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

As an advertiser, it’s vitally important to place new technologies into a proper context; keeping a connection with the things people valued in the past.

Marshall Mcluhan said, “We look at the present through a rear-view mirror. We march backwards into the future.”

Paul Rand was one of the creative giants of 20th century. His ability to elegantly simplify corporate identities provided a cornerstone for brands such as IBM, Ford, ABC and many others. The video (above) was created for Paul’s One Club Hall of Fame induction.

(credits: Produced for Imaginary Forces by Cara McKenney and executive produced by Maribeth Phillips. Additional I.F. credits go to designer/animators Joey Salim, Jeremy Cox and Liz Centolella and animators Andrew Chung, Sean Eno and Chase Massingill. It was edited by I.F.’s Corey Weisz, with sound design by Derek Lee)

And here’s the story of the groundbreaking advertising campaign.

The strength of the computer lies in its being a logic machine. It does precisely what it is programed to do. This makes it fast and precise. It also makes it a total moron; for logic is essentially stupid. It is doing the simple and the obvious. The human being, by contrast, is not logical; he is perceptual. This means that he is slow and sloppy. But he is also bright and has insight. The human being can adapt; that is, he can infer from scant information or from no information at all what the total picture might be like. He can remember a great many things nobody has programed.

- Peter F. Drucker

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Here is a great clip of an interview with one of our heros, Bill Bernbach. The guru refers to the value of a mind that is uncluttered by conventional knowledge.

Flickr photo credit: absolutewade

Also at the Idea Conference (brought to you by Ad Age and Creativity), we had the opportunity to listen to Steven Heyer, CEO of Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Steven had a lot to say, including this: “Each of our hotels is a themepark.”

Here’s an .mp3 of Steven speaking with architect, David Rockwell.

Flickr Photo Credit: Lori Smith

At last week’s Idea Conference in NYC (brought to you by Ad Age and Creativity), CP+B’s Alex Bogusky briefed us on Archimedes, Aha Moments and the Creative Process. We scored a bootleg .mp3 of the presentation from some hippie in the parking lot. Check it out.

Also worthwhile is Beyond Madison Avenue’s list of 19 tips from the Idea Conference.