Chapter six:
Deep Thoughts
our blog
Sign up for our occasional newsletter
The Road to Hell is Paved…
Six weeks ago I added a blog posting entitled Brands that outrun their story, in which I speculated that Starbucks is having a difficult time
Politics, Story and the Sitcom Factor
So we’re having a little political intrigue in Portland, Oregon, home of Character LLC. It’s a sadly familiar drama. Apparently, our mayor, Sam Adams, had
Brands That Outrun Their Own Story
We’ve been thinking recently about different kinds of brand stories, and particularly about whether there are some brands whose very success causes them to outrun
Is Your Business a Force for Good?
I’ve been reading a fascinating book, which I have found quite inspiring, called The Necessary Revolution, by Peter Senge. You may already be familiar with
Conflict as a Source of Joy
Earlier this year David Altschul sent along links to a couple of TED talks that we found interesting and that we thought might be relevant
Something to Buy Into
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about handy tools marketers can use to test their brands for latent story energy. One idea–of which I was
The Sixth Sense
If you liked the TED Talk I sent last month about robotics, bioengineering and the state of the economy, you will probably also appreciate this
The Ultimate Reboot
I just got back from the TED Conference and I heard a lot of optimistic notes amid the chaos and gloom of the current financial
My Brother the Archaeologist
When we began this practice, almost a decade ago, I was quite impatient with what I saw as the “pretence of science” that seemed to
Brand Characters Never Get Depressed
We’ve been fielding a lot of calls over the last few weeks from folks wanting to spruce up their brand characters. Since we started our
Is Your Business Doing Better than Your Brand?
A couple of months ago, we were preparing for Character Camp on one of the world’s most visible brands. One of the executives responsible for
When Founder Brands Founder
It is interesting to see the vacuum that can be created with the loss of a charismatic leader and the way a brand can founder