According to Aaker (1991), "For many businesses, the brand name and what it represents are its most important assets—the basis of competitive advantage and of future earnings streams." Traditionally, a brand has been defined as "a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or combination of them which is intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors" (Kotler, 1997, 443). However, in the modern context, "A brand is a name, symbol, design, or mark that enhances the value of a product beyond its functional purpose" (Farquhar 1989).

On the last leg of our summer vacation, my sister and I drove to Vermont to visit the Ben & Jerry’s Factory—a place we dreamed about as kids. As we approached Waterbury, our hearts were filled with childlike wonder and our stomachs eagerly anticipated the fill of freshly made ice cream. We would join the other kids, young and old alike, and enter the world of the beloved, spectacle-wearing men of ice cream.

When the iPhone first released on June 29, 2007 there were lines of people in Mac stores across America waiting to be the first to pay $599—to touch its magical screen and make a phone call to a friend and scream “I got an iPhone!”

Brands play an important role in modern society. A role which cannot be denied in scope and scale. Think of the incidents starting January 2010 around the world's largest carmaker Toyota and its handling of the recall of 8 million Prius hybrid cars. It is a perfect case in crisis management of brands and a compelling one of how not to handle it.

Over the past year, we’ve seen our world grow smaller and more transparent. People are feeling empowered by social media: breaking news on Twitter before it reaches major media outlets, boldly critiquing products and experiences online, trusting word-of-mouth over traditional marketing. Demonstrating sustainable practices has become the cost of entry for businesses and is no longer a differentiator in the marketplace. And the good a company does within and for its community is beginning to have an impact on its bottom line

The world of parity has hit the mobile phone market just as it has many other technology product categories. The products range from the simple to the complex, but every manufacturer offers, of course, the latest features

According to executives familiar with the situation, the shop beat out stiff competition from MDC Partners' Crispin Porter & Bogusky and WPP's Ogilvy & Mather, which has handled Lenovo's line of "Think"-branded products since the computer maker purchased IBM's PC division in 2005.

A pair of job openings are going to require the answer to that question: the CMO slot at the new Corp. for Travel Promotion, a public-private partnership created by Congress with a potential $200 million budget; and the undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs post at the State Department, whose current occupant plans to step down July 1.

In 1898, the New York Biscuit Company and the American Biscuit and Manufacturing Company merged over 100 bakeries into the National Biscuit Company, later called Nabisco. Founders Adolphus Green and William Moore, orchestrated the merger and the company quickly rose to first place in the manufacturing and marketing of cookies and crackers in America. In 1906, the company moved its headquarters from Chicago to New York.

Twitter lets you instantly get the word out about your product, service, project, or idea. But to use Twitter promotion, you have to be the sort of Twitterer that people will choose to follow, as only your followers will ever see your tweets (posts).