Author: Woden
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Coachella and the Art of Crafting a Timeless Story
Twenty-five thousand people gathered to watch Pearl Jam play at Empire Polo Club in Indio, California on November 5, 1993. The show originated in protest: Pearl Jam refused to play in Los Angeles due to a dispute with Ticketmaster over excessive service fees. The concert itself went off without a hitch, and Pearl Jam succeeded…
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Collaborative Cultures Cultivate the Cheesiest Concepts
Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Shows the Janitor May Be Your Next Product Leader In the years since they entered the market in 1992, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos have transcended simple snack-status to become an undeniable cultural phenomenon. They’ve served as a sartorial muse for Katy Perry and inspired new culinary creations such as a Flamin’ Hot Cheetos bagel…
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FCK ‘em If They Can’t Take a Joke: The Art of the Brand Apology
“My new goal is not to explain jokes.” In 2015, the Internet’s mob mentality trained its ire on Tina Fey, demanding an apology for a perceived racist joke written into The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Fey not only dismissed the accusations, but lamented the way social media has resulted in a culture that is constantly demanding…
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Why Xerox Died
Xerox didn’t fail because of technology. It failed because it lost its story, while companies like IBM thrived by staying true to theirs.
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Where Are All the Toys “R” Us Kids?
They Grew Up, But Where Are Their Toys “R” Us Kids? “The greatest toy store there is” has decided to shutter 182 outlets across the country — about 20 percent of its total footprint. This isn’t exactly surprising, given the downward fortune of the company year in and year out. This latest effort to retrench…
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You Are the Company You Keep: How to Form Effective Brand Partnerships
Why story alignment not short-term synergy is the secret to successful brand partnerships
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It’s Mall About Experience
Why story alignment not short-term synergy is the secret to successful brand partnerships
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Put Your Customer in the Driver’s Seat
How Ford used selective customer strategy to shape its brand and why your company should too
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Birchbox, and Why Even the Best Products Still Fail
Why Birchbox lost to Ipsy even with the same product and a head start
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Make Them Earn It: Now is the Time to Make Life Difficult for Customers
This year’s surprise video game hit is not another entry into the Call of Duty series. In fact, it doesn’t seem to follow any standard at all — eschewing cutting edge graphics and groundbreaking gameplay in favor of animation and music harking back to the 1920s. Cuphead is a seven year labor of love that…
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Selling Immortality: How Elysium Brands Its Impossible Promise
How Elysium built a science-backed brand story that risks outpacing its actual product
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The Right Kind of Wrong: Szechuan Sauce and the Hero’s Journey
What McDonald’s got wrong about storytelling community and who the hero really is
