Learning from the past to envision the future
How the pandemic has altered brand marketing and strategy. While the pandemic is not fully extinguished with new variants still emerging, we are taking slow, cautious steps back to normal. With that in mind, we wanted to look back and see what insights and lessons we could take away from the past 16 months not […]
The Ebb and Flow of Brands
Looking at powerful brand rankings is always revealing. Lots of companies like Interbrand, Brand Finance, and Kanter Brown for Wpp do annual surveys. The methodology varies on how they calculate value, but intuitively they all seem to make sense. Looking at the best-known report from Interbrand, they present not just 2018 but a flash-back to […]
Improving with Age
Yield Branding has been operating continuously for 28 years. 161 clients have honoured us with both long-term relationships and smaller assignments. From the most well-known brands like Scotiabank International, Sears and Porsche to the less well known like Periodontal Associates and Think Drink to clients whose brands don’t exist anymore like Alpha Trading, Hummingbird Centre […]
Real Estate Boom or Consumer Spending Bust?
Canada has been going through two very dramatic housing price spikes, one in Vancouver and one in Toronto. In the past year, Toronto has appreciated +25% while Vancouver, even with a year of a foreign buyer’s tax is up 10%. House prices used to more or less track the rate of inflation, but clearly these […]
3 Trends That Will Dominate 2017
As we enter 2017, the challenges we face have not only become more complex but almost daunting. The main cause of this upheaval is the democratization of commerce – no one is bound by the confines of traditional retail when they buy or sell something anymore. This leveling of the playing field has happened because […]
Does Size Really Matter?
Having worked half my career at a big agency and half with a boutique, it has always puzzled me when big brand marketers repeatedly award business to larger agencies just because … well, they’re bigger! The reasons why always seem to be the same, but rarely stand up to scrutiny when you really think them […]
Fearless Starts Today
There is no easier day to do something brave with your brand than today. It gets harder tomorrow, and even harder next year. If you just moved jobs, it’s easier now. If you’re in last place, it’s easier now. If you’re young, there is no greater opportunity to bet big on a breakthrough idea than […]
10 reasons a numbered list is a cop-out in thought leadership
Thought Leadership is a declining art, slowly losing the battle against casual blogging and internet minimalism. Desperate for likes and retweets and a higher Klout score, mediocre writers artificially wave shiny objects above the fold, rather than meaningfully advance the intellect of our industry. Until a couple of years ago, our best minds seemed capable […]
Sustaining The Challenge
To be a Challenger Brand takes fearlessness – the audacity to dream, the confidence to begin and the dedication to continue. Throwing down the gauntlet, however, is not where the battle ends. At least as important is the sustained effort that follows, gradually chipping away at the dominance of the market leader, defining a space […]
The Challenger Mindset
For Challenger Brands, the way they behave internally can be as important to their success as the steps they take with their external-facing efforts. In the classic David and Goliath story, our hero’s prowess with a slingshot was crucial to his success. But more important was a realistic appraisal of the situation he faced, fearless […]
