With perspectives from

Number 122000

The New Brand Strategy:Are You Experienced?

Once, a brand was simply a mark stamped on aproduct to identify its maker. Its fortunes dependedon product quality and advertising. Today, with theexplosion of the Internet and the flood of new optionsfor customers, the basis for brand strength hasdramatically shifted: Creating a compelling customerexperience is increasingly what makes or breaks abrand. Such a challenge involves the entireorganization, including senior managers. It requiresfresh approaches and quantitative tools that canidentify the brand-building investments with thegreatest financial returns. At its most successful, thisnew approach blurs the lines between commerceand community, with customers literally brandingthemselves—a true mark of experience.

Management Consulting

Mercer Management Journal

The New Brand Strategy:Are You Experienced?

7To our readers9A “mindshare” manifesto

Common misconceptions squander the power ofthe modern brand

By Eric Almquist and Kenneth J. Roberts

Powerful brands can help ﬁrms leave rivals in the dust.But brandbuilding today must encompass a more complex set of activities andtarget a broader audience than in the past.

11What is a brand?13“Common Wedgwood” 19Surviving in a world of 200 salsa brands

21Ready for the next move?

Understanding a brand’s potential requires a new set ofmetrics

By Andy Pierce and Suzanne Hogan

A dispassionate analysis of a brand can uncover opportunities for acompany to expand into new proﬁt zones.It also can reveal signs thatthe brand is becoming irrelevant to changing customer priorities.

28Deconstructing brand equity 32Executive perspective: Laurie Lang

Number 122000

RETHINKINGBrand StrategyASSESSINGA Brand’s Health

Cover:

Wedgwood pottery was one of the ﬁrst modern branded products;a Harley-Davidson tattoo embodies the branded experience.

35What ever happened to Burma-Shave?

Pattern thinkers can outsmart brand rivals in a changing marketplace

By John Kania and Adrian J. Slywotzky

A static brand can quickly become irrelevant.But brand innovationalso has its risks.Patterns that have played out in other industries canhelp managers anticipate when and how a brand must change.

37A brand patterns catalogue46Brand patterns in action

49How Conoco broke the convenience store mold

Building brand equity through many “moments oftruth”

By Kathryn H. Feakins and Michael Zea

Brands are enhanced or eroded during countless interactions betweencustomer and company.The challenge is to design a customerexperience in harmony with the brand,then allocate investmenttotheareas of greatest potential return.

52Assessing brand investments54Branding and M&As

61Making every employee a brand manager

Aligning human capital strategy with brand strategy

By Carla Heaton and Rick Guzzo

Employees are a critical yet underemphasized element in deliveringthepositive customer experience necessary to build a strong brand.Astrategic approach to human capital will enable employees to delivertotheir fullest potential.

68Brand building on the Internet

79Executive Summaries

Abstracts of the main articles of this issue in English,French,German,Spanish,Portuguese,and Chinese.

ANTICIPATINGBrandOpportunitiesDESIGNINGthe BrandedExperienceDELIVERINGon the BrandPromise