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Allen Adamson

Allen Adamson is managing director of the New York office of Landor Associates and author of BrandDigital: Simple Ways Top Brands Succeed in the Digital World and BrandSimple: How the Best Brands Keep It Simple and Succeed.

Responsible for all aspects of the New York office’s operations, Allen has overseen branding efforts for a broad spectrum of corporate and consumer brands in industries ranging from technology to health care to fashion. Under his leadership, Landor’s New York office partners with a wide array of clients, including ANA, BlackBerry, Citigroup, Diageo, General Electric, Kraft Foods, PepsiCo, Pfizer, the PGA of America, Procter & Gamble (P&G), Wyeth, the United Negro College Fund, and Verizon. Additionally, he counsels professional organizations on branding.

Allen is a sought-after industry commentator and has penned numerous articles on branding and marketing issues for industry publications. He has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CNBC, and the Fox Business Network. He is often quoted in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Advertising Age, the New York Times, USA Today, the Washington Post, and Forbes. He regularly lectures at New York University’s Stern School of Business and the Yale School of Management. He is also a member of the American Management Association and speaks on branding for a range of professional organizations.

In 2006, Palgrave Macmillan published Allen's first book, BrandSimple, which is based on the premise that the world’s leading brands are built on clear, concise ideas. Translated into three languages, BrandSimple is a culmination of Allen's more than 25 years of industry experience and details how brands can break through in a world of communication overload. BrandDigital followed in 2008 and expanded the premise of his first book by explaining how the ever-evolving digital marketplace has magnified the basic principles of building powerful brands. Allen interviewed more than 100 of the best and brightest people in the fields of marketing and technology to outline best practices for the digital era.

Before joining Landor, Allen gained branding and marketing expertise on both the agency and client sides. During his time as senior vice president, group director, at Ammirati & Puris and DMB&B, his clients included Kraft, Mars, and P&G. He also worked at Lever Brothers, where he was group product manager, responsible for a number of major brands. His career began at Ogilvy & Mather in 1979.

Allen received a BS from S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Contact:

New York
230 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10003
United States

Phone: +1 212 614-5050
Facsimile: +1 212 614-3966

Articles:

If doing good isn't part of your DNA, consumers won't buy it
March 2010

Marketers: Go for gold-medal branding
February 2010

CMOs: Your brand is on digital time
February 2010

'Aha!' innovation means looking beyond 'gee whiz!'
January 2010

Marketers: Expect a return to core brand value—and values—in 2010
January 2010

Holiday pitches shouldn't hurt brands
December 2009

Define your brand's purpose, not just its promise
November 2009

Marketers can learn from Rio's Olympic victory
October 2009

Lessons From Leno: Marketers Can Learn From NBC's Timeslot Switch
September 2009

Marketers seek to score in tough times by playing at the U.S. Open
September 2009

What real mad men and women can learn from the TV show
August 2009

The value of real-time customer care
August 2009

Marketers fall short in communicating good deeds to consumers
July 2009

When trying to engage people on the web, timing is everything
June 2009

Companies should encourage social networking among employees
June 2009

No contest: Twitter and Facebook can both play a role in branding
May 2009

Marketers struggle to reignite badge brands
April 2009

The top four ways smart marketers use digital branding applications to operate more efficiently
April 2009

Promoting good works in bad times
March 2009

Getting back to business as usual
March 2009

Advertisers hope for power in reflection
March 2009

Marketers: Don't make promises you can't keep
January 2009

Landor’s 2009 trends forecast: Market trends and their impact on brands
December 2008

Rather than cut, go digital
December 2008

BrandDigital: Simple ways top brands succeed in the digital world
August 2008

How to bridge the digital gap and keep ahead
August 2008 (PDF, 257 kb)

Packaging must pack a bigger punch
October 2007 (PDF, 696 kb)

Branding Spinoffs Takes More Than a Superficial Spin
September 2007 (PDF, 136 kb/5 pages)

Does Your Brand Have Portability Potential?
July 2007 (PDF, 208 kb/5 pages)

Why Up-Branding Is Here to Stay
May 2007 (PDF, 176 kb/5 pages)

Best to Keep It Simple
May 2007 (PDF, 159 kb/3 pages)

Brand Against Global Warming
March 2007 (PDF, 283 kb/5 pages)

Drive a Brand Like a Rental? It Won't Last
September 2006 (PDF, 88 kb/2 pages)

BrandSimple: How the best brands keep it simple and succeed
September 2006

Anchor's Away
August 2006 (PDF, 4.3 mb/2 pages)

Want to Set Your Brand Apart? Try Reality
May 2006

Branding, What's Inside
May 2006 (PDF, 86 kb/2 pages)

What's Your Brand's Job?
April 2006 (PDF, 121 kb/2 pages)

To Stay On the Map, Put Your Customers There First
November 2005 (PDF, 125 kb/2 pages)

To Re-wire Your Customer, Re-brand Your Branding
October 2005 (PDF, 70 kb/2 pages)

I love you, TiVo, now change
September 2005 (PDF, 225 kb/2 pages)

In a World of Brand Attention Deficit Disorder, the Trick is Cutting Through Whatever
August 2005

Traditional Brand Positioning Can't Last
July 2005 (PDF, 152 kb/2 pages)

To Win in the World of Pharmaceutical Branding, Try a Little Auto Focus
April 2004

Paradigm for Brand Pruning: the Answer May Be in the Sky
August 2003

Four Timely Tips on Brand Leadership for Brand-name CEOs (and other interested parties)
April 2003

Future Branding Based on Current Trends
June 2002

Brand Architecture: a Look at Key Issues and Emerging Solutions
May 2002 (PDF, 52 kb)

Co-branding: Is It Right for You?
March 2002

News:

What's In a Brand? Yet Another Brand
[New York Post]
January 2007

Tesco takes green clock to US
[MSN Money]
January 2007

Can The Gap be saved?
[USATODAY.com]
January 2007

Blog Posts:

No more advice needed for Tiger's brand repair, but Toyota is another story
23 February 2010

And the winners of the digital branding campaigns of the year are...
29 December 2009

Transparency and the multifaceted consumer
16 December 2009

Mad Men demonstrates how the best brands are built on authenticity
17 August 2009

The personal touch is still a critical component to branding success in a digital world
13 August 2009

Domino's followed the right recipe in defending a tasteless PR effort
21 April 2009

It's not an easy time to be a down and out brand
10 April 2009

Obama needs the Geek Squad to make good on his brand promise
9 March 2009

To operate more efficiently in down times, tune up your digital technology tactics
7 March 2009

A bold rebranding move by Frito-Lay, but is it what women want?
26 February 2009

Geico uses two familiar icons to differentiate itself in a sea of similar brand promises
19 February 2009

Tropicana offers a clever new "twist" to its branding
6 February 2009

Social networks are branding change you'd better believe in
28 January 2009

DQ's digital branding doesn't say much for its ice cream
10 January 2009

The New York Times loses a simple visual reminder of its difference
7 January 2009

Brilliant creative (okay, sometimes dumb luck) is the key to viral marketing
2 January 2009

Audi's online A4 Driving Challenge doesn't drive home its brand promise
21 December 2008

These Digital Mad Men can talk, but do they understand?
12 December 2008

Why Leno's move to prime time is a brilliant branding move
11 December 2008

In turbulent economic times, focus and execution are vital to successful branding
4 December 2008

More than efficiencies and playing to Main Street
4 December 2008

Episode 2 of digital Mad Men
25 November 2008

A bad economy may be the best time to take advantage of digital branding tools
24 November 2008

Mad Men in a digital world
20 November 2008

Mad Men in a digital world
20 November 2008

It's not just the economy, it's how organizations use digital that will determine which brands survive
13 November 2008

Why the merger of GM and Chrysler could make branding sense
2 November 2008

Why the merger of GM and Chrysler could make branding sense
30 October 2008

Candidates, like all brands, must stand for one thing to stand out
23 October 2008

Barclays' strong signal
22 October 2008

In times like these, Branding 101 and Finance 101 go hand in hand.
19 October 2008

Is Google stretching the limits of brand credibility with the launch of its phone?
17 October 2008

Digital thoughts on Disney's relaunch of the Muppet brand
10 October 2008

The Biden/Palin debate: a preview and a review
6 October 2008

Why the Paul Newman brand will outlive its namesake
3 October 2008

What the candidates can learn from great brands about point of purchase behavior
29 September 2008

When two brands depend on one another to delight the customer, both reputations are at stake
15 September 2008

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