Twitter feeds to watch! | Debi Mishra

Debi Mishra advises on some great Twitter feeds to look out for on the topic of Strategic Partnerships.

Do you have any to add to the list?


Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google recently remarked that strategic partnerships and alliances have created the greatest value for Google in the past five years.

Eric Schmidt's Twitter profile pic

According to a 2007 Fortune Magazine survey of the top 200 US corporations, almost 2/3 of the respondents ranked their strategic partnerships as one of the top five value creating assets for their firms.

Fortune Mag's Twitter profile pic

Did you know that Steve Jobs once remarked that had it not been for the company’s expertise in managing strategic partnerships, with a number of firms spanning different continents, the iPhone would never have been as successful as it currently is.

Steve Jobs' Twitter profile pic

Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, emphasizes how strategic alliances have helped the company’s diversification and growth over the past decade, in his book “Pour Your Heart Into It”.


Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE once remarked, “Today’s organizations are boundary-less… for us, strategic partnerships are vital… yet in America we educate managers around the limited mind set of competition… consequently our employees are not well educated in the nitty-gritty of understanding and managing partnerships." 

Debi Mishra

Debi's MBS Executive Series Managing Strategic Partnerships begins March 2nd. For more info contact Marianne Carollo at MBS on +61 3 9349 8292 or m.carollo@mbs.edu

Gucci, Chanel and Bulgari – oh my! Follow the yellow brick Tweet! | Mark Ritson

Mark Ritson highlights how luxury brands including Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Bulgari have been slow to embrace e-commerce, but are now starting to take the idea seriously. 


Burberry, which has 2 million fans on Facebook, now has an iPad app allowing customers to order products well ahead of their local launch, while Bulgari uses YouTube and Twitter. 


Ritson says luxury brands like to break rules in terms of fashion, but it has taken time for them innovate in their business strategies. 


Source: AFR, Nov 2010

Interestingly, Ritson also suggests that Social Media is for People, not Brands. He points out that Peter Andre has more followers on Twitter than the top 20 British brands combined.


What do you think? How has social media helped with your own branding experience? 


For more on Mark Ritson's experience with brands and marketing, download his podcast here.


Follow his yellow brick Tweets, for regular shots of branding knowledge.


Finally, if all this doesn't make you want to see the man in action, have a look at what you can learn from his Executive Series session, Brand Management.

Mark Ritson