Randell Frost reports that people often have less confidence in service brands than they do consumer product brands. When you're dealing with service brands, you're dealing with people. And therein lies the challenge because employees don't always share the values of the companies they work for -- if they even know what they are. Manhattan2270486 In the book Brand Engagement, management consultant Ian Buckingham argues that a lack of clarity about values, behaviors, strengths and expertise within an organization can result in significant problems in meeting customers's needs. Specifically, a disconnect between values leads employees to attempt "to protect themselves …

The mood at the Fashion's Night Out event in New York last Thursday was "like Mardi Gras -- entertaining and often frenetic," writes David Moin, and similar crowds were seen in Milan, Paris and London. There seemed to be more social interacting than transacting in the Big Apple, but most retailers emphasize that that's just fine because the point of the evening was not short-term sales. "It was worth doing," says Claudio Del Vecchio, chairman and CEO of Brooks Brothers. "We do a lot of events, and we generally don't get a lot of business from them. It's …

Demand for short-term car sharing services is growing so fast in that rental-car heavyweights Hertz and Enterprise are jumping into the business, joining industry leader Zipcar, which has 325,000 members, as well as regional nonprofits such as I-Go in Chicago, City CarShare in San Francisco and Philly CarShare in Philadelphia, Greg Gardner reports. "The future of transportation will be a blend of things like Zipcar, public transportation and private car ownership," Ford executive chairman Bill Ford recently told Fortune magazine. "... I think it's a great opportunity for us to participate in the changing nature of car ownership." But …

Nearly 40 years after they broke up, the brand the Beatles created remains almost as strong as it did in its heyday. The quality of the music has a lot to do with that but so does some extraordinary business acumen on the part of the Beatles themselves and their surviving spouses and former Beatles label EMI and Sony/ATV, Beth Snyder Bulik reports. "The key is they've been so amazingly protective of the brand that everything that does come out is special," says Bill Stainton, president of Ovation Consulting. "They're not going to be on the K-tel compilation, or …

The number of adults older than 65 will double between 2000 and 2030, when they will represent nearly 20% of the U.S. population. And as baby boomers turn 65 years old beginning in 2011, they are expected to spend an additional $50 billion over the next decade on consumer products in the U.S., according to Sean Seitzinger, svp of consulting and innovation for Information Resources Inc. All of this represents an opportunity for marketers and retailers, of course, as Ellen Byron reports, but there is also a challenge. Experts say that current store layouts present difficulties for elderly shoppers to …