Alan M. Siegel's Blog, page 130

Raising awareness for healthcare: Obamacare’s greatest achievement

We’re starting to see the initial impact of the Affordable Care Act. The headline? People have no idea what’s going on. It’s not just Obamacare. There is a deeper, systemic problem—people don’t understand how the healthcare system in the U.S. works.

Explaining the benefit of fact-based branding for your brand

In 2013, I flew around the world to share insights from my book, Fact-Based Branding in the Real World: A Simple Survival Guide for CMOs and Brand Managers.

What is fact-based branding, you ask? Fact-based branding is defined as "the use of rigorous quantitative measurement and forecasting techniques to make better branding decisions."

Watch the video to learn more.

A lesson in storytelling from Johnnie Walker

The idea of storytelling is more popular in marketing than ever. But as with a lot of great ideas that become hot concepts, then buzzwords, then clichés, there’s more than a little fuzz around what a story actually is.

Sheep Station: What brands can learn from site-specific art

The element of surprise can simply and successfully evoke a strong, positive, emotional and visceral reaction.

While on my way to dinner after walking the High Line, I had great the fortune to witness an unexpected bucolic environment. Where one would normally see cars and people, now stood grazing sheep in a pasture.

Reclaiming luxury: How Louis Vuitton can reinvent its image

What began in the 19th century as a modest trunk business is now one of the most recognizable megabrands in the world. In the 1990s, Marc Jacobs, whose designs are at once bold and fashion-forward, assumed creative leadership of Louis Vuitton. It has since become a relevant player in the fashion world, and is now the most profitable brand for its parent company, Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton (LVMH).

Simplicity connects us

Last week, I made my first trip to Siegel+Gale London. The team is as engaging and energizing as the city itself. Before long, our conversation centered on simplicity and what it means.

Our quest for simplicity connects us. The London team created a video from the question “What is Simplicity?” Hear what they had to say –I hope you enjoy meeting them as much as I did.

Shifting sands: The power of Harrods

If you’ve been to London, the chances are you’ve been to Harrods and ticked it off your “places to see” list, along with Buckingham Palace, The London Eye, Tower Bridge and Trafalgar Square. To return from a visit to London without that iconic green Harrods carrier bag would be, quite frankly, a failing.

Cavaliers vs. Roundheads: How to make design truly compelling

I recently had the opportunity to attend the AGI Open conference in London. While the event boasted interviews and lectures from industry heavyweights, the highlight for me was a debate between two opposing schools of design—Minimalism against Maximalism, Bauhaus against Baroque. Whichever moniker you ascribe, it’s the often hotly contested struggle between expression and restraint. The AGI chose to dub it “Roundheads vs. Cavaliers.”

How Simplicity Saved Groupon

Every year, Siegel+Gale’s Global Brand Simplicity Index reveals some surprising insights about the nature of customer perception and the tangible effects simplified experiences can have on a brand's market performance. Among this year's biggest surprises was the performance of daily deals site, Groupon. Just two years ago, Groupon was the poster child for disappointing tech brand IPOs. Now the brand is strengthening its equity as a leader in the online deals space, and simplicity helped pave the way.

Lady Gaga and why CMOs should care

Lady Gaga rose from a quirky girl playing small clubs in New York City’s West Village to Forbes 2012 most powerful celebrity, ahead of Oprah, and gracing the cover of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, posing next to Bill Clinton. She has sold 25 million albums, 130 million singles, won five Grammies, has garnered almost 60 million “likes” on Facebook and 40 million Twitter followers. What makes her rise so purposeful? Isn’t this just luck—her 15 minutes of fame that stoked a flame at the right time and place?