Our thinking appears in marketing articles and publications around the world

Recent advertising spending data has lessons that should make large and small advertisers distinctly uncomfortable, and beg the question: Do they understand their spending well enough to ensure they've shifted to the best vehicles for their business?

Even in a recessionary economy, sponsorships -- and particularly those involving sports -- command a significant proportion of big businesses' marketing mix. But, most marketers are stymied at effectively managing these investments.

In this article focused on professional services companies, Roger argues that there is a negative correlation between the time a services company completes the job and the level of commitment for clients to buy again. To combat this, professional services companies should adopt a new form of brand equity research.

In his inaugural column for Marketing News, David Aaker discusses when it pays to market aggressively during tough times.

It is important to create a brand-centric culture that's open to and encourages change, where management is aligned on everyone's role in fostering that environment, and where the basis for moving forward is a shared vision of and commitment to the best of what the brand stands for.

While the role of the ideation session, in its myriad guises, holds a place in the innovation firmament, and while the role that inspiration plays in such sessions is hardly to be questioned, we challenged ourselves to think more broadly about the role that inspiration plays throughout the innovation process. Ultimately, we determined that an inspiration-driven approach to innovation fundamentally changes how each process step looks, feels and, most importantly, the value it delivers.

David Aaker was profiled by Techronicle, the biannually published Business and Technology magazine for senior business leaders.

In this blog posting, personal branding expert Dan Schawbel speaks to David Aaker about his new book "Spanning Silos."

Meet James Walker. Prophet’s newest senior partner will be spending the foreseeable future hopping between his home in the U.K. and the States as he helps bring analytics to life for savvy marketers. He’s spent the last 20 years in the marketing sciences, on the big agency (J. Walter Thompson), big consultancy (Accenture) and entrepreneurial sides. He recently shared his views of the new practice area he’s leading, and a peek at other interests that occupy his time.

Andy Stefanovich answers your questions about innovation, and offers five tips for success.

Arguably, Apple has created or refined and revitalized at least five new categories in a single decade—the iPod, iTunes, the Apple store, the iPad and the iPhone—which is an incredible achievement. There are many drivers of Apple’s success, such as the company’s flare for cool design, its focus on perfecting the user experience, its passionate customer base, its brand, its marketing, CEO Steve Jobs’ credibility and visibility, and more. However, one key ingredient that is usually overlooked is Jobs’ ability to get the timing right.

The shift in the economic climate has created a sense of urgency among business leaders who need innovation now in order to survive—if not thrive—in the future. Leaders have become impatient to get to the “big idea” that grabs the attention of their customers. This article outlines a framework for creating ideas that is appropriate and relevant to the needs of innovation sponsors within a company—no matter what the economic forecast might be.

In this article, Steve Chang discusses the potential impact on Vera Wang's brand by launching a new line of clothing for Kohl's.

What's in a name? Plenty. It's the most obvious representation of a brand and comes with all sorts of positive and negative associations, externally and internally. (BrandWeek, January 2006) 

A perspective on what it takes to save a dying brand.

This in depth article highlights the challenges of building a B2B brand and provides guidance on steps that mangers can take to effectively build their brands.

This article suggests a way forward for the Swiss financial market center and its international banks. It argues that while loosening the secrecy law will take away one USP and cause uncertainty among clients, it will be beneficial in the mid term. The opportunity lies in a key pillar of Swiss banking: integrity. By aligning business practices and behaviour to the desired brand identities, the Swiss banking brands are likely to recover and regain strength by delivering a relevant promise in a credible way. *Please note this article is in German.

In this opinion article published by the financial daily Cinco Días, Joseph Gelman argues that the concept of bank branches is still alive, despite claims to the contrary. Banks should therefore take advantage of this situation to transmit the essence of their brand to clients at all points of interaction, particularly in light of the current cash crisis. *Please note this article is in Spanish.

Banks are generally held to have entrenched attitudes about customers and marketing. But, in conversation with chief marketing officers of several leading banks in Europe, Prophet found evidence of a willingness to embrace the new customer realities.

Winning the brand relevance competition requires finding the right “must have,” bringing it successfully to market and then growing the resulting business. The problem is that success breeds competitors and the benefits of pioneering a new category or subcategory can be short-lived. A key step is to create barriers such as ongoing innovation, a large group of satisfied or even passionate customers, proprietary technology and preempted distribution.