Abiah.com, Christian Organization and Ministry Brand Development

Martha Stewart in two places at one time?

I got a promotional brochure from Macy's at the end of last week.  It promoted a line of Martha Stewart-branded stuff that includes furniture, linens, and housewares.  It made me wonder if she was dumping K-Mart and movin' on up to Macy's. 

Imagine my confusion (and the rest of the consuming public's confusion) when I saw the K-Mart flyer in my Sunday paper and it had a picture of Martha on it promoting the "Martha Stewart Everyday" brand.

What's up with that?

At first I thought she was just selling furniture through Macy's and maybe that was missing from her K-Mart line. 

Nope.  OK, maybe the furniture is a little more elaborate than the bookcases, futons, and whatnot she hawks through KMart, but really she's got stuff in both stores.

She also sells kitchen, storage, and other stuff in both stores.

I'm confused.  Why would I schlep to Macy's (or go to Macys.com) when I can get similar stuff for less money at KMart and at KMart's website?

For that matter, why would I buy any of this stuff when I can get great stuff and more at Target?

What separates her stuff from the other stuff that's out there and that to me looks similar and certainly does the same job?  I see this stuff as it's presented as being very much a commodity.  And when what you're selling is a commodity, it becomes very price-driven. 

When you go to Macy's site, there's Martha in a little video talking about "the biggest brand launch in Macy's illustrious history."  So?  What's that mean for me?  I'm happy for Martha...but that doesn't translate into a benefit for me. (And note to Macy's marketing gurus...put a button on their to stop the video.  It's incredibly annoying to come back to the page and have to listen to and watch the same thing over again.)

I don't get this whole move by her or by Macy's.  Martha's a pretty smart business person (despite that stock problem she let herself get into) who certainly gets the whole concept of branding and building a brand, but I don't understand how this will translate into more sales for her company.  I also can't understand how this will translate into more sales for Macy's. 

Anybody out there want to try to explain this brand move to me?

Is groupthink a problem for you?

I’m sure you’ve heard about the sad case of the young woman who died as the result of water intoxication from participating in a crazy contest at a

California

radio station.

This ridiculous publicity stunt has gone from just being a goofy idea to a homicide investigation. Ten people at the station have been fired.

You may be wondering how this idea ever saw the light of day, but if you’ve spent any length of time in corporate life, you’ve probably sat in plenty of meetings where some stupid idea was embraced or where valid concerns were ignored.  This common problem is known as groupthink.

As a matter of fact, groupthink is part of what contributed to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in the mid-80s.

How does this happen?