It is interesting to note how contrarians thrive better than rule book followers. And Apple is just such a company.
Continuing on my theme of “Zag” as a business strategy, it is interesting to study how Apple differs from other companies. The darling of the digital world, Apple overtook huge oil conglomerate Exxon Mobil to be the world’s most valuable company last year.
“In a world of extreme clutter you need more than differentiation. You need RADICAL differentiation. The new rule: When everyone zigs, zag.”
That, in a nutshell, is what Zag: The #1 Strategy of High Performance Brands is all about.
Courtesy of Choo Yut Shing
Wonder how LEGO manage to rule the roost as one of the world’s most successful brand?
On a recent visit to Toys “R” Us at VivoCity with my kid, I observed that there are more and more interlocking brick toys filling the shelves these days.
Inspired no doubt by LEGO, brands like Mega Bloks, Coko and Tyco Toys are now emulating the same success strategy employed by the 80 year old Danish company, albeit charging a lower price for their bricks.
You can still buy Kodak Film these days! Source of image
Do you know that Kodak went through bankruptcy proceedings and have re-emerged?
Repositioned as a technology company focused on imaging for business, Kodak is a far cry from its halcyon years. Today, its main business segments are Digital Printing & Enterprise and Graphics, Entertainment & Commercial Films.
Crystal Jade Golden Palace in The Paragon (courtesy of Crystal Jade)
In the restaurant-eat-restaurant world of F&B, few local brands have stood up as clearly as Crystal Jade, one of the market leaders in Singapore.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary last year with a refreshing of its identity that involved extensive refurbishments at its restaurants, Crystal Jade enjoyed a turnover of S$240 million in 2010.
Lucy wouldn’t have discovered Narnia if she didn’t open that wardrobe (courtesy of WikiNarnia)
As humans gripped by our lizard brain (aka the amygdala), our automatic reflex is to freeze in our tracks when encountering any of the following:
1) A potentially great product or service which does not have any known markets
Can you compete with the above brands on scale, distribution and price? (image source)
In the world of consumer businesses, there are probably three main ways to differentiate yourself from the hoi polloi.
These form the basis of virtually all forms of competition in marketing.
Source of image
Believe it or not, quitting isn’t necessarily the mark of a loser. There is a time and place for giving up. Just as there is a time and place for digging your heels in, gritting your teeth, and staying on.
Does that mean then that Napoleon Hill’s saying “a quitter never wins and a winner never quits” is moot?
On a recent visit to Takashimaya Shopping Centre for Christmas shopping, my family visited their highly popular basement food mall area looking for gift ideas.
Amidst the festive air, I noticed that there were many stalls offering gourmet food items for sale where the delectable pastries and candies were made ‘live’ by chefs.
Can creativity ever be managed? Shouldn’t it be a spontaneous process that happens when you suddenly encounter a flash of brilliance?
How can you be creative if you are working in a role that undervalues creativity, like a lawyer, accountant or a vehicle mechanic?