Dell's Della Debacle an Example of Wrong Way to Target Women†

For Starters, Stop Thinking of Them as a Niche Demo

Advertising Age, May 25, 2009 — Hearing that Dell had launched a female-targeted microsite called Della last week triggered my "Is it a gag?" reflex — the suspicious reaction to a bit of marketing too extreme to be real. Yet upon arrival at the site, there they were: all the ridiculous "women's advertising" clichés you could imagine in your wildest feminine-products-commercial fantasies. But it wasn't a gag — not intentionally, anyway.

The Shift: Becoming Visionary Marketers Who Control Quest for Growth

By Scott Davis

Prophet, May 1, 2009 — This article, focused on key themes from Scott Davis' upcoming book, "The Shift," outlines a series of profound shifts that have ushered in a new era in marketing. This era is marked by Visionary Marketers who know that no one is better suited to help drive the growth agenda than the head of marketing.

Cisco aims to serve

The networking titan thinks it can take on IBM, HP, and Dell selling servers. The ball is in CEO John Chambers' court.

CNNMoney.com, March 3, 2009 — It is the buzz of the tech world: Cisco Systems may soon try selling servers, those heavy-duty computers that companies use to run critical back-office applications. The prospect of router giant Cisco's entering the already crowded $55-billion-a-year server market is intriguing (imagine if LeBron James decided to try his hand at football) but also has the potential to disappoint. (Remember Michael Jordan's ill-fated effort to play professional baseball?)

The Difference Between Building a Business and Building a Brand†

Don't Confuse the Latter With Celebrity Index

Advertising Age, January 5, 2009 — Are you building a business? Or are you building a brand? Silly questions, you might be thinking. Naturally, you are trying to do both.

But that might be a mistake.

What's good for the business is not necessarily good for the brand. And vice versa.

Consumers Distrust Corporate Blogs†

Brandweek, December 9, 2008 — For the last several years, marketing experts have implored corporations to "join the conversation," namely through blogging. One problem: several years into the blogging phenomenon, not many consumers trust their blogs.

Dell Lags in New Products†

Dell isn't launching a digital music player for the holidays, adding to concerns that it is lagging behind rivals in fresh offerings.

Wall Street Journal, November 10, 2008 — Michael Dell last year promised innovative new consumer products to generate "product lust" and spark his company's turnaround effort. But in the runup to the holiday sales season, Dell Inc. has been slow to deliver on that promise.

Dell Bets Splashy Design Will Sell Its New Laptops

Dell Design Chief Ed Boyd is transforming those once-stodgy PCs with art and color. Can made-to-order laptops revitalize the computer maker?

BusinessWeek, October 30, 2008 — Ed Boyd, one of Dell's most unusual hires in recent years, is an industrial designer who used to dream up new sunglasses and shoes for Nike (NKE). Now the 43-year-old is trying to make design an integral part of Dell, the personal computer maker long known for cranking out boring gray boxes. "

PC makers move closer to a post-Windows world

CNNMoney.com, October 29, 2008 — In January, Hewlett-Packard will introduce a glossy black mini-laptop at retail for a mere $379. When it does, it will become the first major computer maker this decade (besides Apple, of course) to push a non-Windows PC in stores.

Kevin Frost, general manager of consumer notebooks at HP, was quick to point out that HP’s embrace of Linux shouldn’t be interpreted as a slap at Microsoft; he said he expects the “vast majority” of HP’s mini laptop sales to be the Windows version. “But we frankly view the mini category as one where we have the opportunity to put the focus on the HP brand, not the processor and not the operating system.”

Michael Dell 'Friends' his customers

How Mr. PC is using Facebook and other Web 2.0 sites to help turn his company around.

Money, September 4, 2008 — Write something about Dell online, and chances are the company will know about it in an hour or so. Dis the company in a blog or a Facebook group, and someone from a crack response team may even chime in, if only to let everyone know that Dell cares. Spooky? Well, this is a new Dell (DELL, Fortune 500): a little more attentive online, and a little more paranoid. When Michael Dell took back the reins of his company in early 2007, one of his first acts as CEO was to give its web strategy a kick in the pants.

How the Discounters Hurt Themselves†

Wal-Mart, Dell, Others See Growth Stall as Rivals Learn How to Beat Them

Advertising Age, December 10, 2007 — If one thing defined the marketing landscape of the 1990s, it was the power of cheap.

Wal-Mart Stores, Southwest Airlines and Dell Computer reshaped their industries with low-cost models that forced competitors to adapt or die. Each of the power discounters thrived heading into the 21st century as their competitors often struggled.

But each is now facing a much tougher battle for growth. Wal-Mart's top line has continued to weaken; both its revenue and comparable-store sales — excluding grocery — grew slower than Macy's last quarter. Southwest is cutting expansion plans and revamping its service model. And Dell returned to founder Michael Dell as CEO to reinvigorate growth.