Topic: Washington Mutual Inc.

Leadership: What's The Matter With WaMu?

I have been struck by the branding effort by Washington Mutual to reduce its name to WaMu. Washington Mutual is the monster financial institution and retail bank. When I was traveling in California recently, my two kids, both teens, ...READ»

7 Lessons From WaMu's Playbook

Mergers and acquisitions are, once again, shaking up all kinds of industries. The big question: How do you do them right? Here's the playbook according to Washington Mutual, one of the best in the business.READ»

WaMu's WTF Advertising

Sometimes, when seeing an ad whizz by you on a bus, or hearing a spot on the radio, you can reach straight through the ad to the creative brief -- and in a good way. A creative solution to a well-defined business problem can have a ...READ»

What's In A Name? A Lot, It Turns Out

Back in August, I wrote a post on the re-branding of Washington Mutual as WaMu. I didn’t like the way the new name sounded and still don’t. More recently, there has been a blast of ads from the pharmaceutical industry for new ...READ»

Between The Lines

The stories behind this issue's stories.READ»

Bank of (Middle) America

Kerry Killinger and his colleagues at Washington Mutual Inc. don't model themselves after Citigroup or Bank of America. Instead, they look for inspiration to Wal-Mart, Target, and Southwest Airlines -- giant companies that somehow manage to keep costs low and service high and meet the needs of the middle class. The strategy is minting money -- and WaMu's share price is up more than 150% during the past three years.READ»

Crises Opportunities

Specific crisis opportunitiy long and short tradesREAD»

Brand-As-Verb, Entry No. 2

I had lunch today with a former editor who was talking about a recent trip he'd made to the West Coast. "So I 'JetBlued' out to California....," he said nonchalantly, with little notice of the verb he'd just created. Like "Googled," ...READ»

Mergers Can Lead to More Security Woes

Every day it seems like we’re hearing about a bank merger or at least banks talking about merging. Washington Mutual and J.P. Morgan Chase. Merrill Lynch and Bank of America. It doesn’t look like we’ll be hearing any less of ...READ»

• Fast Security for a Wired World
• 7 Tips to Protecting Yourself Online

No One Can See Your Corporate Recruitment Branding

I have been spending a lot of time recently viewing corporate recruiting video for our worklife.tv platform and I have been noticing a lot of companies don’t really do anything to get their brand out there. I’m not talking ...READ»

More than Window Dressing

Neverstop's experiential marketing campaigns help clients such as the Sci Fi Channel, DKNY, and Liz Claiborne build brands, promote products, and connect with customers.READ»

Do Financial Brands Add Up?

The global economic meltdown has been bad news for financial services brands, straining the media of marketing communications as much as balance sheets.  The fundamental question is whether branding can overcome the rational as ...READ»

The Death of Corporate Permanence

Is the pandemic of bankruptcies actually changing our national perspective on corporate mortality in some fundamental way? It's an important question to ask, given the frequency of once-iconic brands turning into corporate ...READ»

CEOs Who Risk Big for Big Paydays

    Research shows that incentivizing CEOs with large pay and stock-option packages doesn't always have the intended effect of aligning their interests with shareholders. These six CEOs got fired because their risky moves ...READ»

• Why Incentives Are Effective, Irresistable, and Almost Certain to Backfire
• Incentive Clauses Gone Bad

Is Your Company Up To Speed?

Does your strategy buck the conventional wisdom? Are you as committed to creating new leaders as you are to launching new products? Is your organization built for speed? Here are 10 make-or-break questions to evaluate your company's performance -- and 25 fast companies that pass the test.READ»

What's in Store for Small Business?

12 January 2009 Jose D. Roncal www.financialspeculation.com  The economic downturn has hit businesses both large and small, boosting the number of bankruptcies to levels not seen since 1939. Growing unemployment rolls, losses of ...READ»

The Net/Net

A go-to guide of the products and services featured in this month's issue.READ»

On the Road Again?

In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, San Francisco bureau chief George Anders wrote a story assessing what life would now be like for road warriors all over the United States. Then he boarded a plan for New Jersey. Here's his account.READ»

The Money Issue

Welcome to our first-ever (and first annual) Money Issue. Don't worry, we haven't been possessed by the spirit of Malcolm Forbes. What you won't find in this issue are the utterly predictable (and totally unreliable) gimmicks that ...READ»

Fast Talk: One Shrewd Move

It's easy to look smart when times are good. What separates winners from losers are the moves their leaders make when times are hard. Six CEOs explain their shrewdest move of 2002.READ»

Hennion and Walsh: What's Ahead For The Financial System?

"With the continued news and noise around AIG, Washington Mutual, Lehman Bros. and Merrill Lynch, it all seems like it's going up to a crescendo in terms of the doom and gloom and bad news."READ»

Customer Service Vigilantes

A swell of distrust toward corporate America, exacerbated by off-shoring of U.S. jobs - followed by lay-offs of thousands of employees, incredibly high executive salaries and higher than ever profits by certain industries. In the ...READ»

By Any Other Name, it's Still the Same

Jose D. Roncalwww.financialspeculation.comNationalization. The word makes one shudder!  It might even drudge up old images of the hammer and sickle or Mao's men marching in khaki uniforms!  We've already mentioned the ...READ»

Digital Matters -- Issue 45

"Customers expect more than a coupon from P G."READ»

Digital Matters - Issue 35

"What are the rules of the Digital Road?"READ»