and sales […]

A “new study”—so many questions.

Alexander Rauch

TO BE DISCUSSED

It took us a while, too, to recover from the German national team’s completely unexpected elimination from the World Cup—which is why our newsletter is a little […]

Dress for Performance?

Alexander Rauch

TO BE DISCUSSED

There’s a lot of excitement among Porsche employees: But no, it’s not about the company’s zigzagging course on powertrain technology, the sales slump in China, or U.S. […]

It's always trouble with the old folks!

Alexander Rauch

TO BE DISCUSSED

Time and again, we read that brands “underestimate” the 50-plus demographic: In terms of their purchasing power and willingness to spend, their readiness to use new media […]

Editorials

Brand Switzerland. When Brands Are More Successful Than Reality.

Dr. Eric Häusler Prof. Dr. Jürgen Häusler

The world of brands has many rituals. One of the most persistent is this: successful brands must be grounded in reality. Brands, we are told, must not […]

Editorials

Why Engelbert Strauss Is Not Germany.

A response to the FAZ interview with Henning Strauss. Henning Strauss is right about almost everything except the analogy. Engelbert Strauss is a family-owned workwear manufacturer from […]

Editorials

The Gap That Doesn't Respond.

Maschinensicht

Why the unsaid works on people and disappears for machines. Erich Posselt recently published a piece here that I believe is right. His text distinguishes clarity from […]

Editorials

The Smoothness of Clarity.

Why we seek the unambiguous — even though reality is something else entirely. I am sitting in a briefing. The marketing director of a mid-sized company lays […]

Editorials

The Expected Failure. Germany as a Football Nation.

Dr. Eric Häusler Prof. Dr. Jürgen Häusler

Rereading. Rethinking (3)

Germany’s men’s national football team has been eliminated. Once again. That is no longer surprising. A tournament victory would now be the surprise. A series of sporting […]

Editorials

When Branding Becomes Marketing, Strategy Breaks

Why organizations that conflate the two, risk sacrificing long-term value for short-term performance. In many organizations today, branding has become increasingly difficult to distinguish from marketing. The […]

Editorials

The Damaged Image: Germany and the Problem of Self-Representation.

Dr. Eric Häusler Prof. Dr. Jürgen Häusler

REREADING. RETHINKING (2).

For several years now, the idea of the “nation as brand” has become part of the established vocabulary of place promotion, tourism marketing, and communication consultancy. States […]

Opinions

Brand as an MCP Server: How a Brand Answers When an Agent Asks.

MASCHINENSICHT

Four copies of a trademark. The industry has found an answer to producing with AI: every tool gets its own copy of the brand. Only, you cannot […]

Opinions

A Day Without an Agency.

Why the communications industry will not fail because of AI, but because it is asking the wrong question. On Tuesday 11 March 2031, Lena wakes up at […]

Interviews

Intuition, Identity, Impact: The Power of Industrial Design

Andrea Mocellin Johannes Christensen

A conversation with Andrea Mocellin on design, mobility, and the strategic role of intuition. Andrea Mocellin doesn’t just design objects – he designs how we move, interact, and […]

Interviews

Ingenuity that works: What it takes to build a true challenger brand in aviation

Amaury Barberot Johannes Christensen

A conversation with the CEO of Expliseat on timing, transformation, and leadership in brand building. Expliseat is a true game changer, not only in the French industry, but […]