Michel Hogan, Author at SmartCompany

ftx Elon musk

Sam Bankman-Fried, Elon Musk and how one person’s actions can erode a brand

The actions of Sam Bankman-Fried and Elon Musk and the subsequent fallout illustrate how people's words can both command and corrode attention.

Taylor Swift

‘Unheroic’ Taylor Swift shows the work is the reward

Accepting her Grammy and becoming the first person to win Album of the Year four times, Taylor Swift's speech was a love letter to the unheroic work it takes to succeed.

supermarket kindness pricing

Stating the obvious: Try a little kindness towards those helping you

Something needs to shift amid news over the past few days about increasing instances of customers abusing staff.

ftx Elon musk

Underneath Sam Bankman-Fried’s wild hair is a well-groomed tale of how a brand works

Sam Bankman-Fried, the enigmatic, eccentric and empathy-challenged steward of crypto exchange FTX and sister fund Alameda Research is currently on trial for securities fraud.

Elon Musk speaking xai

Rebranding is always a risk, but Musk’s X move has blowtorched Twitter

Maybe Elon Musk is writing a script for a movie called ‘How To Make $44 Billion Disappear’. And in the latest scene, the bad guy takes a blo…

french connection fcuk rebranding

What’s in a name? A brand expert on FCUK Australia’s rebranding

Independent brand expert Michel Hogan shares her thoughts on French Connection, or FCUK's new name.

pwc fines

Opinion: PwC appears to have an unusual definition of integrity

When PwC consultants decided to share confidential government tax policy with other clients, they shredded their promises, mocked their values and landed PwC in the crosshairs of the federal police.

puffery

Entrepreneurial chickens are coming home to roost. What’s going on?

Overpromising and puffery can all too quickly flip into a mosh pit of self-delusion and fraud.

These four simple things can increase the value of your brand

Start doing these simple things today and over the next year and watch the value stored in your brand overflow.

Patagonia Melbourne

Patagonia’s next act: Make Earth its only shareholder

Last week, Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard announced his family was giving the whole company to planet Earth.

airlines-mandate-vaccines-employees qantas

How Qantas traded its reputation for a bump to its bottom line

Stories of Qantas' broken promises abound from stranded passengers, cancelled flights, lost luggage and impossibly long check-in queues.

april fools' day

Planning an April Fools’ Day prank? You probably shouldn’t

It bewilders me why organisations without a funny bone feel like they can come from nowhere and stick the landing at the start of April, writes Michel Hogan.

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