photo credit: rbieber

Howard Schultz is back at Starbucks. Any marketer who is interested in using a brand strategy in their business should study Mr. Schultz, his business philosophy, and the performance of Starbucks under his watch. The picture above is the Green Apron book. Walk into any Starbucks and ask your barista for it. The book champions Starbucks core values. Or just check out this memo from the man himself: Memo from Howard Schultz

Related links:
- Howard’s Wikipedia Entry
- Seattle Post-Intelligencer Article

photo credit: Merideth Farmer

Here’s a great article from the NYT about one of the biggest pitfalls in marketing: talking to yourself. Many very intelligent people and innovative businesses have been found guilty of the offense. The author points the finger at the “Curse of Knowledge.”

Chip Heath (author of Made to Stick) illustrates the problem very well: “It’s kind of like the ugly American tourist trying to get across an idea in another country by speaking English slowly and more loudly. You’ve got to find the common connections.”

Logos can reflect the the state of branding at the time of their creation. Many inferences about humanity and how we communicate to each other can be seen in a logo sampling from a particular year. Logo Lounge has produced a yearly review of logos and logo trends since 2003, and the 2007 version is hot off the presses.

Check it out.