by Marc H. Rudov | July 12, 2012 | Article
Self-Guided Actions Disney’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice, starring Mickey Mouse, is a perfect metaphor for losing control of your indirect channel. Many execs incorrectly refer to channel partners as customers, and this is part of the problem: channel partners...
by Marc H. Rudov | June 18, 2012 | Article
Recently, I met a founding partner of an up-and-coming law firm to discuss branding. “Isn’t success really all about word of mouth?” he asked. “Yes, but which word?” I replied. I continued: “If you don’t supply and manage the...
by Marc H. Rudov | March 24, 2012 | Article
Back in the day, everyone knew the Datsun name as well as the sleek design and low price of its popular 240Z sports car. Strangely, in 1981, the Datsun name disappeared, replaced by Nissan. Caroline Winter at Businessweek wrote: “…the company resolved to...
by Marc H. Rudov | March 11, 2012 | Article
Do you really think IBM’s commissioned salespeople walk into client sites to banter about a “smarter planet”? Not if they want to walk out with purchase orders. But, IBM’s series of TV spots would have you believe so. Can you imagine any board...
by Marc H. Rudov | August 12, 2011 | Article
The other day, I was discussing one of my pet peeves with a senior officer of a top global corporation: jargon-laced branding. I mentioned a few examples from techdom: Web 2.0, 3G, 4G, cloud, and SaaS. At this point, he sheepishly asked me, “Exactly what is a...
