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This past week I was introduced to another case of personal branding colliding with corporate egotism; an increasingly common fender-bender in our over-connected world where the line between personal and corporate personas are becoming thinner and thinner. Last week Dave Reynolds, an extremely popular DJ at 99.7 The River in Campbell River, British Columbia (aRead more

With the exponential growth of social platforms, the face of the customer is continuously changing. Today’s customer seeks to do business with more than a product or a service; they seek to do business with a brand that stands for something and more importantly, with the people behind the brand. This is a statement postedRead more

It was reported today (see here) that McDonald’s Corp voted down a proposal to assess its impact on public health, particularly childhood obesity. The proposal was brought by consumer watchdog group: Corporate Accountability International. The group requested that the McDonald’s board “issue a report within six months of the 2012 annual meeting assessing the company’sRead more

The latest posts here on Sensei Blogs have been inspired by our insights into businesses that have been living through the age of disruption, which references the interruption of a business’ outbound communications (branding, public relations, marketing and brand messaging) by consumer messages. In this series: The Courage of Passion Brands and Leaders Stop MeasuringRead more

Last evening’s #bizforum Twitter debate focused on the impact of social media-powered customer service on the business. We saw an excellent exchange on both sides of the various resolutions that were being debated but one had the community divided more than others:  how does a brand close the Twitter-loop on a customer service issue? TheRead more

I remember the days when the common response to public criticism of your brand’s product or service was: “as long as they’re spelling my name correctly” who cares? Burying one’s head in the sand was a perfectly acceptable response. How bad could it get? Who could they tell? As recent as five years ago, manyRead more

Since 1776, when Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations, economists have been espousing the competitive advantages of “scale”, referencing to the almost guaranteed generation of revenue that enterprises enjoy when their sheer size provides a figurative barrier to a competitor’s innovation and price competitiveness. A business’ size has become a predictor of their scaleRead more

You have a choice. Take the Blue Pill or the Red Pill. Take the Blue Pill and Run on the Corporate Wheel. Acme’s Sales Executive Ted has a conversation with a prospective customer about industry needs, which sparks an idea for an innovative product upgrade. He e-mails the idea to Susan his Sales Manager, whoRead more

In reviewing a client’s internal branding/marketing plan recently I noticed that the Marketing VP called for an increase in broadcast and social media “advertising”. Given that CX or the Customer Experience is a key focus of my firm’s practice, I questioned what the impact on the customer’s experience with the brand would be? How wouldRead more

Every evolution of Web technologies, applications and devices has seen businesses try to leverage the platforms to fatten their bottom line. While visionary early adopters are quick to see and jump on new trends, conservative businesses eventually – maybe reluctantly – join the fray. As devices and technologies continue to morph and evolve at aRead more