#2018MITSloanBrandingB

[adsmithas]

KanYe has always maintained interest in the fashion world and has worked for and with/pitched to almost every relevant house out there.  He constantly reflects on his experiences with frustration stating that he was seldom given a chance or fair shot when articulating his pitches.  Unfortunately, for him, his brand preceded him as those in positions of power at the various fashion houses saw elements of his approach as valuable but ultimately would continue to dismiss him.  He generally was seen as a “car salesman” type of pitcher and became very frustrated with the scene.  He would end up getting smaller projects here and there, but his ultimate vision for impact/control did not come until Adidas took a chance and gave him the “keys to the castle”.  West remains one of the most fascinating stories of self-branding and reputation management.

[natilerner-blog]

Should we have to “pitch” our ideas?

Picture yourself in this scene: You’re sitting in a luxurious leather office chair, around a large, beautiful mahogany conference table, in an executive conference room with floor-to-ceiling windows. You have pitched an idea to your boss, who is sitting at the head of the table, but the conversation has progressed with no acknowledgment of your idea. A few minutes later, your male colleague, who is sitting across the table from you pitches an idea - your idea. This time, your boss acknowledges the idea and discussion ensues about how it can be acted upon. If you are a woman in the business world, this scene has probably played out countless times for you - maybe there was no leather chair, no mahogany table, or no floor-to-ceiling windows, but it feels like there will always be a male colleague to repeat your idea and get the credit for it. The internet even has a term for it: “hepeat”.

Source: https://www.allure.com/story/hepeat-twitter-reactions My friends and I used to joke that someone should invent a buzzer that automatically goes off when a man pitches the same idea that a woman said a few minutes earlier. We often play it off as a joke and try to make ourselves feel better by acting as if it isn’t a big deal. But it is a big deal. And my biggest concern is that even those who acknowledge that it is a problem, usually blame the woman and offer solutions for why her behavior is the reason why the idea was not heard. They offer advice on how women should act when they pitch their ideas in order to ensure they are heard, but they don’t come across too assertive. In the article, How to Pitch a Brilliant Idea, Kimberly Elsbach asserts that in order to get buy-in for his or her ideas, individuals need to take on one of three personas: The Showrunner, The Artist, or The Neophyte and that if you don’t exactly fit into one of the three groups that you should “match yourself to the type you feel most comfortable with.” In fairness, it is worth noting that Elsbach is not giving this advice specifically to women.

I struggle with the tension of the advice about pitching that one should act authentically and confidently, but also pretend to be someone their not and not appear too “know-it-all”. I recognize the value in learning and practicing pitch delivery and communication strategies, but I think there is often a fine line between acceptable and unacceptable techniques. I find it acceptable to pull in the person you are pitching to as a collaborator, as Elsbach recommends. I find it unacceptable to pretend to be naive or unintelligent and act as if you desperately need their help in order to pull them in.

Part of the reason that I struggle with some of these tactics is because I question the idea that it is the person pitching who should always have to change the way they deliver their idea. As Caroline Turner points out in a Forbes article:

“Although women who behave in feminine ways aren’t seen as powerful, women who “overly” use masculine approaches (like being competitive and assertive) are not liked. This is the double bind.” 

The double bind is real and something that most women in the workforce have felt. And while it is great to get coaching on effective communication, the system often receives communication from men and women in different ways. Jokes aside, this is why I love the idea of the buzzer. It questions the system and puts the burden on those receiving the ideas to question their own practices and perceptions.  With this in mind, I’ll leave you with two major questions to ponder:

How much of ourselves should we need to change to have our ideas heard?

How do we train ourselves to put aside unconscious bias and evaluate the value of an idea regardless of the way in which and by whom the message is delivered?

Article Referenced: Elsbach, Kimberly D.. How to Pitch a Brilliant Idea. Harvard Business Review. September 2003. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2003/09/how-to-pitch-a-brilliant-idea.

[jerryko0906]

Goldman Sachs wearing lululemon

In 2006, Mr. Solomon , co-head of Goldman’s investment bank, showed up to pitch for the Lululemon Athletica initial public offering wearing a maroon jacket and long sweatpants made by the brand. His colleagues were similarly outfitted. “Everyone on the other side of the table is in suits and ties,” Mr. Solomon recalled. “It threw people off.” Goldman won a lead role on Lululemon’s I.P.O. (nytimes)

In many cases, a founder of a company doesn’t enjoy the process of IPO. Some of them confessed that they felt like they’re selling their own child to the other. Such feeling can make them to see the underwriters as greedy wall street people who doesn’t care about the future of his/her company.

For the founder, underwriting proposals might be very boring, not enjoyable, and even all look the same. By wearing not a suit but a lululemon, Mr.Solomon spreaded his tail feather to seduce the founder of lululemon, sending a signal that Goldman Sachs wants this job very impassionedly and they really like the product of lululemon.

He understood the pain customer had and delivered solution through the first impression. As he said, “It threw people off.”

[bubblybrandingbeaver-blog]

#myNYPD

Government agencies and organizations have to be careful about their branding and marketing initiatives too. In New York City Police Department’s case, the hashtag it started is still going strong, but unfortunately in a negative way.

With a Valentine like this, #myNYPD is an abusive lover. Show NYC a little more of the tenderness & respect it deserves @NYPDONeill. pic.twitter.com/1pbKNlcrvU

— placard corruption (@placardabuse)

May 7, 2018

late 90s me had a huge hackysack advantage, given that the police observed no loud music when they got around to it 6 hrs later #myNYPD

— Dr. Crowbotnik (@crowbotnik)

May 1, 2018

How #mynypd does #VisionZero:. Double parking during pedestrian outreach making it more dangerous for people crossing the street. https://t.co/NxEn1XMjdO

— Ollie #carfree and proud Oliver (@Ollie_Cycles)

May 6, 2018

Considering that throwing on the lights/siren is literally the least they can do, I usually give this a pass....but c'mon #myNYPD look at that open space! You can be better than this!

— Cops in Bike Lanes (@CopsinBikeLanes)

May 5, 2018

#VisionZero You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.#myNYPD #VisionZeroIsAJoke

— Cops in Bike Lanes (@CopsinBikeLanes)

May 5, 2018

[allieallegra2018-blog]

Throughout its history, SIA has been able to leverage its first mover advantage in providing exceptional airline service and the youngest airline fleet in order to achieve consistently impressive growth. SIA prides itself on having pioneered the “customer-first” mentality in the airline industry. However, sustaining customer-centric value, I believe, requires being in tune to how your customer’s needs and perceptions evolve over time. In the case of SIA, the concept of the Singapore Girl specifically conjures up old-school notions of how females should conform to stereotypical notions of beauty while also being subservient, demure, unobtrusive and graceful. A large part of SIA’s brand has been directly linked to the idea that the Singapore Girl connotes outstanding customer service, yet mentally, I struggle to connect the two. When I think of companies, past or present, known for their customer-first mentality – such as Zappos, Amazon, and Salesforce – I think of service reps who go above and beyond the call of duty to empathetically understand their customer’s problems and work with them for as long as it takes to get their issues resolved, regardless of whether they are male or female.  

In particular, SIA’s ad campaigns stand in sharp contrast to other brands today that promote strong and smart females who are capable achieving the same as their male counterparts. In fact, some today’s most powerful ad campaigns have been those focusing on female empowerment, like Dove’s “Real Beauty,” Nike’s “Better for It,” Under Armor’s “Women of Will,” and Always’s “Like a Girl.”

Granted, all of 3 of these pander to Western ideals of what females can and should achieve, and may stand in contrast to Eastern perceptions of females’ role in society, thereby perhaps making the concept of the Singapore Girl still relevant even in 2018 despite its sexist undertones.

[acrogers-blog1]

Three cheers for #WomenofWorth and #CVSHealth. Now what do these two organizations have to do with one another? They’re both standing for beauty, justice and most importantly, change. 

Women of Worth, a non profit organization focuses on women’s empowerment and created a campaign called ‘Dark is Beautiful’ to combat India’s obsession with fair skin. WOW partnered with actor Nandita Das to help make skin-color based discrimination a subject of national conversation. Similarly, CVS Health has pledged to create a national conversation, but of digitally altering images of models and superstars. Young girls flip through magazines, watch movies and follow instagram accounts where women are digitally altered to be flawless and perfect. These perfect images speak deep insecure messages to young girls that this is what beauty is, that this is what you should look like. Girls growing up today strive for this unattainable perfection and thus become insecure and even harmful to their own selves. The Dark is Beautiful campaign reminded me of CVS Health’s recent decision to add a ‘beauty mark’ to images that had not been digitally altered.  The company will “no longer change or enhance a person’s size, shape, proportion, skin or eye color, wrinkles or any other individual characteristics in imagery created for their stores, websites, social media and marketing materials.” As a women, I applaud WOW and CVS Health for taking a strong stance of issues of women empowerment and standing a step to create a world in which everyone is unique and perfect as they are. However, the skeptic in me wonders if this message can really ever be fully received by this global world that obsesses over image. 

[jlovett2018-blog]

The story of the creation of My Black is Beautiful

Over the past 15 years, global consumer brands have recognized and capitalized on the fact that a majority of their customers do not look like the models used to market their products. 

During my time at Procter & Gamble, I was able to meet the products researchers who created and championed the “My Black is Beautiful” marketing campaign. The initial idea came from employees in Beauty Care R&D and marketing, who recognized the gap in credibility P&G’s brands had with women of color. These scientists and marketers saw their family and friends choose non-P&G products that generated worse results for their hair and skin based solely on the fact that those products were promoted by a model or Youtube blogger who looked like them. 

After fighting for resources and finally getting a budget, the group created a hashtag (#myblackisbeautiful), and generated educational videos for women of color using P&G products. They also contacted Youtube bloggers and brought them in to test new product designs that were targeted for black women. 

P&G is still figuring out how to capture the value created by the My Black Is Beautiful campaign; they have explored packaging to signal products that would work well for black men and women. However, the campaign and the non-P&G products that have sprung up around it has generated billions of dollars in revenue and has created an in-group of fashionable, passionate users who look nothing like the traditional image of beauty we held 15 years ago. 

[pilarbranding-blog]

What Is Value in Health Care?

The New England Journal of Medicine asked the renowned  Michael Porter, “What Is Value in Health Care?��� . His answered has been summarized by Fortune Magazine as follows:

“Value should always be defined around the customer, and in a well-functioning health care system, the creation of value for patients should determine the rewards for all other actors in the system. Since value depends on results, not inputs, value in health care is measured by the outcomes achieved, not the volume of services delivered, and shifting focus from volume to value is a central challenge. Nor is value measured by the process of care used; process measurement and improvement are important tactics but are no substitutes for measuring outcomes and costs.

Since value is defined as outcomes relative to costs, it encompasses efficiency. Cost reduction without regard to the outcomes achieved is dangerous and self-defeating, leading to false “savings” and potentially limiting effective care”.

In the early 2000s American Well had the revolutionary idea of telehealth and created a B2B business offering these services to health insurance companies that could later on offer these services to their own customers and also to other Americans that do not hold insurance. The clever idea of American Well of implementing this through B2B business instead of going directly to the end-consumer I think it was a key ingredient for their success.

 American Well offered a product that added value to their B2B customers, the health insurance companies, but also to all the other actors in the healthcare industry such as patients and doctors. This efficient method of implementing of telehealth benefited end consumers by for example reducing the time spent going to the hospital, the costs of actually seeing a doctor in person and also gave the possibility to people with no insurance of seeing a doctor without having to pay a ridiculous amount of money. On the other hand it also benefited doctors by giving them the possibility to make extra money while working from home and more flexible hours.

Looking at the graphs below we can see that by 2015 American Well telehealth services as well as other online and mobile services offerings had already gained a great number of adopters and for example in the case of telehealth had an overall adoption of 7%  with a 72% of customer satisfaction. Also in 2015, a report from the firm IHS Markit said that by 2020 the doctor’s virtual consultations will double and will have a cumulative annual growth of approximately 25% a year from the years 2015 to 2020.

My question now goes back to Porter’s point of view. Is this creating value to the patients? Not in terms of the volume of services delivered, not in terms of costs, but in terms of effective care?

I really think that as the telehealth business continues growing, insurance companies should not only focus in saving costs but in giving the customers an effective care, otherwise, as Porter’s says, costs reductions without considering the real consequences can lead to risky results and to false savings and therefore to an overall inefficient healthcare system.

 Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2015/08/09/as-telehealth-booms-doctor-video-consults-to-double-by-2020/#45a8f0eb4f9b

https://rockhealth.com/reports/digital-health-consumer-adoption-2015/

http://fortune.com/2018/01/03/health-care-industry-2018/

[cchammas-blog]

Repositioning Chanel

Prior to coming to Sloan, I had the opportunity to work at Chanel. Chanel is one of the world’s most recognized and powerful luxury brands today.

After the founder’s death the company had lost momentum and the new owner, Alain Wertheimer, had focused on selling fragrances. It wasn’t until 1983 that Mr. Wertheimer hired Karl Lagerfeld, who greatly contributed to making the brand one of the biggest names in fashion.

Lagerfeld understood the power of historical heritage; he used key items from Chanel's heritage in each of his collections: tweed, pearls, camellias... Although he kept some historical symbols in his designs, he drastically rejuvenated the brand image. He added colors to the conventional black and white dresses, shortened the skirts, and placed the famous Chanel logo on the most unexpected objects, such as tennis rackets or surfboards. He understood the rising power of the popular culture and the importance of re-branding. Originally, the typical Chanel customers were mature professional women, but after Lagerfeld’s influence, a younger crowd started purchasing Chanel. The mission of Chanel today is to “inspire women of all ages all over the world with its timeless modernity”.

Despite the modernization of the brand, the fashion house always remains true to its core values of luxury and excellence, and continues to represent the personality of the founder, Coco Chanel: independent, passionate, visionary, elegant, and feminine.

The Role of Social Media

Chanel, despite being a century-old brand, has also radically modernized its brand status through social media. It has 23M followers on Instagram, and 21M followers on Facebook.

On YouTube, with more than 1M subscribers, Chanel surpasses other luxury brands. Posting more content than its competitors, more regularly, has been a great way for Chanel to increase its number of subscribers.

Chanel upheld exclusivity from refraining to fully enter the world of e-commerce like other brands. However, the brand has clear expertise in digital marketing. Its online presence reinvigorates the brand. In 2017 Chanel was named by Insightpool as the most influential luxury brand on social media, based on overall engagement. Therefore, embracing social media doesn’t mean losing exclusivity. Chanel is a great example of that.

[vk868-blog]

Ralph Lauren uses both House of Brands and strong endorsement

Ralph Lauren is one of the most well-known brands in the world, with its widely recognized logo of the polo-rider. The company’s branding strategy includes both House of Brands as well as strong endorsement.

Its strong endorsement strategy is obvious, as the words “Ralph Lauren” appear in the name of directly related sub brands, such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Double RL, Ralph Lauren Collection, etc. All of these brands are consistent with the overall image of Ralph Lauren and share the association of preppiness, status, and wealth.

Ralph Lauren is also a House of Brands. Apart from the brands with “Ralph Lauren” explicitly in the name, there are also Club Monaco and Chaps. Club Monaco focuses on basic designs that are great for the office, and is mid- to high-priced. Chaps is a cheaper alternative to the other brands and is a watered down version of Ralph Lauren’s preppy style that might appeal more to the general public. Through this House of Brands strategy, Ralph Lauren can reach different markets - the explicit Ralph Lauren brands target higher income people who like the preppy style of clothing, Club Monaco targets employed adults who want basic, high quality office wear, and Chaps is for people who want something a bit more toned down or cannot afford Ralph Lauren. Within this House of Brands strategy, Ralph Lauren also made sure to eliminate any channel conflicts - Chaps is only sold in lower-end department stores like Kohl’s and Bon-Ton, Club Monaco is only sold in its retail stores, and strongly endorsed Ralph Lauren brands are sold either in Ralph Lauren retail stores or in higher-end department stores. Ralph Lauren also avoided any incompatible associations between its brands through its House of Brands strategy - for example, preppy attire is not suitable for the workplace, therefore Ralph Lauren kept Club Monaco entirely separate.

[firebrandsaint-blog]

“House of Brands” or House of Cards?

Last year, Marriott completed its acquisition of Starwood Hotels and with it became the largest hotel company in the world. It also added 11 hotel brands into its portfolio bringing the total to an unheard of 30 brands. Let’s further investigate how Marriott has gone about managing its brands. 

Lessons from Brand Architecture at Marriott

If we think about the overall brand architecture for Marriott (and the former Starwood), we can generally categorize these in general as a House of Brands. I say in general because this is the case primarily for the upper-tier brands: the Flagship premium and luxury brands. Take for instance Ritz-Carlton. While some might know that the brand is owned by Marriott, it is largely its own entity. The same goes for St. Regis. While some of this is a legacy of how the company was formed through acquisition, it also points to the value of having multiple brands in this industry.

Lesson 1. If you have acquired valuable brands, maybe a House of Brands strategy is for you

But Marriott is not exclusively a house of brands. It also heaviliy uses strong endorsements. Marriott and Starwood both have used endorsements to bolster their lower tier offerings:

Courtyard by Marriott

Fairfield Inn by Marriott

SpringHill Suites by Marriott

Residence Inn by Marriott

TownePlace Suites by Marriott

Protea Hotels by Marriott

AC Hotels by Marriott

Four Points by Sheraton

Aloft Hotels: A Vision by W Hotels

Element by Westin

Fully one-third of their hotels uses a strong endorsement! But we also see that it’s not always Marriott that is the endorser. Other brands like W, Westin, and Sheraton can provide for brand extensions as well.

Lesson 2. You can use the brand value from not just your primary brand but your secondary brands as strong endorsers of lower-tier brands.

But not all of the lower-tier brands have endorsements nor would I consider all of the luxury/premium brands to be valuable on their own. Which brings me to a third observation. Brands like MOXY, Edition, Tribute, and Autograph may not have a brand of their own yet but they are served better by being branded independently. Each of these brands is looking to break the mold from your traditional hotel brand. MOXY for instance is catering to youth by making more of an upscale hostel atmosphere at its hotel. It would be incongruous for it to be tied strongly to the Marriott brand.

Lesson 3. Upstart brands in a portfolio that run counter to the traditional could be better served in a house of brands.

But is that really the whole story? And is it sustainable?

One thing that is interesting in the hotel industry that I have failed to mention is that for Marriott and the former Starwood there has always been an inherent Shadow Endorser: namely, the Marriott Rewards Program and the Starwood Preferred Guest Program. The value of these rewards programs cannot be understated. Ask any former consultant, staying at an SPG hotel was always more important than which specific Starwood brand. 

Now as Starwood and Marriott merge their rewards program, it will be interesting to see if this shadow endorsement continues to work to Marriott’s advantage. My guess is that a House of Brands is a great Brand Strategy in the hotel industry, having a range of choices with the inherent quality stamp of the Marriott brand will be quite valuable, whether it’s stated or not. But should Marriott leverage its brand more?

An Alternative: See Hilton

One alternative I see is offered by the company at which I’ll be interning this summer: Hilton Hotels. Here are how they currently position their fourteen brands:

Waldorf Astoria

Conrad

Hilton Hotels

Canopy by Hilton

Curio by Hilton

Doubletree by Hilton

Tapestry Collection by Hilton

Embassy Suites by Hilton

Hilton Garden Inn

Hampton by Hilton

Tru by Hilton

Homewood Suites by Hilton

Home2 Suites by Hilton

Hilton Grand Vacations

Of their brands, only Waldorf does not have a direct connection to the Hilton brand (Conrad is named after founder Conrad Hilton). This is pretty remarkable consistency for any portfolio of brands. Clearly the company feels there is value in the Hilton brand (and the leader H for its lower tier brands) in driving recognition in the mind of the consumer.

In the end, we are looking at different strategies between the two largest hotel companies in the world. Both of these brand portfolios have been successful in driving values for their company and shareholders. What will be interesting is seeing how they both adapt over the coming years and develop new brands that a) fit into their respective portfolios b) leverage the value of their parent brand and c) stake out new territory in evolving the connotations of the brand in the minds of the consumer

[jillbranding-blog]

BRANDLESS

Don’t let the name fool you. Brandless is a brand unto itself, and it’s shaking up the way consumers think about and purchase household commodities.

“Today, a vigorous antibranding movement reflects reflects powerful antiglobalization activism and broader resistance to the offerings of large corporations.” - Viewing Brands in Multiple Dimensions

Launched in July 2017, Brandless is taking advantage of the “antibranding” momentum and passing along major savings to customers while doing it.  Founded by Tina Sharkey and Ido Lefflerthe, Brandless is an online retailer that sells a slew of household items (e.g. non-pershible food items, steak knives, tissues, toothpaste, etc) direct to consumer at a $3 price point per item under the Brandless brand. In essence, Brandless is to grocery/household items as Warby Parker is to eyeglasses. Brandless has raised $50M in funding.

Similar to Trader Joe’s, a grocery retailer that deals directly with farmers and manufacturers, Brandless has removed the “middlemen” from its operations. It’s these “middlemen” and other inefficiencies that Brandless claims create a BrandTax, “the hidden costs you pay for a national brand.” According to the company’s research, “the average person pays at least 40% more for products of comparable quality” at a national brand than he/she would for products purchased on Brandless. 

“We’re a group of thinkers, eaters, doers, and lovers of life with big dreams about changing the world. Our mission is deeply rooted in quality, transparency, and community-driven values. Better stuff, fewer dollars. It's that simple.” - Brandless

While the financial impact on shoppers wallets is clearly an incentive to shop on Brandless, Brandless also appeals to consumer’s desires for quality products and for transparent communication around those products. Brandless’ standards of quality are as much a part of their product as it is their marketing.

Clean, simple packaging reinforces the idea of transparency as well. 

As all new upstarts seem want to do these days, Brandless also has a blog called Brandless Life. The blog is another way that Brandless differentiates itself from national brands. Unlike most blogs which serve as a one-way dialogue from a brand to its consumer, Brandless’ blog appears to be a platform where consumers are encouraged to connect with not only the brand but with their fellow consumers as well:

“AND MOST IMPORTANTLY . . .We’ll be shining a spotlight on the people that make all this work: YOU. This isn’t just a place for you to come and learn things — we know we don’t have all the answers —  it’s a place where you can share your own ideas, tips, and recipes. Come connect and engage in conversation about how to make all of our lives a little better and put more goodness into the world.” - Brandless Life

From product (quality) to price ($3 per item), from placement (DTC) to promotion (focused on doing right by the consumer), and even packaging (transparent), Brandless’ has created a brand that is challenging traditional ecommerce and showing that being “brandless” isn’t a counterculture, it can actually be cool.

[ppmir]

Airlines: Make more money...by charging more(?)

In a world where airlines have been constantly trying to compete on price and every day that passes it becomes cheaper to get to almost anywhere in the world, there is one airline that has not fall into the game, and it is none other than the highly awarded Singapore Airlines.

Singapore Airlines has focused its efforts on exploiting the highly profitable first and business classes segments which generally represent over 50% of the airlines’ revenues. To do so it has embarked in the mission of providing the best service in the industry not only while flying but from the exact moment you decide to purchase a ticket, to a long time after you have completed your travel. And they are willing to offer all this and heaven too, but for a fair price. 

But how do they do this? Well in my opinion is a mix of 4 differentiating factors.

Airplanes: Singapore Airlines has one of the youngest fleets of the world, helping them to look as an innovator and usually the first of offering its clients the latest technologies. In order to do this in a cost effective way, SIA leverages on their buying power as a “launch customer” and bulk buyer to negotiate deep discounts with airlines. Also, by having newer aircrafts, SIA benefits from lower maintenance costs as well as more efficient operation of the airplanes, bringing overall costs down.

On-board Service: If you could only use one word to describe SIA, “service” would be the most accurate to do so. On board personnel has been intensively trained to deal with anything that could happen on-board. From wine-pairing, to in-the-plane cooking process, to most probably bed time stories if you are having a hard time falling asleep (although I would doubt it on those truly comfortable first class seats). If a flight attendant can’t help you with something she/he will make its ultimate mission to find someone who can help you. In the end, what they are selling is an experience rather than a plane ticket. And if they can make happy Japanese clients, they can deal with anyone.

On-ground Service: How many time we have complained for the lack of proactivity from personnel in the check-in desk at the airport? Well you can be assure that if traveling with SIA, their employees will approach you even if you have nothing to complain about. Not only this but also they try to make the “boring part of traveling” more bearable by improving the boarding process as well as the delivery of your baggage in the carousel. Furthermore, they might even send someone to stalk you outside your office until you are free so they can apologize for any inconvenience you might have had during your flight (bow included). 

Constant Measurement of Satisfaction: In order to maintain their standards high-in-the-sky, the company is constantly reviewing its operations, leveraging on customer’s opinions, flight crew reports and by intensively benchmarking against their competitors. This approach helps identify any issue before it becomes relevant and also help anticipate clients’ needs, even before they “need” them.

These competitive advantages have allowed SIA to charge a premium for their service, without eroding their client base, as usually clients feel it is worth the value, but still being competitive. 

To close my post, I would like to leave you with a thought about the high value experience provided by SIA.

“First think, how much less profitable for the airline is to serve $200+ wine accompanied by the gourmet dinner recommendation coming from a sommelier to a passenger traveling on a $15,000 suite (as the one shown in the video) from Singapore to New York? Now ask yourself, would you value your experience the same if instead” 

[jerryko0906]

Fair skin and the poverty porn

There are many people consider fair skin more desirable than dark in India. The cosmetics industry has offered skin-lightening creams, making great success.

However, is it fair that their commercials seem to describe fair-skinned people as superior to those with darker skin colors?

This case evokes minds me controversies around poverty porn.

Poverty porn is an advertisement that exploits the poor's condition in order to generate the necessary sympathy for increasing charitable donations.

There’s a reason such poverty porn becomes popular among humanitarian aid organizations. This is because poverty porn delivers on its promise. In fact, audiences are more likely to make a donation when an ad shows a child that is suffering. 

But, is the profitability of poverty porn worth the perpetuation of false ideologies and stereotypes? No. Sustainable development can be possible with not only financial support but also having a deeper understanding of the issue of poverty and the necessary structural changes. 

If the humanitarian organizations keep displaying the suffering sceans to raise their fund, low-engaged donors might stop to donate, being sick of watching uncomfortable reality which cannot make any difference for a while.

<controversial skin fairness advertisement>

<examples of poverty porn>

[nikitakfan]

Name Bias in Resume Reviews: How Quick  Judgments Affect Minorities

Self branding is incredibly important. People we interact with make judgments and perceptions about us: 150 milliseconds to categorize us and 30 minutes to make lasting opinions on our character. 

How does this affect the hiring process, and more specifically, the resume review process? Turns out, minorities have to think about this a lot. An article in HBR finds that “African American and Asian job applicants who mask their race on resumes seem to have better success getting job interviews, according to research by Katherine DeCelles and colleagues.” The name bias when reviewing resumes means some people may not even get a chance to make an impression in person.

While not surprising, I think this is a topic that not everyone is attune to. As seen in the graphic below from the HBR article, whitened names on resumes produce more than twice the number of interview call backs for Black applicants and just under twice as many for Asian applicants.

https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/minorities-who-whiten-job-resumes-get-more-interviews

“People … want to have like an awesome black worker but they want one who they feel like fits within a certain box and like very much will conform and like lay low and just kind of do what’s expected of them, and they’re not necessarily looking for the outspoken like political radical person,” a black college senior said. “I feel like race is just one of the many aspects where you try to just like buff the surface smooth … and pretend like there’s nothing sticking out.” -HBR Article

I only actually started going by Nikki when I entered college to make my name more appealing for finance jobs (advice I received from Asian alums at my university). The outcome of this decision was confirmed when I was in an interview, and the interviewer asked me what my name was (while staring at my resume). I said “My name’s Nikita, but you can call me ‘Nikki.’” The response I got from the interviewer at the financial firm? “Thank god, that’s a lot easier.” 

[bubblybrandingbeaver-blog]

One question I have in mind upon finishing the case “Fair & Lovely vs. Dark is Beautiful”: what should be the right strategy for a business/brand that hinges stably on a belief in certain characteristics such as Fair & Lovely with the word “Fair” in its name, if WOW had successfully changed people’s perception?