Widespread announcements of the death of the Experience Brand have been wildly exaggerated. People are assuming that things like social distancing, facemasks and sanitizing will kill whatever branded experience they've been competing on. I believe not only is winning through experience not dead, it's more important than ever and the ones who do it best will stand out even more. So, what even is an Experience Brand? It’s not about being nice folks and having a greeter at the d

In decades of professional life — through multiple recessions, crashes and crises, I have never seen such a tsunami of advice about how to win the future. All of a sudden every pundit has a handy tip-sheet of all the things you’ll need to master for what is definitely coming next, variously described as the new normal, the new not normal, the new now, the new next, the next normal, etc… It all pretty much starts to sound the same. There are no precedents for this global crisi

Alectra Utilities Brand Strategy The combination of four large Ontario utilities into one was the first step in responding to the need for consolidation in the electrical utility sector and the imperative to prepare for the coming disruption of the power category. New ways to generate, store, move and use electricity are fundamentally changing the role if the traditional utility - both by potentially undermining regulated business but also by creating new opportunity for new

The Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto By most measures, the Rotman School of Management is the top business school in Canada and has a growing reputation internationally as a leading research school . But you can never stand still in the business education space; it's being disrupted by new, specialized degrees, online options and fast-tracked alternatives. Under the leadership of Dean Tiff Macklem, we set out to define a brand for the future of Rotman

Defining the new Canada Life. Great-West LifeCo has housed a portfolio of insurance companies - Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life - each with venerable histories but without enough distinction to justify maintaining multiple brands. The strategic decision was made to unify these brands under one, iconic idea: Canada Life, and to move to a single, powerful entity taking its rightful place as a leader in Canadian financial services. With two of the best words in the

Does your brand architecture make you easier or harder to figure out? Let's face it: Brand architecture - how you present what you do to the world - can be a drag to deal with. It's often confused with organization structure (and power structure) and can make people very territorial. But if you don't have it right you are very likely, at best, confusing your customers and at worst undermining the potential in each relationship. While in some settings there is hard science beh

MaRS Brand Strategy and Architecture MaRS has always struggled with the gap between the value it helps create and the perception of that value. As a globally significant centre for innovation, the incredible wealth of resources and networks available through the MaRS ecosystem has helped launch countless commercial and social profit enterprises and it continues to deepen and grow as our Canada's innovation culture matures. I'd been enjoying my role as a volunteer MaRS client

Koodo Mobile Naming In 2008 Telus knew it needed a sub-brand to help engage younger mobile consumers who were not interested in contracts or paying for features they didn't use. I developed the Koodo name, informed by the idea of the Greek kudos, to suggest: hey, good for you; smart choice. The enormous success of Koodo from the moment of launch caused Bell and Rogers to respond by building out their flanking brands, but Koodo has continued to be the brand that defines happin

RTO/ERO Brand Strategy This remarkable organization quietly and doggedly helps 80,000 retired educators and members stay healthy, active and connected through a broad line-up of benefits, events and programs. Their Foundation supports research in geriatrics and they advocate actively for the interests of seniors across Canada. They needed a brand that reflected the dynamism and spirit of a very engaged community who value education, personal growth and generosity to others. I