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bout a month ago, I had a blog post written in long hand to post here and never got around to it. I’m glad I waited; there’s so much more proof that my admiration of all things Apple isn’t just a passing fancy.
Awhile back, I also wrote a little series on creativity. In that series, I wrote about Nest, the new thermostat innovated by former Apple executives. The website was fresh, clean, and sparkling. The product, Nest, is still on my wish list — a thermostat with a brain that programs the temperature in your home for you once you’ve entered a few settings.
Today’s post is about another former Apple executive taking the reins as CEO over at Jacque Pennier or J.C. Penney, Inc. or JCP, as it’s now commonly called in marketing campaigns.
If you’ve not seen the new JCP direct mail campaigns sashaying in your door via snail mail, you’re living under a rock. As soon as I got the first one, I couldn’t put it down; I was so impressed. Inside, within the ads for apparel and other goods, were the typical storytelling snippets introducing sections oriented to demographics.
The major thrust and branding adjustment, though, was how Ron Johnson turned the image of dowdy JC Penney into something fresh; can I almost say sophisticated feeling?
Each mini catalog I get appeals to my sense of color, makes me smile at the vibrant energy coming off the pages, and it has people talking, too. My personal trainer asked me if I knew that JCP has sale dates on the third Friday of the month now and not every day with coupons.
The point to all this is simply, the Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Innovation, creativity, making customers excited about mundane products, and turning brands upside down and inside out to rescue them from the horse’s trough is brilliant.
And, the critics had some ho-hum to say, but the company’s stock soared to $38 buoyed by a rosier outlook. I’d say when a former Apple somebody or ‘nother decides to take a job somewhere…uhmm, that’s a trading tip to run and buy some stock, wouldn’t you say?
