Branding

• Most Topular Stories

• Brand authenticity — Keeping it real, honest, genuine and true.

  Brand Insight Blog

  John Furgurson

  28 Apr 2010 | 4:14 pm

  I hate buzzwords. Every time a new marketing term shows up on the cover of a book I find myself having to translate the jargon into something meaningful for ordinary, busy business people. Lately, it’s “Authenticity.” Seems “keeping it real” has become a household term. And a branding imperative. In The New Marketing Manifesto John Grant says “Authenticity is the benchmark against which all brands are now judged.” If that’s the case, we better have a damn good definition of what we’re talking about. “Authentic” is derived from the Greek authentikós,…

• The boxes are killing you

  Tom Asacker

  Tom Asacker

  20 Jan 2012 | 5:08 am

  Take a look at your office. It's a box. Your computer? Another box. You leave work, climb into a box, and drive home to another, more expensive box. Once settled into your box, you grab something to eat from a...

• Fast Company: Under-Promise. Over-Deliver. And Your Brand’s Fans Will Talk

  Branding Expert Martin Lindstrom - Author, Speaker & Fan of the Consumer

  Martin Lindstrom

  10 Jan 2012 | 9:49 am

  By Martin Lindstrom: Marketing consultant and author of Brandwashed - January 10, 2011 It’s when companies under-promise and over-deliver that people experience memorable moments that will affect their habits for a lifetime. In a small restaurant in Shinjiku, a suburb of Tokyo, I ordered sake. First, the waitress placed a small wooden box in front of me. Then she arrived with a large tray carrying 40 cups. Each one, she explained, represented a different personality. I chose a blue cup, which she removed from her tray and carefully placed in the box. As she began to pour the…

• How to become a social business

  Tom Asacker

  Tom Asacker

  25 Jan 2012 | 5:04 am

  There's a huge dynamic underway, a cultural shift in the world of business accelerated by the rapid adoption of social technologies. This new worldview is about being human, as much as about being in business. It's about tuning in to...

• 9 Network airs ”Selling Secrets” with Martin Lindstrom

  Branding Expert Martin Lindstrom - Author, Speaker & Fan of the Consumer

  Martin Lindstrom

  24 Dec 2011 | 2:10 am

   

• 

  Tom Asacker

• Who controls your brand?

  Tom Asacker

  26 Jan 2012 | 6:36 am

  The same people who control your destiny. Late last year the boxing world lost a legend when Joe Frazier, the first man to defeat Muhammad Ali, died of liver cancer at age 67. Frazier, an Olympic and undisputed world heavyweight...

• How to become a social business

  Tom Asacker

  25 Jan 2012 | 5:04 am

  There's a huge dynamic underway, a cultural shift in the world of business accelerated by the rapid adoption of social technologies. This new worldview is about being human, as much as about being in business. It's about tuning in to...

• Innovate on purpose

  Tom Asacker

  23 Jan 2012 | 5:02 am

  Have you noticed that whenever the economy stalls most business leaders inappropriately cry “be innovative” when what they really mean is “be resourceful:” “Times are tough people. We have to look for ways to do more with less. Let’s innovate!”...

• The boxes are killing you

  Tom Asacker

  20 Jan 2012 | 5:08 am

  Take a look at your office. It's a box. Your computer? Another box. You leave work, climb into a box, and drive home to another, more expensive box. Once settled into your box, you grab something to eat from a...

• Metaphors matter!

  Tom Asacker

  17 Jan 2012 | 4:53 pm

  I've written it here before, but I'm compelled by recent events to shout it out again: metaphors matter! They're not merely figures of speech and writing, stylistic expressions that enrich communication. Metaphors structure people's thinking. Metaphors condition our sympathies. Metaphors...

• 

  Brand Insight Blog

• Conversion Branding. How to make your website work — on many levels.

  John Furgurson

  17 Jan 2012 | 4:00 pm

  There seems to be a trend in website development these days… more and more cookie-cutter, template-driven websites that are wearily one dimensional. The fact is, if you want the maximum return from your website investment, it needs to work on many different levels.  Let’s look at what those are: The Functional, Phonebook Level In case you hadn’t noticed, the phone book is fading faster than the first generation Blackberry.  Now that we all have a web-enabled computer in our hands at all times, Google is the phonebook of choice. So on the most basic level, your website needs to…

• Incongruity: Breaking through all the babaganoushit.

  John Furgurson

  11 Nov 2011 | 5:58 pm

  Sometimes, one single word is everything. The difference between a marketing home run and a dribbling bunt. I recently ran into a client who was completely fixated on one word in a headline: “Precious.” “Babies are precious, not parking places,” she argued. “Yes, but diamonds are also precious. And what’s more valuable than diamonds?” I countered. By using that one word I exaggerated the value of the free parking and elevated that little product feature to an entirely different realm. It was an effective use of incongruity in advertising, and she just couldn’t get her head…

• Brand authenticity — Keeping it real, honest, genuine and true.

  John Furgurson

  28 Apr 2010 | 4:14 pm

  I hate buzzwords. Every time a new marketing term shows up on the cover of a book I find myself having to translate the jargon into something meaningful for ordinary, busy business people. Lately, it’s “Authenticity.” Seems “keeping it real” has become a household term. And a branding imperative. In The New Marketing Manifesto John Grant says “Authenticity is the benchmark against which all brands are now judged.” If that’s the case, we better have a damn good definition of what we’re talking about. “Authentic” is derived from the Greek authentikós,…

• Masterful Brand Management

  John Furgurson

  9 Apr 2010 | 12:18 am

  It’s Masters Week —  the biggest week of the year in golf, and a tide-turning event for several brands. Most notably, this one: The Tiger Woods logo for Nike Over the last 9 months the Tiger Woods brand has, shall we say, strayed a bit. The “indiscreations” of Tiger’s personal life have cost his brand millions in endorsement deals, and even more in public goodwill. As one sports writer put it, “it’s the most dramatic fall from grace in the history of sport.” For Tiger Woods and company, The Masters represents the perfect venue for a comeback, and an ideal brand affiliation.

• Inspiration For Office And Website Makeovers.

  John Furgurson

  14 Mar 2010 | 2:30 pm

  Moved into a swanky new office building last week. (Great views of Mt. Bachelor, Broken Top, Three Sisters and the Phoenix Inn parking lot.) The Alexander Drake Building, Downtown Bend, OR As I was unpacking boxes, lifting heavy furniture and contemplating the feng shui, it occurred to me that professional service firms spend a lot of time and money on their office space. And rightly so. For companies with no tangible product to sell, it’s a crucial component of the brand. For instance, when it comes to selecting an ad agency, office space always figures into the equation. The workspace is…

• 

  Branding Expert Martin Lindstrom - Author, Speaker & Fan of the Consumer

• Fast Company: Thou Shalt Covet What Thy Neighbor Covets

  Martin Lindstrom

  23 Jan 2012 | 8:58 am

  By Martin Lindstrom: Marketing consultant and author of Brandwashed - January 23, 2011 When it comes to the things we buy, what other people think matters. A lot. Here’s how the desires of strangers–inflamed by branders and marketers–mysteriously become our desires, too. Many of us spend our days–or at least part of them–quietly cursing our fellow human beings. The guy in the Hummer who cuts us off at the intersection. The old woman in the supermarket line counting out pennies one by one. The tourist consulting a map right in front of the subway entrance. They…

• TIME Magazine: The Secret Cause of Buyer’s Remorse

  Martin Lindstrom

  12 Jan 2012 | 8:33 am

  By Martin Lindstrom: Marketing consultant and author of Brandwashed - January 10, 2011 Being able to hold things before we buy them makes us more satisfied with our purchases. In 2011, many shoppers opted to avoid the frenetic crowds and do their holiday shopping from the comfort of their computer. Sales at online retailers gained by more than 15%, making it the biggest season ever. But people are also returning those purchases at record rates, up 8% from last year. What went wrong? Is the lingering shadow of the global financial crisis making it harder to accept extravagant indulgences?

• Fast Company: Under-Promise. Over-Deliver. And Your Brand’s Fans Will Talk

  Martin Lindstrom

  10 Jan 2012 | 9:49 am

  By Martin Lindstrom: Marketing consultant and author of Brandwashed - January 10, 2011 It’s when companies under-promise and over-deliver that people experience memorable moments that will affect their habits for a lifetime. In a small restaurant in Shinjiku, a suburb of Tokyo, I ordered sake. First, the waitress placed a small wooden box in front of me. Then she arrived with a large tray carrying 40 cups. Each one, she explained, represented a different personality. I chose a blue cup, which she removed from her tray and carefully placed in the box. As she began to pour the…

• 9 Network airs ”Selling Secrets” with Martin Lindstrom

  Martin Lindstrom

  24 Dec 2011 | 2:10 am

   

• Fast Company: Trust Me – Here’s Why Brands Sell Trust, Subconsciously

  Martin Lindstrom

  19 Dec 2011 | 11:57 am

  By Martin Lindstrom: Marketing consultant and author of Brandwashed - December 19, 2011 Evidence points to information from trusted sources getting a better hold on our brains than the noise from everything else. So it’s no surprise that companies want to capitalize on those feelings. Let’s say that not that long ago you came across a fascinating article. But when you later try to verify some of the facts, you just can’t pinpoint exactly where you first read it. What you do recall is that the source was reliable and you trusted the message. This is a situation I find myself…

• 

  Brand Mix

• In taste, brand matters

  Martin Bishop

  19 Jan 2012 | 12:04 pm

  My latest post is out on MarketingDaily. In it, I talk about the power of packaging to influence taste. Research has show that people are highly sensitive to non-taste cues when they are evaluating the taste of something. As I say in the post: "It’s not just about the product inside. The brand matters because it tells consumers what to expect and influences how they evaluate a product."  You may be curious which beer was the "outright loser" in my blind taste test (maybe as curious as I am about why this part of the story was edited out) but, hopefully, your curiosity is now satisfied.

• 15 Social Media Tips for the holidays

  Martin Bishop

  14 Dec 2011 | 9:28 am

  Here's my holiday gift to my readers. To be honest, it's a regift, since these social media tips were originally published (in longer form) in the MarketingDaily. There are five tips on basic social media principles and approach and ten tips on criteria for planning social media programs. Principles 1. Be human Social media is about engaging with customers on a personal level, something marketers sometimes forget. In social media interaction, you should be asking yourself: 'What would a human do?' And do that. 2. Don’t overreach Most brands, especially CPG brands, aren't all that engaging…

• Lululemon puts an Ayn Rand stamp on yoga

  Martin Bishop

  21 Nov 2011 | 10:50 am

  Lululemon has ridden the wave of yoga's popularity with great success, selling high end yoga clothes and promoting healthy living. So deciding to associate with a philosophy that's the antithesis of what yoga is all about seems a little odd, to say the least.  As reported on NPR, the company's new shopping bags feature the question: "Who is John Galt?". And who is John Galt? He's the protagonist of Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged where she laid out her Objectivist philosophy, including the idea that selfishness is a virtue,a very un-yoga-like position. Why this seeming act of…

• Australia's new cigarette law bans branded packaging, tests branding principles

  Martin Bishop

  14 Nov 2011 | 10:06 am

  Australia has become the first country in the world to ban the branding of cigarette packages. From next July, all packs will look like the one in the picture--they will be a deliberately unappealing olive green color, the brand of the manufacturer will be printed in a tiny, generic font (i.e. no trademarks) and the only images will be graphic health warnings. Thus the Australians are setting up an interesting, real world packaging test. What will happen when the new, generic packaging hits the shelves? The one thing that the government and the cigarette manufacturers agree on is that the…

• Moleskine misstep miffs most-loyals

  Martin Bishop

  25 Oct 2011 | 2:20 pm

  Committing social media suicide by upsetting your most loyal fans is something of a trend. Netflix blazed a trail. And now it's Moleskine, maker of the "legendary" notebooks so beloved by the designers, following along. With apparently no sense of a design community hot button issue, Moleskine thought it might be kind of cool to organize a competition to design a new logo. In other words, to crowdsource it. That's, to say the least, not going down too well with one-time Moleskine lovers, now turning into Moleskine haters. Here's a comment posted on Moleskine's Facebook page by Seth Johnson…

• 

  brandflakesforbreakfast

• sex gamified

  Kristien Del Ferraro

  27 Jan 2012 | 7:10 am

  This is a campaign absolutely deserving of a WOW. Apparently the young adults of Stockholm, Sweden are among the worst at practicing safe sex. Sure, you can hand them all condoms and hope for the best, or you can take it a step way further and turn sex into a fun, competitive game... as long as it's safe of course. That's exactly what Swedish agency, Ester, did with this campaign. They handed out 50,000 condoms to young adults with QR codes on them (yeah, I know, but it's actually a good use of them). The QR code downloads an app that measures your sexcapades for motion, rhythm and duration.

• snugglin' with celebrities

  Kristien Del Ferraro

  27 Jan 2012 | 7:09 am

  It's pretty easy to love comedian / filmmaker Mark Malkoff. Apparently so easy that he convinced 13 celebrities to let him sleepover their houses, including Dave Coulier (cut. it. out.), Kate Walsh (who is clearly not attracted to Mark) and the adorable Lisa Loeb, who reads him a bedtime story from her book. You can't help but smile when you watch this fun little video.

• thanks for letting us pee

  Kristien Del Ferraro

  27 Jan 2012 | 7:08 am

  FirstBank - Super Bowl Commercial from TDA_Boulder on Vimeo.Most of us are sick of Superbowl commercials already and it's not even the Superbowl yet, but this one from FirstBank gets a pass. Why? Because it's pretty awesome without even trying too hard to be awesome. Playing off the fact that since commercials are now just as much part of the "show" as the football game, we no longer have a free second to pee, this simple ad features a man in a recliner who remains silent for most of the commercial so that you can go take your bathroom break. Then it just ends with "Better Customer Service."…

• gaming for a good cause

  a_blodder

  26 Jan 2012 | 7:10 am

  Amnesty International 'Amnesty Rescue' Call Of Duty MOD from Strange Day on Vimeo.In November, we reported on Amnesty International's "Slide to Unlock" campaign. They've joined forces with Call of Duty: MW3 to take the campaign further with seamless in-game advertising and potentially reach millions more potential volunteers and supporters. Players can buy the Amnesty Rescue MOD (additional map) for $1, which gets donated to Amnesty, and players can rescue and save people suffering from human rights violations. And let us thank Amnesty for giving gamers a chance to contribute to society.

• fun with pharmacies

  a_blodder

  26 Jan 2012 | 7:05 am

  Who says pharmacies have to be so cold and clinical?Swedish Design Labs doesn't. They have designed new collateral for pharmacy chain Vardapoteket in Sweden that is full of vivid colors and fun designs that incorporate organs and body parts in a fun way. The design isn't just a pretty face either. It's also informed by research that proves positive environmental factors help lessen anxiety and promote overall well-being. Now there's an idea.

• 

  BrandingBlog by Dave Young

• BrandingBlog Radio: Chandra Clarke – CEO of Scribendi

  Dave Young

  27 Jan 2012 | 1:55 am

  Remember the scene in the movie Pulp Fiction where Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) accidentally create a serious mess of their car by shooting the guy in the back seat? The only solution is to call in an expert…a cleanup guy. Winston Wolfe (brilliantly played by Harvey Keitel) to the rescue. I love the Winston Wolfe character. He knows how to fix a bad situation. When you’ve got a writing mess (a dog’s breakfast, as my Aussie friends would call it) you need to call in an expert. Scribendi is to bad writing as Winston Wolf is to Jules and…

• Soundbites: Fire Fast, Hire Slow

  Dave Young

  25 Jan 2012 | 9:54 am

  This is age old advice in management circles. Kinda funny how hard it is to do in practice. And it’s one of those topics where you look at business owners and managers and you think, “They really should take this advice.” I really want to talk about the “fire fast” but I’ll just touch briefly on the hire slow, because there are loads and loads of resources on how to hire people. Just remember that the worst thing you can do is hire the first person through the door that you think could probably learn to do the job. The biggest pressure point on hiring somebody too fast is that…

• Blog Ghostwriting with no time-sucking Ghost

  Dave Young

  23 Jan 2012 | 12:23 pm

  I know I’ve mentioned Shortcut Blogging to you quite a few times, but we’ve finished our web site and have our infrastructure in place to take on new clients in bigger numbers than onesy-twosies. Many business owners know that they should be blogging. Why? Because, blogging creates relevant content on your site, gives you increased credibility as an expert and gives people a reason to talk about you in a good way. Trouble is, most business owners are so time-deprived that they just can’t make writing a priority. Hiring a ghost writer for your blog won’t save you much…

• BrandingBlog Radio: Michele Miller on Sports, Politics and F.A.R.E.

  Dave Young

  20 Jan 2012 | 1:51 am

  Recording this Podcast was a blast. I’ve been working with Michele Miller for 10 years now and being able to share conversations like this is exactly why I started podcasting. What really made this one fun is that we were face-to-face instead of on Skype. We were both in Palm Springs to have an annual meeting with a client that we’ve worked with almost as long as we’ve been Wizard of Ads partners. This past year our retail client grew 28% over the previous year. That’s a big deal any way you look at it. In this rambling conversation, we discuss trends in societal…

• Stupid is as stupid does

  Dave Young

  16 Jan 2012 | 10:57 pm

  This is clever, cute, witty. Until you have to spell it. Or search for it. Stoopeed.

• 

  Branding Strategy Insider

• Brands Live In The Mind

  Thomson Dawson

  26 Jan 2012 | 11:10 pm

  Brands are not things; rather brands are a representation of a highly valued idea that resides in the minds of consumers and stakeholders alike. Brands represent a set of unifying principles that guide an organization’s behavior and its manner of delivering experiences customers highly value above the available alternatives in the marketplace. Strong healthy brands maintain an intrinsic value to customers that over time translates into tangible financial value for the brand’s owners.  Consumers care about what a brand represents to them on the highest emotional level. The physical…

• Consumer Behavior: From Trading Up To Trading Off

  Derrick Daye, The Blake Project

  25 Jan 2012 | 11:10 pm

  The opposite of trading up is not trading down. In fact, there is no opposite of trading up; shopping behavior is more nuanced than that. When shopping hit the skids after the financial crisis, there was a lot of talk about a new normal of frugality, as if the only thing possible after a decade-plus of trading up was a generation to come of nothing but trading down. It’s clear now that those prognostications were flawed, not to mention overly pessimistic. This is not to say that consumers aren’t buying less. Indeed, they are. The drop in discretionary consumer spending from the…

• Achieving Brand Success In Developing Markets

  Derrick Daye, The Blake Project

  24 Jan 2012 | 11:10 pm

  Almost 20 years ago, I first set foot in developing China, and into the early boom years of that country’s remarkable transformation. As the first Marketing Director for Procter & Gamble China, over the next 3 years I saw the incredible vibrancy, growth and opportunity of a developing market firsthand. Since then, I’ve led organizations with businesses in virtually every major developing market around the world. While no two markets are precisely the same, they share many important features when it comes to Marketing success or lack thereof. So, it’s natural to reflect: what have I…

• The Life Span Of Brands

  Thomson Dawson

  23 Jan 2012 | 11:10 pm

  Like people, brands don’t live forever.* They’re born into the marketplace, grow and become successful, then iconic, and then stale as week old bread. The driver underpinning all these phases is unrelenting and rapid change. Seemingly, the forces driving our global economy are getting harder for brand owners to keep up with. Brands are dynamic. Brands have their cycles and they run their course. What’s difficult for brand owners and managers to grasp is when to continue to invest precious capital into a tired under-performing brand or move on.  This is particularly true if the brand…

• Branding Lessons For Entrepreneurs

  Brad VanAuken, The Blake Project

  22 Jan 2012 | 11:10 pm

  It is never too early in the process to understand who your brand’s customers are, what motivates them and how to reach them. Doing this at the end of the product development process is usually too late. You will have developed a more unique and compelling solution if it was based on these insights earlier on in the process. Your solution needs to deliver greater value (that is more functional, emotional, experiential or self-expressive benefits for less money or effort) than competitive offerings for it to break through and gain share. Make sure you understand what your brand’s unique…

• 

  ideationz...a blog from rick s. pulito

• Powerful new insight on decision-making and behavior change…

  Rick Pulito

  19 Jan 2012 | 6:02 pm

  The current (February, 2012) issue of the Journal of Economic Psychology features a terrific article by an assemblage of behavioral psychologists, “Influencing behavior: The mindspace way.”  Among the many interesting, insightful takeaways, the authors define nine key behavioral drivers.  In the article, they use the mnemonic “mindspace” to unveil each specific characteristic. The nine factors center on the following critical points: Who communicates information to us may be more impactful than what is communicated; How we respond to incentives is often based on predictable mental…

• The opposite of engagement…

  Rick Pulito

  16 Jan 2012 | 6:23 pm

  Few concepts have been so thoroughly explored as the notion of employee engagement, and the value of a committed, focused and energetic workforce. More resources have been deployed against this effort than anything I have witnessed in over twenty years, going back to the golden age of TQM and process re-engineering. Data suggests that as much as 40% to 60% of a company’s employee base are either disengaged or actively pursuing alternative career options. With the US economy in a seemingly endless transition from recession to low-growth, and a dearth of positive employment figures, the…

• On “branding” your corporate initiatives…

  Rick Pulito

  13 Jan 2012 | 3:04 pm

  How well do you “brand” your corporate initiatives? Everybody understands the impact of a powerful consumer brand. Think Tide, Starbucks, BMW,  Apple, FedEx, Geico…the list goes on and on. So why is it so many companies put so little creativity into branding their most important employee initiatives? Nobody will debate that engaged, energized, enthusiastic employees deliver better bottom line results than a disenfranchised, distracted, or debilitated workforce. Yet many organizations deploy half-baked all-employee communications, training, rewards and recognition programs with minimal…

• What became of your expectations..?

  Rick Pulito

  30 Dec 2011 | 3:42 pm

  A new year waits, just ahead, in full view. Just curious about one thing: This time a year ago you set some pretty aggressive goals, resolutions, objectives…whatever you termed them…essentially you defined a new set of expectations of yourself. How did that work out? In fact, if you are like most people (including me) the odds are that you did something similar two, three, maybe even five years back. How successful were you in realizing your objectives? Full disclosure: I was successful on a couple of fronts, generally involving my business and this blog. At best, I batted about .500,…

• The imagination you inspire just might be your own…

  Rick Pulito

  29 Dec 2011 | 2:17 pm

  Please. Put down the laser pen and back away slowly. Can we all just agree that in 2012 we will find a new, better way to deliver a message? If not for all the innocents who will have to endure the prattle, then do it for me, or for yourself.  Do it for the planet, to save the whale, or to bring peace to war-torn countries around the globe. Whatever your motivation, I emplore you, stop the madness.  P.S. Thank you, Tom Fishburne, for all the chuckles, all the grins, all the hearty laughs you brought to so many face in 2011. May everyone learn to love http://tomfishburne.com .  

• 

  Jonathan Salem Baskin's Dim Bulb

• Bright Lights Project -- Aon

  Jonathan

  26 Jan 2012 | 8:28 pm

  Aon, a large insurance broker headquartered about 20 minutes from my house in the suburbs north of Chicago, announced earlier this month that it is moving its corporate headquarters to London. Company execs were quoted saying that the move was intended to “reinforce the global connectivity of the firm” by moving its leadership closer to the emerging markets it serves and London insurance hub with which it works.Of course, it’s a lie, only in the spirit of many corporate announcements: It’s plausibly true, and was probably relevant at some stage in the decision-making process (versus…

• Yuck

  Jonathan

  22 Jan 2012 | 9:52 pm

  Sam Adams is crowdsourcing a limited edition beer. It’s bad marketing and even dumber business strategy. It evidences standard practice for social promotions these days, though, so I’m sure the company will get industry praise for it. It's based on two of the core tenets of social marketing, in that 1) digital media have empowered consumers to know and do pretty much everything, and 2) consumers want to have ongoing conversations with brands. Both premises are false, and the Sam Adams beer promo is a good example of why. First, most people will never know most things let alone be expert…

• Bright Lights Project - Standard & Poor's Rating Services

  Jonathan

  18 Jan 2012 | 8:55 pm

  Standard & Poor’s is one of three major American rating agencies (Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investor Services are the others). They’re in the business of assessing risk of various financial instruments and the reliability of the companies and governments that issue or trade them, and their ratings affect both investor interest and the prices paid for said financial paper. Last week S&P lowered the rating of France and Austria by a notch, just like it did to the US last year. It reduced the ratings of seven other European countries by two ticks. I can’t believe the world…

• Invent New Sports

  Jonathan

  16 Jan 2012 | 8:03 am

  There’s been little to no snow this winter, which has been a gift to those of us who commute in America’s northernly cities but an absolute existential disaster for ski resorts. You just can’t make enough snow (or keep making it fast enough) to come anywhere close to providing the sort of skiing experiences that most skiers expect. I can slide down ice in my driveway with no pricey lift ticket required. This season could be a fluke, as there’ve been rotten snowfall tallies in years past, but what if it’s the shape of things to come? While folks continue to happily declare whether or…

• Bright Lights Project - The Consumer Electronics Show

  Jonathan

  7 Jan 2012 | 11:38 am

  The 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show ("CES") started two days ago in Las Vegas. Close to 150,000 people are milling around almost 2 million square feet of exhibition space filled with thousands of displays. Every device imaginable is playing, broadcasting, or otherwise beeping. Mainstream media types are trying to figure out what it all means. Bloggers have been flown there and often hired by companies so they can spontaneously tell the mainstream folks what’s what. If you ever wondered what a doomed brontosaurus looked like as it struggled for its life in a tar pit that would…

• 

  Drew's Marketing Minute

• What’s your purple goldfish?

  Drew McLellan

  11 Jan 2012 | 1:30 pm

  Get your free copy of Stan Phelp’s book! A few years ago, I met Stan Phelps, another marketing guy, online (I think he commented on my blog and we started chatting via email) and before I knew it — we were friends.  He was just dipping his toe into the blogging waters and I tried to be helpful along the way. Fast forward to today, January 11, 2012. Stan’s first book, What’s Your Purple Goldfish*, is being released today.  I’ve read it and know you’re going to love it.  Really love it. I’m also very humbled to say that Stan asked me to write the…

• You cannot ignore Google+ for your business

  Drew McLellan

  10 Jan 2012 | 12:59 pm

  Google+ cannot be ignored When Google+ emerged last summer, people’s reactions were to be expected.  The early adopters were all over it. But for most people who were already suffering from social media fatigue — their response was “oh no…not another site for me to maintain!” And many people simply opted out, not wanting to use/try yet another social networking site.  All along, I have been saying that it  simply could not be ignored. (like here) Let’s look at time line for those of you who aren’t familiar with how this played out. Summer 2011…

• Mitt Romney is getting tired (or lazy) in Iowa!

  Drew McLellan

  3 Jan 2012 | 10:03 am

  This upcoming Presidential election will be my daughter’s first opportunity to vote. Combine that with the fact that we live in Iowa, the caucus is upon us and she’s a registered Independent and you can only imagine the flood of mail and calls she’s received leading up to the caucus. You know what all the candidates are thinking…. fresh meat! So I was a little surprised and appalled at what front runner Mitt Romney sent her late last week. The front of Mitt’s postcard to my daughter.  Understated would be a nice way to describe it. The back of the postcard sent…

• 5 questions to define your 2012 game plan

  Drew McLellan

  30 Dec 2011 | 7:58 am

  Define your 2012 game plan Over the past month, I’ve been posing what I hope have been some head scratching, thought provoking questions to help you get ready for 2012. If you can answer these five questions — I think you’re going to have a solid foundation for your marketing efforts moving forward. In case you missed one, here are the five questions (with links to the whole post): What do you really sell? Who is your ideal customer? What’s the lifetime value of your customer? What’s your marketing foundation? What’s your legacy sentence? So — have…

• Marketing insights question: What’s your legacy sentence?

  Drew McLellan

  28 Dec 2011 | 6:59 am

  What’s your legacy sentence? Over the next few weeks, as we head towards 2012, I want to get you thinking about your business in a new/fresh way.  I’m going to ask a single question in each post — but I’m warning you, these aren’t slam dunk questions. I’m hopeful that as you ponder my question — it will give you some ideas for making 2012 a break out year for your organization.  If nothing else — this exercise should fine tune some of your marketing efforts. What’s your legacy sentence?   If a customer/potential buyer was going to describe your business in a…

• 

  Tom Fishburne: Marketoonist

• free sample

  tomfishburne

  23 Jan 2012 | 12:45 am

  How we execute matters a lot more than which tactics we execute. A few years ago, I helped launch the method brand in the UK. We thought sampling would help tell the brand story person-to-person. We soon discovered that most in-store sampling treated all brands the same. The sampling staff did their jobs, but it was obvious that our brand was just one of many. They had sampled oatmeal the day before and were sampling a new potato crisp flavor the next day. We were just the brand du jour. So we set out to make our sampling remarkable. Instead of the off-the-shelf samplers, we found performance…

• email offer

  tomfishburne

  19 Jan 2012 | 12:33 pm

  This is the latest in a marketoon series with Baynote called “Intent to Buy” that parodies the state of e-commerce personalization. The series spotlights the top challenges that marketers face in online experience. Baynote is offering a signed print of this cartoon to every comment or cartoon suggestion posted at the Baynote blog over the next week (by 1/25; U.S. addresses only).

• market research

  tomfishburne

  16 Jan 2012 | 12:57 am

  My big brand training taught me the “test, test, test, test, launch big” school of market research. I’m a big believer in the power of market research when done well. But I’ve also experienced the purgatory of over-testing. Over-testing limits our ability to move quickly and delays getting our ideas into the real world. I find inspiration in the philosophy of Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress: “Usage is like oxygen for ideas. You can never fully anticipate how an audience is going to react to something you’ve created until it’s out there. That means every…

• loyalty

  tomfishburne

  8 Jan 2012 | 9:20 pm

  The holy grail of marketing is loyalty. Every marketing plan includes a flow chart on how to migrate consumers from awareness to trial to repeat to loyalty. Saatchi CEO Kevin Roberts even defines a brand as “loyalty beyond reason”. Yet many brands approach loyalty primarily through loyalty programs and loyalty cards that bear little relationship to true loyalty. It’s “loyalty for hire”, not “loyalty beyond reason”. When nearly every retailer has a loyalty program, loyalty cards lose their meaning. My wife has so many loyalty cards, she can’t…

• email deal

  tomfishburne

  5 Jan 2012 | 11:24 pm

  This is the latest in a marketoon series with Baynote called “Intent to Buy” that parodies the state of e-commerce personalization. The series spotlights the top challenges that marketers face in online experience. Baynote is offering a signed print of this cartoon to every comment or cartoon suggestion posted at the Baynote blog over the next week (by 1/12; U.S. addresses only).

• 

  Personal Branding Blog - Dan Schawbel

• Direct Sellers: Mobile Tips for Your Personal Brand

  Maria Duron

  28 Jan 2012 | 4:30 am

  Millions rely on mobile devices to communicate and handle all of their computing needs. Customers can receive text promotions, and all a consumer has to do is show that text in exchange for a discount. In fact, in our local Office Depot, all I have to do is show a competitor’s ad on my smartphone and they honor the price of the advertisement if it’s lower than theirs.  Much business and many exchanges occur through mobile formats, and that trend will only grow.  Mobile exchanges just like any exchange, if done poorly, can steer someone away from our brand. 5 things to remember that…

• Storytelling and Your Personal Brand

  Oscar Del Santo

  27 Jan 2012 | 2:00 pm

  All indicators are pointing to the growing importance of storytelling in the intertwined social media, PR and advertising worlds. In fact, one could go as far as claiming that storytelling is one of the current buzz words in online and offline marketing as proven by the recent attention it has drawn from sources as varied as Hubspot, Simply Zesty, Fast Company, Social Media Today and many other quality blogs and publications. All predictions are indicating that digital storytelling is on the way up as one of the most proven and valuable tactics and techniques to engage with communities and…

• What’s in a Name?

  Katie Marston

  27 Jan 2012 | 12:30 pm

  Many of our ancestors came to America with a dream, a promise, and a name that was hard to pronounce or sounded too “insert nationality/religion here”. Names were altered to ease the way into society and increase employment opportunities. Today, in a world of self-marketing and personal branding, name changes happen for all kinds of reasons, especially for those in the public eye. Personal name changing amongst those in the entertainment business has been happening for years. Just click on the site Famous Name Changes to see hundreds of names From John and Jennifer Aniston to Loretta…

• Twitter Personal Branding Q + A #14

  Jacob Share

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:30 am

  Responses to recent tweets by people about personal branding and Gen-Y, Twitter, presentations and lack of focus. Taylor B., @thbrogan, twittered: can my personal brand involve not taking twitter too seriously? because i enjoy this option. Jacob Share, @jacobshare: “Taking Twitter seriously” should mean carefully using Twitter to achieve your personal branding goals (in this case). If the personal brand you’re trying to build is one that’s a little lighthearted, then you can not only joke around on Twitter, you should. However, if you’re trying to build a brand…

• Most Important Job Interview Question Is Asked By YOU!

  Skip Freeman

  26 Jan 2012 | 12:30 pm

  Throughout the job hunting process you will be asked many questions, from “Why do you want to work at our company?” to “Tell me about your current (or previous) boss,” as well as a multitude of similar “qualifying” questions. How you answer each of these questions is of course very important. There is, however, one single question that arguably is the most important one that will be asked during a face-to-face job interview, and it’s a question that’s not asked by a hiring manager. It’s a question you ask! And . . . it’s a question that can actually get you hired!

• 

  Chris Garrett on New Media

• Why You Shouldn’t Drive Traffic

  Chris Garrett

  16 Jan 2012 | 9:58 pm

  In the first 7 days of this blogs life, 20,000 visitors checked it out. Sounds like a pretty nice result doesn’t it? I was super happy, but a little disappointed in one specific respect. Only 500 people subscribed. Now, don’t get me wrong, I loved and nurtured those 500 subscribers and 500 subscribers in any time frame is not to be sniffed at! My problem was, how can you have 20,000 visitors check out my blog and only 500 of them want to stick around? The cause? I was “Driving” traffic … Big Lessons Learned I had been involved with a couple of successful blogs at…

• How to know what your audience really wants

  Chris Garrett

  23 Dec 2011 | 1:53 pm

  Your audience does not want your content. Your audience probably does not want to hear from you at all. If you think that because your website looks great that people will want to visit it … think again. What do they really want? Your audience and potential customers know who they are and probably have a very good idea of their goals. At the very least they know their immediate needs. They are looking for answers to questions, advice, and resources that help people like them get the stuff people like them want. When someone seeks out and clicks on your content it is only as a means to…

• Finding and Communicating Your Value

  Chris Garrett

  5 Dec 2011 | 1:06 pm

  Many bloggers don’t have a value problem. They have a great deal to share. I am sure you do – I have never met someone who doesn’t. Why then do people struggle to find an audience. Never mind an audience who knows, likes and trusts them – ANY audience? It’s weird but a lot of the time it is because you have SO much to offer, it’s hard to know who you are for and what specific benefit you provide. A lot of my coaching clients have this problem and, thankfully, there is a solution. The solution is simple, but it isn’t always easy. Check out Ryan…

• How to REALLY make money from a website

  Chris Garrett

  23 Nov 2011 | 5:08 pm

  As much as I tell people to seriously reconsider buying too much into the hardcore “Make Money Online” hype, I can not argue against its allure and the fact that, well, people DO make money online. The problem is, there are the usual caveats: It’s not fast. It’s not easy. You WILL encounter problems and tough challenges. You might not always enjoy it. These are challenges facing Roman who asked me for a blog critique. He has been building a site all about his experience of creating a website that makes money called “How this website makes money” (how meta).

• Moving the Fear Line

  Chris Garrett

  15 Nov 2011 | 4:39 pm

  Imagine being under water, upside down, trapped in your Kayak. You can feel your lungs burning because you didn’t have time to grab a full breath … though you are surprising yourself how long you are managing to force yourself from gasping down a lung full of water … All you can hear is your heart pounding. Scary? I don’t need to imagine what that would be like because I can remember in vivid detail. In fact I have had nightmares about it. My overriding thought was drowning myself was a heck of a way to celebrate my birthday! Learning from the things that scare us…

• 

  Igor

• Brand Identity Evolution – From Kinky to “Smile & Wave”

  igor

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:46 am

• Udderly confusing

  Snark Hunting

  26 Jan 2012 | 8:20 am

  The children’s film & television series “Barnyard”, made a strange branding choice when developing the appearance of their characters. The main characters are cows, both male and female. Why do characters named Ben and Otis, voiced by Sam Elliot and Kevin James, sport udders??? In this film, cows of both genders do. The protagonist “Otis” is pictured here. We can understand why they might not want to equip the bulls with their actual equipment, but why transgender them? Why not just do a Barbie and Ken-like omission on the bulls? We don’t expect a kid’s film like…

• Hotpoint ad from the 70′s targets the Irish

  igor

  26 Jan 2012 | 8:11 am

  Click on image to engorge

• Crochet cachet

  Snark Hunting

  24 Jan 2012 | 2:17 am

  Of all the fetish magazines on the market, this one makes us feel the naughtiest. Crochet Fantasy, by virtue of its absurd name, has made the mundane oddly compelling. And disturbing. And sublimely subliminal. Simultaneously squeaky clean AND tawdry. It’s so bad, it’s good. Perfect. Or maybe it’s just our predilection for coarse, mustard-colored yarn… Touché. [ More posts about naming | More blogs about naming ] [ More posts about naming products | More blogs about naming products ]

• We get this a lot

  igor

  21 Jan 2012 | 2:16 pm

• 

  Hard Knox Life

• “There’s something happening here…”

  Dave Knox

  14 Jan 2012 | 5:22 pm

  As I sit here at our region’s first Startup Weekend, it is clear that there’s something happening here when it comes to Cincinnati’s entrepreneurial scene.  That magic is in the air as we watch over 100 people work on launching a startup in just 54 hours.  The success of this event builds on the momentum of the last 12 months that includes: Venture for America announced that Cincinnati is going to be part of their inaugural class of 4 cities starting Summer 2012. The Brandery had a busy year as we moved into our new home into Over the Rhine and the Kauffman Fellows named…

• Mark Cuban’s 12 Rules for Startups

  Dave Knox

  17 Dec 2011 | 10:39 am

  I just finished reading Mark Cuban’s new ebook How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It. Considering it only costs $2.99, there is no reason for you not to go buy it right this minute. While the entire thing is a great read, I particularly enjoyed a chapter at the end entitled “12 Cuban Rules for Startups.”. They include: Don’t start a company unless it’s an obsession and something you love. If you have an exit strategy, it’s not an obsession. Hire people who you think will love working there. Sales Cure All. Know how your company will make…

• Help Rockfish win iMedia Agency of the Year

  Dave Knox

  15 Nov 2011 | 7:30 am

  Tonight I received the great news that Rockfish is one of ten finalist for the inaugural iMedia Agency of the Year Awards.  With iMedia being one of the leading sources of digital marketing news and insight, this is quite the honor.  But being nominated doesn’t mean that we are the winner.  That title will go to the agency that receives the most votes between now and Friday, November 18th. I am not one to ask for a favor, but this is one of those cases where I will go out on a limb and ask for help.   If you have been impressed with the work we are doing at Rockfish, please take the…

• Join our Roundtable on the Future of Digital Marketing

  Dave Knox

  8 Nov 2011 | 7:49 am

  This week I am taking part in a fun experiment with a new startup called Roundtable.    Roundtable describes itself in the following way: At Roundtable we’re all about empowering meaningful conversations – between thought leaders, between friends, and between curated communities of strangers. It is a really neat concept and one I became interested in after reading a Roundtable on Startup Funding that was hosted a few weeks ago.  I decided to jump at the chance to have Rockfish host a Roundtable on the Future of Digital Marketing.  After all, we call ourselves a “Digital…

• “Kentucky for Kentucky” – This is a Kickstarter campaign I can get behind

  Dave Knox

  26 Oct 2011 | 6:14 pm

  Thanks for the folks at SocialTimes, I came across one of the coolest Kickstarter campaigns that I have seen yet.  ”Kentucky for Kentucky” is aiming to accomplish the following: With your help, we are going to crowd-fund, produce, and air the most epically kick ass Super Bowl 2012 commercial for the great Commonwealth of Kentucky. For Kentucky by Kentuckians. That’s what it means to a be a Commonwealth. It’s a project that Kentuckians all around the world will be proud to be apart of. Join us, become a Kentuckian. While I was not born in Kentucky, I have become an…

• 

  GIRVIN | Strategic Branding Blog

• THE RAVENOUS HUNGER| THE CREATIVE PREY

  Tim Girvin

  24 Jan 2012 | 4:36 am

  the creative hunger, the force of passionate making raven, verb i"m thinking about the hunger that is beneath the hunger. I’m talking less about food and more about the notion of the food beneath food — that is, what drives the hunger itself? Emptiness? Or rather, fullness? When that comes to the creative place – the place of making – what does that mean? There is a hunger that lies beneath, another drive to action. That is the passion, the heated fire to building, making,  drawing on, and from, the fire that lies within that sensing of hunger; it is the…

• You’re so cool.

  Tim Girvin

  18 Jan 2012 | 2:08 pm

  Design, brand foundations and Silicon Valley: opening the channels to brand origination. “I know that there’s a story here, but how will people get it? What is the story, what’s cool about it — and why would anyone care?” I was thinking about the beginnings. Technology: story, relevance, resonance, relationships — and the carrying of ideas and ideals. Is there a way to get people to love an enterprise, and what it offers? There is a process — never perfected, never perfect — but always abetted by design. We have history in exploring that…

• THE STRATEGY OF A STORY

  Tim Girvin

  16 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am

  THE STRATEGY OF A STORY, THAT’S AN OLD STORY, THAT’S A NEW STORY, RETOLD. Why do you carry a story, that is another story (even brand story) that becomes your story — brought forward? What does the listener hold? If there’s a scent – a perfume – could that story be an old story, that transforms to a new story? Sometimes we’re telling a story that we’ve heard from another. We listen — and take that story as our own, moving that forward — a trade to the newly transitioned. In that telling, the experiencer personally integrates that…

• My house, held. And the work in it.

  Tim Girvin

  12 Jan 2012 | 6:41 am

  Thinking about the iconography of place, what’s made in it. What are the talismans of your place? A person stopped by my condominium, asking to borrow a can opener. Peering into my place, she said — “are you moving?” As I looked back, there were piles of books, clothes, luggage, presentation tubes, folders and project envelopes (and lots of power cords). And I realized, in 2011, that if I wasn’t going somewhere one day, I probably would shortly thereafter — so I was always leaving my luggage out, partially filled with clothing and stuff that I’d…

• Focused attention. Seeing in-to things.

  Tim Girvin

  10 Jan 2012 | 10:26 am

  When you’re looking at something, how closely are you tuned? I was watching people watch. This is a habit. That is, studying people as they “study” — watching to see how people are paying attention. This couldn’t be any more in-depth or capable interpretation of the ongoing analysis of watchful friend, Linda Stone, and her studies of “attention.” But it’s more to an inherent curiosity that I’ve got about people and how they see things, and what they do when they see them. How they do, or do not, pay attention. With people that I work with,…

• 

  EveryJoe » Work

• Fox Morning Show Co-Anchor Greg Kelly Accused of Rape

  Kori Ellis

  26 Jan 2012 | 4:46 pm

  Greg Kelly, the co-host of FOX’s “Good Day New York” and the son of Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, has been accused of rape. Not only does the 30-year-old paralegal claim the sexual assault occurred, she also says that she got pregnant and subsequently had an abortion as a result of the attack. The Manhattan district attorney’s office is investigating the allegation, and Kelly has not been charged with any crime as of yet. However, he has “strenuously” denied the charge through his lawyer. The alleged rape occurred back on Oct 8 when the two allegedly met on…

• Could Facebook Shut Down Over SOPA & PIPA?

  Kori Ellis

  17 Jan 2012 | 1:30 pm

  If you are like many people, you are reading a lot about SOPA and PIPA right now. To get the lowdown, check out this post about how SOPA/PIPA can affect you. Also, watch this video about understanding SOPA and PIPA, and find out if Facebook could actually shut down. Though Wikipedia is going dark over SOPA/PIPA tomorrow. Many companies actually support SOPA, from ABC to Visa. Allison Boyer of BlogWorld has a good piece about Why SOPA Scares the You-Know-What Out of Me that talks about a lot of worrisome loopholes. You should also read this article from Daily Kos about the repeated blows SOPA…

• Wikipedia to Go Dark on Wednesday to Protest SOPA & PIPA

  Kori Ellis

  17 Jan 2012 | 10:13 am

  The U.S. government is currently considering to bills that are causing quite a stir — the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). According to TechCrunch, “Websites found to offer pirated content, along with the services that they use, could be hidden from US internet users by being delisted on search engines and potentially on DNS servers themselves.” Many people believe with these bills, we’d be heading down a slippery slope and the legislation could threaten free speech. Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales has decided to send a message by going dark for…

• How to Manage Your Holiday Debt

  Kori Ellis

  29 Dec 2011 | 12:27 pm

  If you are one of the many people who overspent during the holidays, you now have to prepare for the fallout when your credit card and bank statements arrive. Andrea Woroch, consumer and money-saving expert for Kinoli, Inc. offers these tips for managing your holiday debt. Double and Triple Up Multiply your credit card minimum payments two or three times to reduce the amount of interest you’ll end up paying. Merely meeting the minimum means you’ll never see bottom. Now’s the Time to Negotiate Talk to your credit card company about negotiating a better rate on interest, fees…

• Things That Will Be More Expensive in 2012

  Kori Ellis

  28 Dec 2011 | 10:09 pm

  Want to know what you are going to be spending your money on in 2012? Dealnews.com researched and listed price adjustments that consumers can expect to see in 2012. Some increases seem almost customary, like ever-rising gas prices, while others, like a potential 25% hike on tap water, are bit more surprising. Airfare Greater demand and fewer available airline seats will likely lead to higher ticket prices for flights next year. Digital Cameras Smartphones have quickly replaced budget friendly point-and-shoot cameras, so manufacturers and retailers are focusing more on higher-end digital SLRs.

• 

  Name Wire: The Product Naming Blog

• Will Nintendo Have to Change the Wii U Brand Name?

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:27 am

  The news that Nintendo may change the Wii U name is interesting since the Wii brand name has been such a success. Wii U, however, was muddled and silly from day one. This is really an example of how easily brand naming can become confusing. The Wii U is a new console and the name is just too similar to "Wii." Even hardcore gamers are getting a little confused. This news comes after Nintendo was forced to add a disclaimer on TV advertisements for the Nintendo 3DS saying, "This is not DS, this is Nintendo 3DS." Consumers were not understanding the difference - that the DS is the old version and…

• Jeep Opens Cherokee Naming and Branding to the Crowd

  26 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am

  The news that Chrysler will name its new Grand Cherokee concept through an online contest has me thinking once again about the use of crowdsourcing for naming and branding. This nifty new "stealth" version of the Cherokee looks pretty modern and people interested in naming it can go to Jeep.com/namemyride to submit a name. This will, I should note, be the name of a limited edition model. Jeep has had other limited edition versions, like the Wrangler Call of Duty, the Wrangler Arctic, Islander and the Liberty Arctic. Jeep seems "fascinated" by special edition packages, possibly because they…

• Sony Drops Ericsson From Its Handset Brand Name, World Takes Notice

  25 Jan 2012 | 8:05 am

  Sony's new phones launched in Vegas this month were the first in a decade not to bear the Ericsson name. Sony now has its own brand name of handsets, and it will be interesting to see if this helps Sony fare better in the cutthroat sector. The name change hurt Sony's profits at the end of 2011, when the company bought out Ericsson for $1.47 billion. At one time, the Sony Ericsson partnership was the sixth biggest player in the global market a few years ago, but the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy put an end to that. Now, as Sony goes it alone, it faces an "uphill struggle" as the mobile phone…

• Google Allows Users to Add Nicknames to Their Google+ Name

  24 Jan 2012 | 8:03 am

  Google+ has relaxed its much despised pseudonyms policy by "letting existing members attach an alternate moniker to their profile name and by letting new members sign up with just a pseudonym, provided it is an 'established' identity online or offline." Up until now, users have been forced to use their real name, much to the irritation of political dissidents or victims of stalkers. So, essentially, you can add a nickname with Google+ as long as that name exists elsewhere online - such as Twitter, or Flickr or, er, Facebook. Google states that in fact, only about 0.1% of Google+ users submit…

• Will Kodak's Brand Name Live On?

  23 Jan 2012 | 8:06 am

  I have been watching the slow but sure demise of Kodak for some time now, a company weakened by "creative destruction." But Kodak the brand name may still have life in it. In fact, it may have to reinvent itself as an intellectual property company and sell its brand name and trademarks to investors. This has led CNN Money to write an interesting piece on why "Neither bankruptcy nor a liquidation can kill iconic brands," which reports on the news that Hostess Brands is also going to the wall - yes, that means Twinkies may be doomed unless an investor buys the brand name. And that, of course,…

• 

  The Engaging Brand

• What is your resistance?

  Anna Farmery

  27 Jan 2012 | 2:21 pm

  So often I work with businesses that almost fearful of taking the next step, who are frightened of failure or even fearful of success.  I am always reminded of a story which Dad used to tell me Coach: What stops you noticing all the opportunities around you? Electrician: Fear of failure Coach: What would you like instead? Electrician: Confidence Coach: What stops you feeling confident? Electrician: Fear of failure Coach: What would you like instead? Electrician: Confidence Coach: Notice the loop? Now can I ask you - do you really want to change? Electrician: Yes I want to. I want…

• Why Social Media is a Load of Pollacks!

  Anna Farmery

  26 Jan 2012 | 11:46 am

  "I let the painting live" The words of Jackson Pollock and when you think about it, so relevant to the way we see social media today. Just like Pollock, when we are producing, curating, commenting on social media we are the vehicle for our personality....our values... In fact one could say "I let the ideas live" Why does social media frighten some people or even not work for some companies? If you are going to let your ideas live then you have to Create ideas time, create thinking time....haven't the time people say, I say ideas are the revenue generators! Have a strong sense of who you are…

• Human beings are weird

  Anna Farmery

  25 Jan 2012 | 12:12 pm

  I have now gained true insight after over 20 years in business. Human beings are weird!  Social media is a wonderful example. We get the chance to converse with our consumers and then decide we don't have time, we get the chance to show our personality and yet produce generic messages, we get the chance to listen, yet we still prefer to tell! Questions we need to ask ourselves are:- What are we ignoring as an opportunity? What are we railling against...not for innovation but because we are humans? How can we turn this human reaction into a positive? I came across the following about Time…

• B2B - 4 Important SEO Tips

  Anna Farmery

  24 Jan 2012 | 11:40 am

  If your business provides services to other businesses--perhaps you offer rapid prototyping or human resources services--then the way you market your company will be different from business to consumer (B2C) companies. These differences even extend to your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, taking basic SEO strategies and refining them to better suit your needs. To get to that point, though, you have to have a firm grasp of the basics. Following that, you must clearly define your goals. If you don't know where you're trying to go, you'll never get there. Most SEO campaigns are aimed…

• Show 369 - What is your business genome?

  Anna Farmery

  23 Jan 2012 | 12:20 pm

  Show 369 of The Engaging Brand business and marketing podcast is heretalking about social media, leadership and marketing and sponsored today by MozyPro Online Backup: Simple, Automatic & Secure Backup - for special offer try today! Andrea Kates joins Anna Farmery to discuss how to discover and exploit your business genome. Andrea is the founder of the Business Genome® project and author of the bestselling business innovation book, Find Your Next. (You can take a diagnostic test here) Why you should be finding your next...rather than looking at the past, in business What is the…

• 

  » Blog

• Downtown Unveils Its New Final Friday Logo

  Sonia Greteman

  19 Jan 2012 | 9:56 am

  Final Friday just took a big leap forward. This highly popular monthly art crawl has had everything going for it – but a strong identity. You can now check that off the list. The Greteman Group-designed logo made its first public appearance in today’s Wichita Eagle.  Tomorrow a press conference hosted by the Wichita Downtown Development Corporation will celebrate the new energy and promotions planned for this event –  which currently attracts about 4,000 people a month. The Thinking Behind the Mark The logo unites Final Friday’s two F’s, forming a yin-yang symbol that is both…

• Grassroots, Word-of-Mouth Among the Most Powerful Tools in Aviation Marketing

  Jennifer Szambecki-Benninga

  13 Jan 2012 | 2:08 pm

  What can marketers and clients do when they want to spread the word about an important topic on a shoestring budget? The answer often lies in guerilla marketing, word-of-mouth and earned-media tactics. U.S. Representative Mike Pompeo recently announced www.AmericaFlies.us, a new website and online petition inviting all Americans to show their support for the general aviation industry. While the Kansas congressman is clearly interested in focusing his support around the Wichita aviation cluster, he is using the site to attract, motivate and engage pro-business audiences. He wants them to…

• Rainbows United’s Fashion Passion: A Night of Glam, A Year of Love

  Sonia Greteman

  12 Jan 2012 | 5:33 pm

  An update and thank you from Rainbows United recently came across my desk. It announced that the nonprofit’s 8th-annual Fashion Passion fundraiser drew a record attendance – and funds. The runway show and auction – appropriately titled “Runway” – sold out more than a month in advance and generated $190,000 in revenue, a 21 percent higher return. This was our first year to provide creative for the show. We loved every minute – from working with a team eager to embrace a bold, new direction to helping elevate Fashion Passion into one of Wichita’s must-attend events. The Power of…

• Going to School With Schedulers & Dispatchers

  Ashley Bowen Cook

  5 Jan 2012 | 1:32 pm

  Thanks to longtime client Patrick Sniffin with Signature Flight Support, my colleague Kevin Jenks and I are San Diego-bound next week. We’ll be attending our first-ever NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference, January 14-18. Patrick’s been telling us how great the conference is, and we’ve decided it’s high time we experience it ourselves. The conference includes more than 30 sessions sure to both educate and inspire. Hundreds of exhibits will keep us on the move. (We’re thinking of packing rollerblades.) It’ll also be a great time to network with other attendees – including…

• Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art: Where Nature and Art Collide in Walmart Country

  Sonia Greteman

  23 Dec 2011 | 10:56 am

    Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art If you’re thinking of visiting the new Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas – do it. Chris and I recently went on a private tour arranged by the WSU Ulrich Museum and it is, without doubt, the Midwest’s most impressive major museum. Built by Walmart heiress Alice Walton, the building was designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie. The permanent collection spans five centuries of masterworks ranging from the Colonial era to the current day. And not all the beauty’s inside. The museum’s 120-acre grounds lets…

• 

  .

• The Near-Sighted Brand

  Ed Roach

  19 Jan 2012 | 9:16 pm

  Sometimes I think I should put an branding eye-chart on my website for companies who have a hard time seeing the truth about their brands. If they were only 20/20 they'd be able to take on the competition from a leadership position and have clarity in their actions. If these 5 observations leave you squinting then maybe it's time you addressed your branding optics: 1) "It's not time to address

• DoYou have A Mobile Brand?

  Ed Roach

  30 Dec 2011 | 7:39 am

  So I guess that was 2011. It was a pretty good year for the Branding Experts' brand. Interesting opportunities and a growth of my brand strength within my marketplace. I have an affirmation of my promotional strategy from reputable online experts Hubspot. I turned to them this week to see if there was anything they could add to my existing efforts. Their honesty impressed me with this reply after

• Positioning Is King!

  Ed Roach

  27 Dec 2011 | 12:01 pm

  Online and off, one the most important services I am often engaged to perform is the development of a positioning strategy for small to medium size businesses. A positioning strategy is not simply a cleaver slogan but a powerful and dynamic stand that your brand takes in your category. Right now as you read this, I believe that you are sitting on something that would absolutely position you as

• Is Social Santa coming down your chimney this year?

  Ed Roach

  20 Dec 2011 | 8:49 am

  Has SME's (small to medium enterprises) taken up the social networking banner? I'm coming off one of my branding projects and as part of the research we asked the brand customers if they use Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter or None of the above. 100% of the respondents answered "none of the above." 100% can you believe that? Wow.  That flies in the face of what traditional media says on the subject.

• Seven Secrets to Disaster Preparedness for Your Brand

  Ed Roach

  12 Dec 2011 | 11:21 am

  <!--[if !mso]> v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso

• 

  Orange Element

• The Baltimore Creative Community’s “Evil Plans”

  Neal Shaffer

  20 Jan 2012 | 3:27 pm

  Anyone with even half an ear to the ground in Baltimore lately has surely noticed that we’ve got a lot going on. There’s Create Baltimore 2 this weekend, Ignite 10 in March (of which I’m a co-organizer), Full Circle Storytelling, and dozens of others, with new initiatives popping up all the time. It’s a lot to keep track of, especially if you’re involved in organizing your own thing. Luckily, the GBTC is on the case. On Thursday, January 26 a handful of the finest minds in Baltimore’s tech/creative/culture scene will convene for Evil Plans 2, a meetup…

• Linotype: The Film

  Kuoting Lian

  12 Jan 2012 | 3:26 pm

  On February 3rd a movie will premiere that will explore the history and impact of a near extinct creation that many people today don’t normally give thought to, and no, I’m not talking about dinosaurs, I’m talking about Linotype. Linotype is a part of the printing process that doesn’t exist much, if at all, now in the modern days of technology, but back in the day it was revolutionary. It sped up the printing process by casting an entire line of type at one time (hence “Line o’ Type”) instead of the typesetting everything by hand. Fun fact for those of us in Charm City, Ottmar…

• Orange Element Is Hiring!

  Orange Element

  8 Jan 2012 | 3:34 pm

  We are very excited to add several new positions to our growing team. More details about the open positions can be found below, and if you think you would be a good fit, please send your resume, cover letter, and samples to info@orange-element.com. We’re looking forward to hearing from you! Business Development Manager We are seeking a highly motivated, self-starting Business Development Manager, based in our Baltimore office, to generate opportunities for creative branding and design with progressive companies in need of integrated branding solutions. Candidates will possess a high…

• Ultimate Wedding TV Spots, Continued

  Neal Shaffer

  5 Jan 2012 | 3:02 pm

  Back in December we debuted some of our latest work, the first two TV spots for the Bistro at South River’s Ultimate Wedding Giveaway. The series is a total of four and today we wanted to let you know how it all turned out (in case you hadn’t guessed)… Here’s part three and part four: “The Engagement” “The Wedding” As for the contest itself, entries have started to come in and we’re excited to see what we end up with. So if you’re engaged to be married, or know someone who is/soon will be, head over to www.bistroultimatewedding.com…

• B-more Top 50 for 2012

  Kuoting Lian

  4 Jan 2012 | 3:31 pm

  Hello 2012! There’s nothing like a clean slate to get excited and motivated for a new year. So why not channel this new energy into trying something new in the city?                                 If you need a little inspiration check out The Baltimore Sun’s list of 50 Things to do in 2012. A few things to look forward to in January are the Martin Luther King Jr. Parade on January 16 and Baltimore Winter Restaurant Week from January 20 through January 29. Do you see anything on the list that interests you or…

• 

  Adweek : Advertising & Branding

• The Week on AdFreak: Jan. 20-27, 2012

  28 Jan 2012 | 7:16 am

  The 10 most-read AdFreak stories from the past week: 1. H&M in Social-Media Scuffle Ahead of Its Super Bowl Spot 2. Stinging From SOPA, Go Daddy 'Leaks' First Super Bowl Spot 3. Apple Gets 'Samsunged' Yet Again in Latter's Super Bowl Teaser 4. Ferris Bueller to Return in the Super Bowl, but for Whom? 5. Save Yourself for Marriage, With Help From Purity Bear 6. GM Turns Car Windows Into Fantastical Digital Playgrounds 7. Long Island Man, 26, Wins Chevy's Super Bowl Ad Contest 8. Burger King Tests Home Delivery 9. Rice Company Serves Up a Different Kind of 'Super…

• McDonald's Reviews N.Y. Co-Op Account

  27 Jan 2012 | 5:26 pm

  McDonald’s is reviewing its creative account for the New York region—one of its largest in the country—but is only considering roster agencies. The region encompasses New York City, the lower Hudson Valley, New Jersey and a sliver of Connecticut. Arnold has handled the business—with revenue estimated at less than $2 million—for about a decade. Review decision-makers, including franchisee owners, met with a half-dozen roster shops before narrowing the field to Arnold and Moroch. The remaining contenders are now preparing for final presentations, with a decision…

• Jcpenney Gets All Patriotic With Its New Logo

  27 Jan 2012 | 2:03 pm

  Resist the urge to salute as you admire jcpenney's spanking new logo, a lovely red square with a superimposed blue square that's intended to evoke JCP's proud American heritage and commitment to treat customers "fair and square." (Ha! It's a pun, get it?) In a statement, the company adds: "The new jcpenney logo, which combines the elements that have made jcpenney an enduring American brand, by evoking the nation's flag and jcpenney's commitment to treating customers Fair and Square. The square frame imagery will be evident throughout all of…

• Trailer Mash 01-27-12

  27 Jan 2012 | 12:54 pm

  This is a direct quote from the first line of Adweek's Trailer Mash" is what you'll read should you find this story via a retweet bot on Twitter. Our mash this time (above, by Kate Rose) unites Sam Worthington and Katherine Heigl as though the worlds of Man on a Ledge and One for the Money were the same, which in a real way they are. And to spare you the moil of sitting through every trailer, here are a few ideas of what to expect from the new releases based exclusively on their own advertising. According to the uncommonly precious trailer for How Much Does Your Building Weigh,…

• FirstBank Urges You to Go Pee During Its Super Bowl Spot

  27 Jan 2012 | 9:49 am

  FirstBank's regional Super Bowl debut (the ad will air only in Colorado) via agency TDA in Boulder, touting superior service, features a banker type who sits in a comfy chair and says, "If you’re a FirstBank customer worried about missing one of the exciting commercials, or the game, now would be a great time to go to the bathroom." He takes a long pause before adding, "Seriously." The commercial is, as we've been known to say in Boston (home, more or less, of the soon-to-be NFL champion New England Patriots), a wicked pissah. That's a good…

• 

  The BrandBuilder Blog

• More things you need to know.

  Olivier Blanchard

  19 Jan 2012 | 6:01 am

  We’ll resume our Deathbed Confessions series next week with Part 3. In the meantime, here are a few insights from people far smarter than me that might come in handy: On innovation, grabbing life by the horns, and not pissing your life away: “Do things that are gaspworthy.” That was one of the main messages delivered by Tom Peters, the influential business thinker and management [expert], in a speech at Epsilon’s Integrated Marketing Symposium 2006 at the Quail Lodge in Carmel, CA. “Do cool stuff that make people gasp,” said Peters, who looked older and angrier than in his…

• SOPA, PIPA and bills like them want to kill this blog. And yours.

  Olivier Blanchard

  17 Jan 2012 | 10:01 pm

  If you like this blog and others like it, don’t support SOPA or any of its variants. If you hate this blog and others like it, support SOPA and all of its variants. It’s that simple. 1. None of it effectively impacts piracy. 2. It throws the baby out the window but doesn’t do a whole lot to throw out the bathwater. It’s backwards. As much as I’ve loved writing here for the last 7 years, if SOPA or any future incarnations of SOPA pass, I will have to shut down this blog. Here is why: http://mashable.com/2012/01/17/sopa-dangerous-opinion/ As for the reason why…

• Deathbed Confessions – Part 2: You are not your job.

  Olivier Blanchard

  17 Jan 2012 | 7:01 am

  Part 2: Fear, career potholes and the weight of social shame. “I’m afraid to tell people that I am closing my business because I’m afraid of what they’ll think,” was one admission from a panelist. “My identity was so tied to my job/title that now that I am on my own, I’m not sure how to handle that,” was another. One acquaintance in the audience seemed a little hesitant when he told me that he had jumped back into the corporate world – as if I might think that was a bad thing because… I might see it as a failure on his part, somehow.

• Deathbed confessions – Part 1: Fear, Bullshit and Truth

  Olivier Blanchard

  16 Jan 2012 | 7:01 am

  Three completely unrelated things came together this past week that individually weren’t all that fascinating but together formed a something  I think needs to be given form to. 1. Fear. I was a guest panelist at Greenville’s Switching: Leaving Freelance for the Corporate ladder and vice versa event. My fellow panelists and I shared insights about the pros and cons of working either inside the corporate machine or outside of it. (Really great topic, by the way.) Because many of the folks who attended were in the midst of a transition – some going back into the corporate…

• How to publish a proper list of Social Business ROI examples.

  Olivier Blanchard

  12 Jan 2012 | 2:10 pm

  As valuable as it may be to peel back the layers of a poorly put-together list of social business ROI examples, let’s now talk about how to do it right. Below is a quick 5-step guide in case you ever want to publish your own report or list of social business ROI examples: 1. Do your research. This means talking directly with the company or agency involved with the campaign or program, not just bookmarking Mashable  articles and collecting a few white papers. Actually talk with the program or campaign lead. Have a discussion about what worked and what didn’t, what was done and…

• 

  Brains On Fire Blog

• Permission to love.

  Robbin

  26 Jan 2012 | 10:11 am

  This tiny little love note showed on my computer one afternoon. I keep it close by and still have no clue who wrote it. Some of our team has just returned from a long weekend of training for one of our clients. I love hearing the stories they bring back home from these experiences with our clients and their advocates. Alexis shared some of the emails she got when they returned today. After reading this amazing thread of heartfelt notes, Cordell sent me one of his classic one liners. It simply said: “It’s amazing what happens when you give people permission to love.” Our purpose at…

• 3.13.12 – Robbin speaks – Hoosier Hospitality Conference

  Kindling Spirits

  26 Jan 2012 | 8:39 am

  Robbin will head to Indiana to speak with members of the travel and tourism industry during this year’s Hoosier Hospitality Conference in Bloomington. Robbin will present to Indiana’s restaurateurs at 10 a.m. and in a general session at 1:45 p.m. on March 13. For more details, visit: www.hoosierhospitalityconference.com

• 2.4.12 – Eric speaks – CommonGround Conference

  Kindling Spirits

  26 Jan 2012 | 8:38 am

  Eric will share Lessons Learned Igniting Word of Mouth Movements during the CommonGround Shared Voices Conference on February 3 in Charleston, S.C. For more information, check out: www.FindOurCommonGround.com

• 1.31.12 – Robbin speaks – Ten at the Top forum

  Kindling Spirits

  26 Jan 2012 | 8:32 am

  Robbin will speak alongside local members of Ten at the Top on a panel about Communicating Information Across the Upstate. Held in Greenville, S.C., the forum is free and open to the public. Information on the full forum series can be found at: www.tenatthetop.org To register for the event, visit: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e5fh6c9d81e798b9&llr=iwqthmdab

• Co-blogging Goodness Round 2: Eric and Jamie Tackle Scaling Community Online and Offline

  Eric Dodds

  25 Jan 2012 | 9:26 am

  Co-bloggin’ goodness, round 2: One is a seasoned corporate marketer working for Best Buy. The other is a small-agency young-gun in a constant quest for his spurs. Both are passionate about making positive change in the industry, and they want to share their thoughts with you. Jamie Plesser and Eric Dodds bring you the second post in a monthly co-blogging series that tackles tasty marketing topics from both sides of the line. Meet the crew: Eric: I was raised in Upstate South Carolina and roped in by a small, big-hearted agency called Brains on Fire. I’ve had my hand in qualitative…

• 

  Unbound Edition

• McDonald's Is Changing Its Burger Recipe To Take The 'Pink Slime' Out Of Its Meat

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:20 am

  McDonald's is changing the recipe it uses for its burgers in the US, after a lengthy campaign by TV chef and food activist Jamie Oliver, reports the Daily Mail. The fast food juggernaut used ammonium hydroxide -- an additive typically found in household cleaning products to kill bacteria -- in its US meat. Oliver calls it "pink slime."

• A New Challenge for Web Freedom

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:13 am

  The Internet is celebrated as a machine that runs by itself, but this is not quite accurate. The Web does have oversight, just not by any multinational organization, national government or regulator. It's run by a small, private, nonprofit institution that is rarely in the news. This week will be an exception. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, known by the acronym Icann, is accepting applications for an infinite number of new Web addresses, known as top-level domain names. In addition to the existing two dozen suffixes, such as .com, .org and .net, Icann will let people…

• JCPenney Re-Refreshes Brand - Third Time's the Charm?

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:10 am

  Trying to figure out what’s on sale when and then waiting for the next sale to buy particular items can be frustrating to consumers so J.C. Penney Co. — in its first major overhaul of its retail arm since former Apple exec Ron Johnson took over as CEO in November — is attempting to make things much easier. The company this week announced that its stores are doing away with having seven kazillion different items on different sales simultaneously and just “marking down all of its merchandise by at least 40% so shoppers will no longer have to wait for a sale to get the lowest prices in…

• Consumer Behavior: From Trading Up To Trading Off

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:03 am

  The opposite of trading up is not trading down. In fact, there is no opposite of trading up; shopping behavior is more nuanced than that. When shopping hit the skids after the financial crisis, there was a lot of talk about a new normal of frugality, as if the only thing possible after a decade-plus of trading up was a generation to come of nothing but trading down. It’s clear now that those prognostications were flawed, not to mention overly pessimistic.

• Target doesn't want to be the showroom for online retailers

  26 Jan 2012 | 3:55 pm

  Remember all that talk before the holidays about the blissful union between brick-and-mortar retailers and mobile users? Retailers seemed to have accepted that many of their customers shop with smartphones in hand — and retailers even appeared to be embracing it. A Deloitte consultant who follows these things, Kasey Lobaugh, told Internet Retailer that retailers: "... need to invest in providing customer connectivity in the store, including in-store Wi-Fi, ... building functionality that best serves the customer at the 'point of need' and thinking about the capabilities that align with the…

• 

  Expert in the Rough, Brian Monahan

• Blog Jumping

  Brian Monahan

  6 Jan 2012 | 4:02 pm

  One of the best ways to grow is to expand your circle of influence.  A “circle of influence” is  a phrase used to describe the people around you.  The world wide web and social media has given us the opportunity to expand our “circles” like no other time in history. My favorite way to expand my circle is by reading blogs.  Recently, I was reading one of my favorite blogs “Shoestring Branding” by Mario Sanchez Carrion and he mentioned on of his favorite blogs was by Mark Cuban.  I don’t know much about Mark Cuban and for some reason I thought he…

• New Year’s DreamChicken

  Brian Monahan

  4 Jan 2012 | 11:13 am

  Group deal/coupon websites are all the rage, so far my favorite one is “DealChicken” but you are probably more familiar with Groupon.   I believe New Year’s Resolutions are kind of like “Groupon’s” for your dreams. If you are unfamiliar with these group coupon websites the basic idea is the website strikes up deals with local businesses with outrageous deals like 50% coupons for services and products but only if enough people buy the coupon.  This seems like a win/win for everyone.  The website makes money, the business gains access to new clientele and…

• A Case For The Yellow Light

  Brian Monahan

  5 Dec 2011 | 1:38 pm

  Recently I was “Running a Red Light”** and I had a bit of an epiphany about how under appreciated the “Yellow Light” is in today’s society. Before you jump my sh^t about running “Red Lights”, give me a little bit of credit since it’s actually quite rare for someone in a hurry barreling through intersections to have an epiphany without a tragedy like a traffic ticket or accident.  Yes, I am a rare breed of hurried and Zen like driver. Anyway, I was thinking about my approach to life and most of the people I know.  They generally fall into two…

• Have You Done Anything Stupid Lately?

  Brian Monahan

  21 Oct 2011 | 10:42 am

  I hope so, if not you are not living. GET STUPID Brian Monahan is a Professional Coach with Launch to Freedom. Brian works with emerging entrepreneurs to help them create a plan to reach their “Tipping Point” for success. Expert In The Rough is the official blog of Launch to Freedom. Feel free to share posts and articles on your website or newsletter with attribution and a link back to the original content. Visit Launch to Freedom to sign up for your free “21+ Must Have Free Business Tools for the Small Business Owner”

• Inspiration Expiration

  Brian Monahan

  10 Oct 2011 | 11:23 am

  Inspiration is a lot like a gallon of milk.  It expires if you don’t drink it. Inspiration is unlike milk in that if you drink it (act on it) it is like an endless jug.  It automatically replenishes itself and leads to more and better inspirations. If you are finding yourself in a creative rut you are probably not at a loss for ideas but stuck in fear or doubt.  The inspiration is probably there but you are unwilling to notice or act on it. In fact, as I right this article my inspiration about inspiration is under attack by that little voice in my head that says,  “your blog…

• 

  Bhatnaturally

• The Hindu stays ahead of The Times of India

  bhatnaturally

  25 Jan 2012 | 11:54 am

  Competitive advertising can be fun. The Times of India fired the first salvo against The Hindu in Chennai recently. In my blog post I had noted: ‘the needless skin-show (not just in the city supplement) even in the mainline articles, the celebrity gossip in city supplements and the prominence given to ‘Page 3 culture’ you have ‘sensationalism’ as a residual brand association‘. The Hindu has identified the same chink in TOI’s armor and have produced enjoyable repartee: The casting and acting is spot on – I also liked the fact they did not succumb to showing the…

• Samsung and its advertising digs at Apple

  bhatnaturally

  21 Jan 2012 | 9:40 pm

  So, Samsung has released yet another ad poking fun at the Apple fan boys. This time, the turn-by-turn navigation feature in the Samsung Galaxy S2 is the whip with which the Mac community is sought to be beaten. The earlier efforts were on similar lines [no pun intended] touting the bigger screen or some other feature as superior to the iPhone. Lets see what the campaign has done. Nowadays, there’s nothing like a country-specific campaign. Even though these ads were meant for the US market these went went viral globally. So, Samsung achieved a global audience with this campaign. What…

• Axe Anarchy: advertising, digital or experience campaign?

  bhatnaturally

  16 Jan 2012 | 11:43 am

  Unilever is launching a new fragrance of Axe and its for women. Yes, the brand pitched squarely at men and promising to transform all men into ‘chic magnets’ is now introducing Anarchy – a fragrance for ‘him and her’. The launch involves, not just conventional advertising but a graphic novel whose plot can be shaped by consumer contributions. That in itself was interesting. But the execution takes it to another level. The campaign includes not just plot suggestions from readers but even transforming contributors as characters. Barak Obama and Angela Merkel…

• Lurpak: wonderful and wise

  bhatnaturally

  14 Jan 2012 | 3:19 am

  Must hand it to W+K. They have consistently produced great work for a diverse set of brands, Lurpak being one of them. They first had ‘Saturday is breakfast day’, followed by ‘Kitchen Odyssey’. Common to both were outstanding production values and a mouth-watering visual feel – great food advertising. Their latest work for Lurpak Lightest is equally mouth watering – albeit showcasing vegetables – justifying the ‘healthy doesn’t have to be humdrum’ claim. According to the W+K blog: With this campaign we want to banish the sad image of…

• Airtel HFZ Hangout: extending a good idea

  bhatnaturally

  11 Jan 2012 | 8:22 pm

  When I saw the extension of the ‘Har friend zaroori hot a hai‘ theme campaign into short films, I thought it was a brilliant idea. Slicing the many types of friends [who were anyway portrayed through vignettes in the montage of the theme film] into little stories brought alive the insight even more. The ‘kanjoos friend‘ TVC was a killer among that lot. The thought has been taken further in a series of ads on YouTube. But it’s just another channel over there. I really liked the fact a lot of effort has gone behind ensuring that the channel looks different,…

• 

  spatially relevant

• Market Adoption By Region for Mobile, Social and Digital

  Jon Gatrell

  19 Jan 2012 | 8:42 am

  This is a series of infographics on the adoption of critical categories for product managers and marketers – social media, mobile and digital. Many thanks to We are Social for creating the presentation, if you haven’t read their blog you might want to add it to your reader. We Are Social's Guide to Social, Digital and Mobile Around the World (Jan 2012) View more presentations from We Are Social Singapore

• Will convergence drive specialization?

  Jon Gatrell

  12 Jan 2012 | 9:44 am

  I typically dislike predication posts, since many of them are a rehash of buzzwords without any meaningful insights or strategic extensions of what many of us have been reading on tech crunch for years. The 2012 Predictions I’ve read are pretty cookie cutter for the most part. If you haven’t read them, let me do an overview for you on 99% of them: Cloud Facebook Killer The Year of Google+ iPhone 5 iPad 3 Smart Phones Android New Buzzy Thing blah Frog Design took a different and refreshing approach to the formulaic January content creation from many with their slides. The…

• Social Media Research: Solutions, Integration, Fragmentation and Governance

  Jon Gatrell

  6 Jan 2012 | 8:20 am

  Altimeter produced a recent report which nails exactly what I hear when I talk to many marketers, IT folks and customer service leaders at businesses.   The common theme I hear is “There are just too many options, so much integration required and limited vendors which solve for all parts of social that our organization is increasingly challenged just know what assets they have and how to govern them”. This is also similar to the feedback we received in our social media survey in November, social media governance and policies are still gaps for many. Many thanks to Jeremiah…

• 5 Key Management Blunders Which Impact Sales and Revenue

  Jon Gatrell

  5 Jan 2012 | 11:21 am

  Interesting presentation on key issues which can drive sales in the wrong direction.  While the piece is centered on executive leadership, I think it is pertinent to product leaders as well. Here are the 5 big takeways in the eBook: Sales Reps decide which marketing activities get done. Making Sales Reps responsible for their own marketing work. Allowing Sales Reps to be responsible for the customer qualification matrix. Expecting Sales Reps to take on an educating/nurturing role for prospects and customers. Turning Sales Reps into overpaid secretaries and clerks   5 Management…

• 2011 In Review: Top Posts and Alike

  Jon Gatrell

  29 Dec 2011 | 7:21 am

  2011 was a fantastic year for me on many levels and Spatially Relevant has been around officially for 4.5 years, so thanks to all who have been around here the past year and more.  This is technically the 5th year in review since the blog started in 2007.  So every year I try to spend time looking at posts which folks liked and those which I liked which may have not been part of the top posts with reader engagement.  So here they are: Top 10 Posts of 2011 These posts are the posts which had the most views, comments and alike from y’all here. Roadmap Audit: This post is an audit of…

• 

  Lies, damned lies and statistics

• 20 free tools to evaluate social media

  Dirk Singer

  26 Jan 2012 | 4:28 pm

  One of the first resources we created when starting Rabbit in early 2010 was a list of 20 free social media evaluation tools.   Not measurement, evaluation.  Tools that will give you some form of meaningful data that you can use in reports.  And ones that don’t cost anything. Fast forward almost two years and a lot of that list is out of date, with many of the originals no longer being around or having ‘upgraded’ to full paid for services.  As a result, it’s time for a refresh. This is by no means an extensive list, there are other tools around in addition to…

• Over 4/10 Europeans are smartphone owners, 1/5 take pictures of products in store

  Dirk Singer

  26 Jan 2012 | 4:23 am

    Comscore and Telefonica (the European telecoms giant that owns 02) have come out with a study about the use of smartphones and the Internet in Europe. The research tells us that in the UK (48%) and Spain (48%) almost half of us are now smartphone (as opposed to ‘feature phone’) owners.   Across the five biggest EU states, the average is 42%. Other key findings are as follows: Android leads in phone sales, Apple dominates in mobile web traffic Who is bigger, Android or Apple?  That depends how you look at it. In terms of smartphone ownership, there are certainly more…

• Significant number of newspaper visits driven by Facebook

  Dirk Singer

  24 Jan 2012 | 2:47 am

  Here’s a chart that neatly shows how social media is driving a sizeable chunk of traffic towards news sites. According to Comscore  at least 10% of visits to the top European newspaper websites are preceded by a visit to Facebook. Previous stats have shown that Turkey in particular is a core Facebook territory, and so it’s no surprise that Facebook accounted for almost a fifth of visits to Milliyet. However, in the UK both the Guardian and Mail, the UK’s (and two of the world’s) biggest online newspapers, had around 13% of traffic coming from the social media giant. …

• The most active Instagram fans are in the Philippines, Brazil and Turkey

  Dirk Singer

  18 Jan 2012 | 9:20 am

  There is a wealth of research showing that social media users in emerging markets are proportionally more active  than their Western counterparts.    For example, Indonesia, Russia and Egypt all have 80%+ of their internet populations on social media.   Meanwhile, Israeli and Russian social media users spend twice as much time on those channels than people in the UK and US. A latest stat released by Instagramers, a global Instagram community with 240 local chapters celebrating its 1st birthday today, shows the same holds true on the photo-sharing network.     The three most active…

• Show me the sales. How does social media impact the bottom line?

  Dirk Singer

  12 Jan 2012 | 9:27 am

    Almost every agency in this space, ourselves included, is often asked to prove a direct link between social media and sales / conversions. Indeed though awareness for the need for social media marketing campaigns is without a doubt higher than 3-4 years ago, questions about measurement and tangible benefits remain the same. I’ll come back to whether the ‘show me the sales’ question is useful to ask on its own.   But the fact is there is research out that shows social media does impact the bottom line.   I’ve distilled some of these into ten key points,…

• 

  CreateWOWmarketing, LLC

• Measuring Social Media Marketing & E-Commerce

  The Brand Chef

  31 Dec 2011 | 12:48 pm

  HEY, social media marketers, are you doing your job? How do you measure the effectiveness of your services to your clients? Hours billed vs. profit gained? Sure, but measuring ROI is often a tricky game. Do you take the client’s sales reports and compare them to the activity you’ve (hopefully) documented for every campaign, or do you have a tracking mechanism that works within their e-commerce workflow? Measurement is Important All of the above questions are those that should be asked when embarking on a serious social media marketing campaign. Unfortunately, many clients have yet…

• Social Reputation Management – SHOULD You?

  The Brand Chef

  28 Dec 2011 | 1:05 pm

  When it comes to SOCIAL media, I’m often asked by customers and peers alike “What can I do to really manage my brand’s reputation through social media?” (Yes, somewhat a redundant question, but I’ll get to that in another post…) Well, a lot of that answer depends on the circumstances in which your “reputation” finds itself.  In the case below, I had a conversation about a peer’s client wanting “Edit” reviews on FourSquare… Hmmmmm As always, I try to keep my advice “Above The Line” and beneficial to all…

• Which Wall Displays YOUR Holiday Cheer?

  The Brand Chef

  19 Dec 2011 | 10:30 am

  SO, the Holiday season is in full swing. The joy and laughter around the office tends to get a little bigger. The warmth of the coffee tends to feel a little cozier and the casual feeling of family creeps into the sometime stodgy business environment. I think I start to notice it when the first Holiday card arrives in the mail. Generally oversized envelopes with holiday stamps and hand written addresses start filtering their way through the mail slot right after Thanksgiving (some earlier for you holiday addicts). Once a year, the only time mail is taped, pinned, stuck to the wall or posted…

• Social Media: Efficiency Tool or Necessary Evil?

  SharonLC

  9 Dec 2011 | 12:27 pm

  Social Media. It’s everywhere – our computers, our phones, our video game consoles.  We hear the phrase in television shows and commercials.  You see the logos in shop windows encouraging you to “Like us on Facebook!” or “Follow us on Twitter!”  Most of us DO, too.  Just trying to keep a finger on the pulse of the world around us, afraid of missing out on something. How do YOU use your social media outlets?  Is it for business and marketing?  Do you strictly use Facebook and Twitter to connect with potential clients/customers?  Is it a platform for your political/religious…

• 5 Tips On Writing Blog Posts To Increase Traffic

  The Brand Chef

  28 Nov 2011 | 8:11 am

  I’m often asked by clients and peers, “How do I (we) increase my site traffic? How do I (we) get more people to read the blog?” Well, it’s a matter of targeted marketing, brand consistency and good writing.  All of which even the BEST writers, marketers and bloggers struggle with on EVERY post.  But once a successful post formula is found, it’s like crack. You want, no, NEED to do it over and over again until your eyeballs rollback in your head and you fall to the ground in crippling ecstasy… Okay, maybe not that far, but it’s close. So, how do you…

• 

  Connection Agent

• Search My World with Google – so what?

  Steve Woodruff

  13 Jan 2012 | 6:39 am

  So, Google has now introduced a new feature in search, whereby you not only search the public web, but can view results from your Google+ network. Good on ‘em. I hope they keep experimenting, keep evolving. Some stuff Google has tried has failed; other approaches have taken off. Google’s DNA has this feature: no status quo. Push forward. This new feature  will stick if it provides long-term value. If not, they can just turn it off (and you do have a show/hide switch to toggle if you wish). People may be tempted to moan that Google is monkeying with their main “search”…

• Just Bring Great People Together

  Steve Woodruff

  11 Jan 2012 | 11:22 am

  I was having a lively phone conversation yesterday with Alli Worthington, the force-of-nature behind Blissdom and too many other things to list. Her philosophy behind the Blissdom conference? To paraphrase: We just bring great people together and see what happens. Not that there isn’t structure and clear direction – there is – but there’s also an existential element of anticipated goodness that can’t be predefined. Huh. In fact, it’s a business model I seek to practice, but I never quite heard it put that way before. It doesn’t sound like a business…

• Be Your Own Boss, Barefoot-style!

  Steve Woodruff

  9 Jan 2012 | 7:55 am

  For quite some time, I’ve interacted with Carrie Wilkerson (The Barefoot Executive) on-line, and it’s our privilege to welcome Carrie this week as a guest host on LeadershipChat (did you know that LeadershipChat is now on Facebook? <—Join us there to extend the conversation!). Carrie has recently released a book called, not surprisingly, The Barefoot Executive (Amazon link), and it’s a winner. Of course, part of the reason I loved this book so much is that we’re both on the same wavelength, desiring to see more people find professional fulfillment by starting…

• Who Are Your Influencers?

  Steve Woodruff

  5 Jan 2012 | 7:23 am

  I’m a solopreneur. But I’m never alone. Why? My influencers – one of the great benefits of social networks. Yesterday – as I have done regularly in the past – I had a question about one of my business approaches. I was able to reach out to a handful of trusted advisers – quality people like Tom Martin, Jay Baer, Greg Hartle, Tom Clifford, and others – and immediately get very valuable feedback. They’re part of my brain trust (which also includes many women, by the way – wonderful collaborators like Lisa Petrilli, Meghan Biro, Jane Chin,…

• Not All Business is Good Business

  Steve Woodruff

  30 Dec 2011 | 7:56 am

  I don’t remember where or when I first heard it, but that phrase has stuck with me like white on rice: Not all business is good business. Some projects that seem to promise high revenue may (in reality) equal low profit – or a loss. Some work is, if you step back and be objective (closing your ears to the siren song of the dollars), outside your sweet spot, or beyond your current capacity. And some clients aren’t worth the trouble – they create for more chaos than benefit. Been there? Your company and that piece of business – it’s not always a match. Do you…

• 

  The Brand Show

• Sell Through Purpose: Golfsmith

  thebrandshow@twowest.com

  26 Jan 2012 | 1:00 pm

  Allowing brands to tell their story inside your store environment without compromising the retail experience can be a challenge. Learn how top retailer, Golfsmith, retains its own retail brand integrity while allowing other dominant brands to experience success. Matt Corey, CMO of Golfsmith, shares the secret of great sales – starting with a core purpose that is greater than your brand.Golfsmith uses its sales staff and store environment to inspire their customers to love life more. What other retailers inspire you to live life better? Share your thoughts below or on our LinkedIn Group.

• Boundaryless Retail: Day Three at NRF’s 2012 BIG Show

  thebrandshow@twowest.com

  18 Jan 2012 | 2:52 pm

  Day three at NRF’s 2012 BIG Show kicked off with a new term that will soon be common jargon among the retail industry: Boundaryless Retail. Mindy Grossman, Chief Executive Officer, HSN, Inc. introduced the concept of boundaryless retail. It implies that through innovation and collaboration, companies can leverage the power of technology to create an engaging experience for customers. It goes beyond omnichannel strategy and marketing; it’s about creating stories that cross channels and media. One retail category that is harnessing the power of technology and emerging as an industry…

• Retail Politics: Day Two from NRF’s 2012 BIG Show

  thebrandshow@twowest.com

  17 Jan 2012 | 4:00 pm

  Day two of the NRF’s 2012 BIG Show, was just that, BIG. Attendance rose in 24 hours from 22,000 to 24,000 retailers – all rushing to snag a seat in the North Hall for the opening address by Matthew Shay, President and CEO of the National Retail Federation. Shay’s opening remarks on the role 2012 will play in the history of retail formalized the reported undertones of Day One (immediacy, impact, identity,  investment and innovation). Promoting NRF’s ‘Retail Means Jobs’ campaign, Shay celebrated the successful outcomes of the retail challenges of 2011. The last 18…

• All I’s on Retail: Day One of NRF’s 2012 BIG Show

  thebrandshow@twowest.com

  16 Jan 2012 | 3:30 pm

  The Brand Show joined 22,000 retailers from around the world in New York City today for the kick-off of the National Retail Federation’s 101st Annual Convention and EXPO, better known as The BIG Show. This year’s theme is “Retail’s New Rules: Engage and Evolve.” Retail heavy weights and rising stars are sharing priceless secrets and strategies for delivering better value and meaning to the shopper. Immediacy is the underlying theme of day one. For the past three years, the concept of shopper control and shopper demand dominated the minds, mouths and boardrooms of the…

• Hold the Phone: Why Share of Screen Trumps Share of Wallet

  thebrandshow@twowest.com

  12 Jan 2012 | 12:12 pm

  When I was about twelve, my oldest brother made a post-college trek to Europe. I gave him a few bucks and a plea to bring me back a Swiss Army Knife. A real one. From Switzerland. Screwdrivers, tweezers, a saw, a corkscrew (for all those corks seventh-graders need to unscrew) and even a magnifying glass. The funny thing about Swiss Army Knives, though, is no one really gives a rip about the knife part. Even though it’s called a “knife,” the reason to get one is to have all those other tools, the things we need to get things done. Mobile phones are that way, too, but in a much bigger…

• 

  Rocketseed » Blog

• Case Study: SDG Christmas promotion generates 21% unique click through rate for Symantec using Rocketseed Mail

  mtalisman

  25 Jan 2012 | 7:52 pm

  The Specialist Distribution Group (SDG) is part of Europe’s largest independently owned IT group. With annual turnover in excess of $2.34b and international coverage in 47 territories, SDG is the EMEA Specialist Technology Distributor. The group offers a complementary range of channel-enabled services that provide reseller partners with both the capacity and the capability to meet the demands of their customers in the most agile and economic way. “Rocketseed Mail is a proven marketing channel for SDG. It delivers quantifiable results and provides our sales teams with a constant flow of…

• Keeping up with your Business New Year’s Resolutions?

  mtalisman

  25 Jan 2012 | 7:49 pm

  Why growing your database should be top of your list in 2012. It’s January, the traditionally introspective time when individuals look to self-improvement and businesses look to…well, self-improvement. With lists of resolutions piling up and actions needed, here at Rocketseed we think “CRM” and “Customer Database” should be at the top of every list, as a key way for businesses to improve in 2012. As a business, your database could be one of your most valuable assets, allowing you to engage with customers, build relationships and most importantly, generate new business. But how…

• Our highlights from 2011 & projections for 2012!

  mtalisman

  25 Jan 2012 | 7:28 pm

  As we tidy our desks, file our 2011 emails and start to scan the 2012 calendar here at Rocketseed, we are delighted to share with you some key highlights of 2011 as well as a number of exciting prospects and projections for the year ahead… 2011 2011 has seen new Managing Directors, Robyn Woods-Child (Australia) and Fiona Robson (UK) enjoy equally successful first years at Rocketseed. Both sets of feet are firmly under the desk, high-heels are at the ready and new business is rolling in on both sides of the world. The roll-out of the upgraded Rocketseed platform is now near completion,…

• Festive Rocketseed Banner Competition – Vote Now

  admin

  14 Dec 2011 | 3:09 am

  Many of our clients have used Rocketseed mail to launch their Christmas campaigns, boost seasonal bookings and pass on good wishes to their customers. We love some of these festive touches so have picked a shortlist of what we think are the best Christmas banners. We want you to vote for your favourite, and the client’s banner with the most votes will win a Rocketseed voucher in the New Year. Here are the entries in no particular order: 1 – Carton House promote their Christmas breaks special with strong call to action. 2 – vitra. showcase their Christmas Market from 5…

• Rocketseed Customer Support – Festive Season

  admin

  8 Dec 2011 | 12:46 am

  Our team of professionals are on standby to assist you over the festive season. If you require Rocketseed customer support services during this time, please contact the team in your local area as follows: United Kingdom The Rocketseed Office will operate normal business hours until 1pm on Friday 23rd December 2011 and will resume on Tuesday 3rd January 2012. While our offices are closed: For urgent queries please call: 0845 881 2290 For non-urgent queries please email: supportuk@rocketseed.com South Africa The Rocketseed Offices will operate normal business hours up to 5pm on Thursday 22nd…

• 

  ICC/Decision Services

• Expanding your footprint without adding footage

  drich

  26 Jan 2012 | 8:11 pm

  Speed Theory is not your ordinary bike shop. Besides selling some sweet Cervelo, Felts and Argon bicycles for your next Ironman, it is also a place where anyone can get a great bike to compete in the local mini triathlon or just to cruise on some backroads. Speed Theory makes great use of its real estate, even when the shop is closed. When I arrived at 5:30 am, the temperature was –22° F and I watched people trickle in — carrying their bicycles and trainer apparatus — until there were about twenty of us in all. They were all coming for spin class, but this was not like the…

• Kelly Swallow knows who she is

  drich

  6 Jan 2012 | 10:29 am

  Watch this video. It is very short (7 seconds.) And that’s kinda the point I’m about to make. Kelly Swallow makes chairs that make people smile. To do Service with Boundaries well, you need to start off with a solid foundation. You have to know who you are. Who is Swallow? She’s the designer who makes chairs that make people smile. It is short, simple and direct. In setting and sticking to her core DNA, Swallow’s entire business has a natural flow to the other two formula components: Listen to your customer… most of the time and You can’t improve what you…

• No reservations

  drich

  27 Dec 2011 | 11:22 am

  I’m vacationing with my family in Europe over the next week, visiting Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. One of my favorite places to visit when I am in Paris is Le Relais de l’Entrecôte. I like it mostly because they have defined the boundaries of dining experience They serve only one entrée; steak frites cooked rare, medium rare or medium. You order your steak the way you like it and the server writes it on your tablecloth, then brings out your salad — lettuce topped with walnuts and a mustard vinaigrette. After your salad starter, your steak is brought to you in two stages,…

• No rain, no rainbows

  drich

  21 Dec 2011 | 8:27 am

  What do you do with almost $10,000 worth of merchandise that you can’t return to online retailers because their return procedures are so dysfunctional? If you are STELLAService, you break out the wrapping paper and bows, have a wrapping party and donate the items to various charities throughout New York City. And we decided to help them. STELLAService tests online retailers by purchasing and returning real products as a normal customer would. Usually they return the items, but due to poor customer service they were stuck with this stuff. Turning rain into rainbows. In this case,…

• Information rich, execution poor

  Tom

  20 Dec 2011 | 2:52 pm

  A solid mystery shopping program consists always of three components: - Objective measurements - Never a “gotcha” program - Action, not just reporting Often misunderstood and even more often not implemented correctly, mystery shopping are one of the most important tools you can use to measure, manage and improve the customer experience. A few things you may or may not know. Mystery shopping is the only objective way to measure the customer experience. Why is that important? Unlike customer surveys — which are great in their own right — mystery shopping measures what…

• 

  KA+A : Blog

• Rule #7: Heroes are Tyrants Made Cruel by Priests

  Pete Gall

  17 Jan 2012 | 8:55 am

  This is a personal thing for me. But it’s also a conviction that applies to the branding work we do at KA+A. What’s true for individuals happens to be true for organizations. In fact, we’re finding that people tend to join organizations that share their root passions and vices, and that as we work with leaders, we reshape brands, and as we reshape brands, the organization influences lives…and heroes are emerging. If this line of thinking appeals to you – personally or in terms of how you relate to your business – I’d love to hear from you. Rule #7: Heroes are Tyrants Made Cruel…

• Part 3 : Fashion and Technology : Indianapolis

  Janneane Blevins

  15 Dec 2011 | 3:58 pm

  It’s been a few months since I’ve last talked about fashion and tech (see my previous posts here and here), but the topic is ever on my mind. Having linked up with PATTERN, I’ve had the opportunity to become part of Indy’s fashion community and also to help curate some of the monthly meetups. One, that I’m hoping will come to fruition in 2012, is a meeting of the worlds of fashion & tech. Here’s a couple local companies that are leading the way: My Best Friend’s HairIf you’ve spent a day in Broad Ripple, it’s likely you’ve…

• Showtunes: Crafting a User Experience

  Cole Farrell

  22 Nov 2011 | 12:50 pm

  I’m the new guy at KA+A, so I don’t want to split the crowd, but go with me here: I love musicals. The lights, the dancing, the masterful singing voices—for me, there is no artistic experience more immersive or powerful than watching musical theater. Broadway musicals are meant to be experienced live, in an atmosphere where anything could happen and no performance can ever truly be re-created. Thinking about them as a brand, a theatergoer’s interaction with a Broadway musical begins the moment they first order tickets and ends when they are exiting the theater after the…

• Quipol : Social Polling Made Simple

  Nathan Sinsabaugh

  11 Nov 2011 | 1:10 pm

  This week marked the launch of Quipol, an exciting new social polling service that we had the pleasure of working on over the past few months. There’s a sample Quipol below, so make sure you cast your vote. We’re total UI geeks, and we had a seriously fun time designing the user experience, interface, and marketing website. One of the highlights was the opportunity to apply responsive design techniques to an app. The application of responsive techniques to marketing sites is becoming more of a common occurrence, but is still a relatively new phenomena when it comes to web-based…

• Pattern : A New Way of Thinking About & Doing Fashion in Indy

  Janneane Blevins

  27 Oct 2011 | 2:39 pm

  IFC : Fall Trend Report | Image courtesy of Marc McCoy KA+A recently partnered up with Indianapolis Fashion Collective, in an effort to transform the way that Indy is building its fashion community. The Collective had been operating for a year, hosting special events and creating a member-based network that would support and mentor designers, photographers, stylists, models, and fashion professionals in the city. The big vision was to create a live/work fashion district in the heart of Indy. It was a great start, and the right minds were coming together, but the burden of the dream was…

• 

  Celebrity Branding Agency » Blog

• Capitalize on Your Points of Differentiation to Create a Powerful Personal Brand

  admin

  24 Jan 2012 | 4:43 pm

  A primary objective of every personal branding campaign is to create a brand that helps you stand out from the crowd. A strong personal brand is both distinctive and memorable—which means that it is essential that your brand highlights traits or talents that make you unique. To accomplish this, it’s important to identify your personal points of differentiation and to identify several that can be incorporated into your personal brand. For instance: Do you have a unique educational background? Perhaps you attended a prestigious college or earned a prestigious degree? Or maybe you are a…

• Lebron James is Back—What Can He Teach You About Your Personal Brand?

  admin

  3 Jan 2012 | 10:36 am

  This blog was originally posted and featured on FastCompany.com.  The original post can be found here: http://www.fastcompany.com/1804460/lebron-james-is-back-what-can-he-teach-you-about-your-personal-brand The NBA season tipped off on Christmas day, which meant a return to the spotlight for Lebron James and the Miami Heat. As you probably know, Lebron James generated controversy (not to mention numerous headlines) last season with his decision to publically jilt the Cleveland Cavaliers in favor of the Miami Heat. In the process, Lebron’s personal brand evolved substantially—from a fan…

• Do You Have a Plan… and a System?

  admin

  8 Dec 2011 | 2:52 am

  Every successful personal branding campaign features two components: a plan, and a system to ensure that the plan is successfully implemented. Without both of these components, no branding campaign will work. This should be an obvious point, but you’d be amazed at how many business owners approach branding (and marketing in general) with only one half of the equation. There are some that have a great vision and an aggressive plan to brand themselves as an expert in their field—but that fail to create systems to ensure that their plan is executed. Then there are others who utilize systems…

• Netflix and the Power of Perception

  admin

  1 Dec 2011 | 3:38 pm

  This blog was originally posted and featured on FastCompany.com.  The original post can be found here: http://www.fastcompany.com/1797961/netflix-and-the-power-of-perception Over the last couple of months, Netflix has undergone a major brand transformation—and not in a good way. They’ve gone from a trendy, convenient video provider to a bumbling, greedy, corporate entity—and the significance of this transformation has shown itself in terms of cancelled subscriptions (over 800,00 accounts lost in the third quarter alone) and a plunging stock price (a drop of nearly 75% since July). What…

• Personal Branding 101: “But I Don't Need a Personal Brand"

  admin

  21 Nov 2011 | 2:58 am

  I once had a business owner tell me, “Nick, I don’t need a personal brand. My business isn’t flashy and neither am I. My customers know me as trustworthy, honest, and reliable—what more do I need than that?” What he didn’t realize is that, in stating that he didn’t need a personal brand, he had just identified his personal brand! Namely, this business owner is known to be “trustworthy, honest, and reliable.” I share this story to correct the misconception that a personal brand is something only for Hollywood celebrities and public figures. The reality is this: everyone has a…

• 

  BulletProof

• Anticipating Stricter Food Safety Rules, Retailers are Moving Quickly on Recalls

  Gene Grabowski

  26 Jan 2012 | 10:31 am

  For the third time in less than two months, Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. has voluntarily recalled a food product because of a potential threat to consumers. This time, the southeastern supermarket chain removed Leasa brand beans, broccoli, and onion sprouts from its shelves because of possible salmonella contamination. In its previous recalls, Winn-Dixie, which operates about 480 retail locations, pulled Italian green beans because of a potential allergy risk, and gummy candies because of a possible metal contamination. What’s remarkable about these and other recent retailer recalls is that…

• Six@Six: Creating Compelling Video Content

  Christian Olsen

  24 Jan 2012 | 5:00 pm

  The top six social media tips to know before you leave the office. At this month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Robert Kyncl, YouTube’s global head of content, made a bold prediction: In a few years, video will comprise 90 percent of Internet traffic. According to statistics YouTube released just yesterday, Mr. Kyncl’s forecast certainly seems within reason. On average, 60 hours of video content are now uploaded to the video-sharing platform every 60 seconds. Not only is this a clear indication that Internet video is fast becoming a marquee communications tool; it is also a…

• Four Rules for Corporate Tweeting

  Larry Smith

  23 Jan 2012 | 11:09 am

  Last week on FastCompany.com, Richard Levick outlined four strategies for corporate tweeting that will help companies make the most of their engagement opportunities on the wildly popular social networking platform. From ensuring a streamlined process to understanding that Twitter is more than just a customer service tool, there are a number of key considerations that can help companies tweet with the speed, transparency, and reach that today’s Twitter followers demand. Read Richard’s full take on FastCompany.com

• A Critical Moment for Surveillance Technology Firms

  Larry Smith

  18 Jan 2012 | 3:46 pm

  Today on Forbes.com, Richard Levick examines the implications of reports that surveillance technology developed by U.S. firms has fallen into the hands of repressive regimes across the globe. At a time when Congress is discussing export control reforms that could ease restrictions on the marketplace, surveillance technology companies have a need to respond in a way that removes doubt as to the end users of their products. Read Richard’s full take on Forbes.com.

• Six@Six: Designing Effective Infographics

  Christian Olsen

  17 Jan 2012 | 5:00 pm

  The top six social media tips to know before you leave the office. In recent years, infographics have proven to be an effective and artistic way to provide a visual representation of information. The use of visuals creates a universal language that can tell a story simply with just one glance, therefore enabling businesses to display complex facts in an easy-to-read format. To help you design visual communications that provide your audience with a creative, yet informative, source of knowledge, this week’s Six@Six outlines six tips to consider when designing an infographic. Do you have…

• 

  BRANDOPIA

• Tweepeats: Fab Fifteen Tweets in December 2011

  brand

  5 Jan 2012 | 10:36 am

  Tweepeats: Fab Fifteen Tweets in December 2011

• A Merry Xmas & a Branded New Year

  brand

  19 Dec 2011 | 11:57 am

  A Merry Xmas & a Branded New Year to Destinations around the Blogosphere

• Tweepeats: Top Twenty Tweets in November 2011

  brand

  11 Dec 2011 | 6:05 am

  Tweepeats: Top Twenty Tweets in November 2011

• London-Brighton Vintage Car Rally visits Crawley-by-Gatwick

  brand

  7 Nov 2011 | 7:46 am

  London-Brighton Vintage Car Rally visits Crawley-by-Gatwick

• Autumn at Sissinghurst Gardens in Kent: The Garden of England

  brand

  3 Nov 2011 | 3:57 am

  Autumn at Sissinghurst Gardens in Kent: The Garden of England

• 

  Celebrity Branding Agency » Blog

• Capitalize on Your Points of Differentiation to Create a Powerful Personal Brand

  admin

  24 Jan 2012 | 4:43 pm

  A primary objective of every personal branding campaign is to create a brand that helps you stand out from the crowd. A strong personal brand is both distinctive and memorable—which means that it is essential that your brand highlights traits or talents that make you unique. To accomplish this, it’s important to identify your personal points of differentiation and to identify several that can be incorporated into your personal brand. For instance: Do you have a unique educational background? Perhaps you attended a prestigious college or earned a prestigious degree? Or maybe you are a…

• Lebron James is Back—What Can He Teach You About Your Personal Brand?

  admin

  3 Jan 2012 | 10:36 am

  This blog was originally posted and featured on FastCompany.com.  The original post can be found here: http://www.fastcompany.com/1804460/lebron-james-is-back-what-can-he-teach-you-about-your-personal-brand The NBA season tipped off on Christmas day, which meant a return to the spotlight for Lebron James and the Miami Heat. As you probably know, Lebron James generated controversy (not to mention numerous headlines) last season with his decision to publically jilt the Cleveland Cavaliers in favor of the Miami Heat. In the process, Lebron’s personal brand evolved substantially—from a fan…

• Do You Have a Plan… and a System?

  admin

  8 Dec 2011 | 2:52 am

  Every successful personal branding campaign features two components: a plan, and a system to ensure that the plan is successfully implemented. Without both of these components, no branding campaign will work. This should be an obvious point, but you’d be amazed at how many business owners approach branding (and marketing in general) with only one half of the equation. There are some that have a great vision and an aggressive plan to brand themselves as an expert in their field—but that fail to create systems to ensure that their plan is executed. Then there are others who utilize systems…

• Netflix and the Power of Perception

  admin

  1 Dec 2011 | 3:38 pm

  This blog was originally posted and featured on FastCompany.com.  The original post can be found here: http://www.fastcompany.com/1797961/netflix-and-the-power-of-perception Over the last couple of months, Netflix has undergone a major brand transformation—and not in a good way. They’ve gone from a trendy, convenient video provider to a bumbling, greedy, corporate entity—and the significance of this transformation has shown itself in terms of cancelled subscriptions (over 800,00 accounts lost in the third quarter alone) and a plunging stock price (a drop of nearly 75% since July). What…

• Personal Branding 101: “But I Don't Need a Personal Brand"

  admin

  21 Nov 2011 | 2:58 am

  I once had a business owner tell me, “Nick, I don’t need a personal brand. My business isn’t flashy and neither am I. My customers know me as trustworthy, honest, and reliable—what more do I need than that?” What he didn’t realize is that, in stating that he didn’t need a personal brand, he had just identified his personal brand! Namely, this business owner is known to be “trustworthy, honest, and reliable.” I share this story to correct the misconception that a personal brand is something only for Hollywood celebrities and public figures. The reality is this: everyone has a…

• 

  brandchannel.com

• At the Movies: Oscar-Nominated Product Placement

  27 Jan 2012 | 6:01 pm

• Super Bowl Ad Tracker: Audi, GM, Hyundai Game Plans Tip Their Strategies

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:38 pm

• Uniqlo Hits Ace with Nishikori Endorsement

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:08 pm

• Top 10 Stories of the Week: From Nike's NFL Jerseys to JCPenney Re-Re-Branding

  27 Jan 2012 | 3:33 pm

• Is Twitter Clipping Its Wings With Censorship-on-Demand?

  27 Jan 2012 | 2:57 pm

• 

  Big Marketing For Small Business

• 15 YouTube Marketing Tips for Your Small Business

  Guest Author

  24 Jan 2012 | 2:03 pm

  Video Marketing on YouTube is a must for small businesses and startups in 2012. YouTube videos are longtail pieces of marketing content that can drive organic traffic to your website for many years to come. Here are 15 tips to know about marketing on YouTube. 1. Anyone Can Do a Video The best part of YouTube Marketing is you do not need to hire models, buy fancy equipment, or have a baller studio. Most of the “highest viewed” videos are shot by a simple cell phone or webcam. Another option for those who are camera shy is to use Powerpoint or a similar program to make the presentation.

• How to Use Digital Marketing to Promote Your Small Business

  Rajan Sodhi

  23 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am

  The Internet is the great equalizer, allowing a small business to effectively compete with the 800-pound gorilla in their space. But, there are some fundamental ways to go about setting yourself up for success. Here are five affordable tips to promoting your small business using digital marketing: 1. Build a Quality Website, Use WordPress The best place to start is to launch a website for your business, but not just any website. Create one that is clean, easy to navigate, has good content, and is optimized for search engines to crawl and rank – WordPress is a great place to start. Use SEO…

• How to Use YouTube for Marketing

  Guest Author

  7 Dec 2011 | 4:44 pm

  Have you ever seen the Old Spice commercials? Chances are if you have, you’ve seen them on YouTube. The Old Spice commercials first premiered as a television campaign, quickly turning viral once they appeared on YouTube. Viewers sent the links to their friends, rapidly spreading them throughout the Internet. Eventually, the view count for Old Spice commercials reached over 110 million views. Although most associate YouTube with homemade videos and music videos, many companies and businesses are turning to YouTube as an alternative means to social marketing, and it’s working. Because…

• 10 Ways to Amplify Your Email Marketing Ripple Effect

  Guest Author

  3 Nov 2011 | 4:17 pm

  Is your email marketing program fizzling? Here are 10 ways to improve your email marketing strategy to drive higher response and engagement. 1. Deliverability, verifiability, and bounce reduction. Permission-based lists and clean data have the best chance of getting response. Make sure your email solution has high deliverability rates and can track message activity (deliveries, bounces, clicks) or you’re just wasting marketing dollars. 2. Aim before you send. Email marketing starts with targeted, clean and compliant lists. Build your email lists based on specific attributes and behaviors of…

• The Wrong Way to Use Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn in Your Marketing

  Guest Author

  3 Nov 2011 | 12:31 pm

  According to Facebook‘s blog, there are over 800 million users on the site. According to Alexa’s rankings, Twitter is the third highest rated social media site, with Facebook being the first and YouTube being the second. Many online marketing experts agree that social media can play a major role in small business marketing. However, many (if not most) small businesses are using social media the wrong way for marketing. Here are three common mistakes being made that you can avoid: 1. Brand Confusion When launching a new business, it is common (though not wise) not to have your…

• 

  Logo Design Blog

• Why is it Necessary for the Domain Name and the Website Name to be Similar?

  Ben Johnson

  23 Jan 2012 | 4:05 am

  Most people make the mistake of naming their websites and their domains differently. It is good to be creative with names but sometimes this creativity may cost a lot. Most effective website names are usually the ones where the domain name is either identical or at least similar to the website. This will do one good thing, something which every website businessman wants for their websites; it will make the name search engine friendly.

• How to Find a Reliable Web Design Service?

  Ben Johnson

  17 Jan 2012 | 4:44 am

  The foremost thing to understand is: what do we mean when we say that we are looking for a reliable web design service? In simple words, it means that we need to acquire the expertise of a company that will create a design to perfectly represent our business model. Plus, a reliable service also offers revisions to ensure your complete satisfaction. If for some reason you are not satisfied with the design, they will happily make modifications according to your needs and business requirements.

• Make Your Facebook Timeline a Social Resume

  Ben Johnson

  12 Jan 2012 | 12:20 am

  As most of you probably know, Facebook is in the middle of updating everyone’s profile to the new Timeline format. Not only does this new layout and design enhance your Facebook browsing experience, but it can also be used as a tool to affirm what you’ve stated on your curriculum vitae and cover letter.

• Logo Evolutions in 2011

  Ben Johnson

  2 Jan 2012 | 12:03 am

  In 2011, some big organizations thought of bringing change to their corporate identities and accomplished it brilliantly through small amendments in their logo. They needed the change for better positioning, an enhanced brand image and for a stronger market presence.

• Make a Purchase and Set the Ball Rolling

  Ben Johnson

  28 Dec 2011 | 4:20 am

  Happy New Year to everyone! We have entered 2012 and this calls for blasting celebrations. Start your year with a terrific welcome party keeping all your plans for the year right in your head. A sound start will surely continue to lead your way all through the year.

• 

  yinkaolaito.com - the branding gavel, brand communication expert, nigeria brand consultant, social media expert

• Brand Communication: Can you differentiate your crowd?

  yinkaolaito

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:17 am

  Knowledge about brand is unending. It is only a foolish person who says he knows it all. Today, I am able to confirm I do not know as I ought to know. We have been working hard on convincing ourselves on a better way to enlighten a friend who feels with thousands of followers, he [...]

• How to enhance brand engagement with brand platform

  yinkaolaito

  25 Jan 2012 | 7:23 am

  Brand’s performance and wellbeing is tied to several factors. One of such and very critical foundation is the Brand platform. Brand platform helps brand to identify the position it seeks to gain in the marketplace. In my research on what a brand platform really is, an online resource captures the essence of what brand platform [...]

• Brand Communication: How to avoid death trap

  yinkaolaito

  22 Jan 2012 | 4:00 pm

  A brand’s life, like that of human is full of dynamics. Not obeying these dynamics as at when due makes life worthless. It is no longer news the great brand-Kodak, is gone and never to remain relevant again. The hand writing on the wall was obvious for this former strong analog film brand. It had [...]

• Online communication: Why your strategy fails

  yinkaolaito

  18 Jan 2012 | 1:17 pm

  Every communication effort and process needs proper planning to succeed. That a platform permits easy access or next to nothing in terms of cost does not mean lack of knowledge in its operations will be overlooked. A concerned online friend asked me a question yesterday and he would like me to discuss my response on [...]

• How to develop strategy that guarantees victory in crisis

  yinkaolaito

  15 Jan 2012 | 5:48 am

  Every brand will encounter crisis in its lifetime. No brand is immune from crisis. There are varied degrees of crises. Some are known, based on associated brand environment. Certain crisis may be unknown, unpreventable or what is considered crisis beyond human control

• 

  RadiantBrands Blog

• What’s your brand cool?

  Steven Donaldson

  19 Jan 2012 | 12:54 pm

  When you really think about it when you buying a brand or product. All the aspects of its value, to you, come from your experience. From the moment you desire it, look for it, purchase it and use it through the end of your experience with it. This lifecycle brings our world of what we love and what we could care less about into the emotional realm. We live in experiences that consistently verify us. So this experience begs the question of what do we identify with? who do we aspire to be? what’s our version of cool? We are shaping our experience through all the ones thrown at us. The…

• What ING “gets” about the customer connection

  Steven Donaldson

  10 Jan 2012 | 10:54 am

  ING Bank is totally online; it has no bank branches but it does have coffee shops. What? No branches but coffee shops? Yes. ING has done something radical in banking, they’ve created a no-banking environment - a coffee shop, a place to get something and hang out but not to do your banking. After banking is something you do online. The latest location is in San Francisco’s Financial District, near Union Square, and it’s a radical departure from a traditional bank in its look. It’s more of an experience more than a functional location. It’s a cafe, a hangout…

• Apple Store in Grand Central Station: A Brilliant Retail Strategy

  Steven Donaldson

  19 Dec 2011 | 11:17 am

  When the rumor came out that Apple was opening its latest store in Grand Central Station I couldn’t believe they could pull this off. What an incredible opportunity! Although most people think of an Apple Store as being part of an upscale mall or some other a high-end retail location, Grand Central Station really is the perfect location, and it shows that the Apple real estate group really “gets it” about retail. It’s about nurturing the ecology that brings together consumers, location and buying opportunity. Now how the heck does Grand Central Station create what…

• Five Stars - How reviews shape brand experience

  Steven Donaldson

  11 Dec 2011 | 12:36 pm

  It’s interesting to see how consumer reviews and comments not only influence shoppers’ choices, they shape the conversation and behavior of the consumer. How and what you know about a product category is informed by the conversations you become part of and listen to. As you review all the comments about a product brand you’re also learning about the expectations of the very experienced shopper who may know all about a category. Their comments will inform you on what you should be looking for. Is 4-1/2 stars good enough for me? I have found this true in several areas.

• O.co goes back to Overstock.com - Another naming blunder

  Steven Donaldson

  4 Dec 2011 | 12:14 pm

  Back in May of this year Overstock.com, the well known — did I say well recognized and branded leader in online discount sales, changed it’s self-descriptive name to a meaningless wonder O.co. This brilliant move lead by the president and CEO Jonathan Johnson ignored all the rules about branding, brand value and building the position of your brand which already has a place in the consumers experience. Back on 5/10/11 of this year I already mentioned that these kind of blunders cost companies big time in terms of loss of brand equity, confusion by current customers and ultimately…

• 

  Simon Mainwaring

• Why effective branding is about doing, not telling

  Simon

  26 Jan 2012 | 10:46 am

  Image: Absolut/Fader I had the pleasure of speaking at the San Diego Ad Club last week after Dan Burrier, the Chief Innovation Officer at Ogilvy and my former boss on the Motorola account. Not only is Dan a friend and someone I greatly admire, but he said something that evening that struck me very deeply. He said that branding is now more about the “doing” than the “telling.” I think Dan is absolutely right. For too long, branding as practiced by advertising agencies has been focused on the Big Idea that, well told, will connect emotionally with a customer and…

• What’s the real value of the We First Social Branding Seminar?

  Simon

  23 Jan 2012 | 10:07 am

  We’re now in the final week of registration for the We First Social Branding Seminar and I wanted to share some thoughts as to its real value to your business. There are so many conferences and training events to choose from, and your time and resources are so precious, that it’s important to know why this one is any different. The idea behind the seminar is to make sure your brand (whether they’re a non-profit, a start up, a social entrepreneur, social enterprise, mid-size company or Fortune 500 brand) doesn’t get left behind in this fast changing marketplace by…

• How social technology will change your world, literally.

  Simon

  18 Jan 2012 | 10:24 am

  I wanted to share this video with you that features David Kirkpatrick, the author of The Facebook Effect, talking about the impact of social tools and technology on the way consumers and citizens around the world are demanding change. He does a wonderful job of articulating how the internet has heightened awareness around the world of economic inequality, and how social media has given citizens and customers all around the world an unprecedented platform to have those grievances heard. Specifically, David does a very effective job of framing a series of questions that every brand must…

• Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.: Using social media to realize his vision of economic equality

  Simon

  16 Jan 2012 | 10:35 am

  Image: AP In honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, I’m sharing the epilogue to We First in which I reference famous words from his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech that still ring true today. Economic equality was an important part of his vision and legacy, and while strides have been made, we still have far to go. It is my hope that enlightened and purposeful brands can help to better share prosperity and create a fairer, more equal and sustainable global community. I opened this book [We First] by asking the question: Is this the world you want? For the many reasons…

• This week in social media: Google+, citizen activism and the future of journalism

  Simon

  13 Jan 2012 | 10:11 am

  Last week I had the pleasure of joining other guests on This Week in Social Media with host, Robert Tercek. As always, it was a lively discussion ranging from the rise of Google+, to citizen and consumer activism, to the future of journalism. I hope you enjoy it.

• 

  Art & Business of Motion

• MTV Asia Celebrates New Year with Dragon Ident

  Denny

  25 Jan 2012 | 12:07 pm

  Happy Chinese New Year! Okay, maybe I’m a few days late but enjoy this lovingly crafted little ident celebrating the very special year of the dragon from my friends over at MTV Asia. Filed under: branding, channel identity, ident

• UK’s More4 Takes Bold Departure With New Rebrand

  Denny

  23 Jan 2012 | 5:41 pm

  Just In: Channel 4 digital stablemate, More4, has rebranded. The new look, announced late last year, debuts today and includes a series of new idents and a brand new OSP, reflecting what C4 chief David Abraham calls the next phase of “creative renewal” for the channel. With a refocus on a new range of programming, the look “has been refreshed to communicate a warm, approachable feel that reflects the channel content“. The rebrand was led by ManvsMachine and Channel 4′s in-house agency 4Creative. More4 2012 Rebrand More4 2012 Rebrand More4 2012 Rebrand Click keep…

• Year in Review: The Top 30 Channel Branding Campaigns from 2011

  Denny

  8 Jan 2012 | 6:04 pm

  Happy New Year my friends. And with it comes my yearly roundup (in no particular order) of the top 30 channel branding campaigns from 2011. From some well considered refreshes from HBO, Discovery, and MTV, to name changers (Velocity & Science), and a few behind the scenes glimpses from Eurosport, RTÉ, and Channel 5, 2011 was another glorious year of showing why design for the small screen was anything but. If you like this list, or simply missed previous years, you can find 2010 here, and 2009 here. And as always, whether you are channel or agency-side- do get in touch if you want to…

• Merry Bloody Christmas from Fox Crime

  Denny

  23 Dec 2011 | 10:49 am

  Blood, stars, trees and a little holiday spirit from Fox International Channel’s Fox Crime via Studio Ronda and Fox Creative Director Luca Rochira. Christmas never looked so creepy. Filed under: branding, channel identity, ident

• BBC Two Refreshes Christmas Identity

  Denny

  15 Dec 2011 | 8:47 am

  BBC Two has revealed a new seasonal brand identity building around an immersive Christmas world. The initial brief & challenge was to “signify everything that is wonderful about BBC Two: bold creativity, imagination, wit, substance and pleasure. To celebrate the more magical, inspired and unexpected side of Christmas.” BBC Two Christmas (2011) (click for full) The solution? The creation of a Two world by Red Bee Media: “The Inspiring Land of Two. This is a place where Two’s bold creativity comes to life in magical ways, inspired by genres of BBC Two content.”…

• 

  Executive Resume Branding

• Online Personal Branding: 5 Key Elements

  Meg Guiseppi

  25 Jan 2012 | 7:04 am

  Online Personal Branding: 5 Key Elements is a post from: Executive Resume Branding The following is my latest Job-Hunt.org article as the site’s resident Personal Branding Expert. Do you want to increase your chances to be found by executive recruiters and your target employers? What job seeker doesn’t? Most recruiters and hiring authorities source talent by searching relevant keywords on LinkedIn, Google, and other search engines, and then assessing the people those searches reveal by what they find about them online. If you’re in a job search and have no “online…

• New Year. Time to Revamp Your Executive Brand?

  Meg Guiseppi

  18 Jan 2012 | 6:53 am

  New Year. Time to Revamp Your Executive Brand? is a post from: Executive Resume Branding Many of us take time at the beginning of a new year to reflect on the past year. We make, and try to stick to, challenging resolutions to improve some aspects of our lives. Many take a cold hard look at their careers in January, and consider whether it’s time to make a career move. If you’re having these thoughts, you’re probably looking for your resume and thinking about how to update it. Back up a little. Start with your brand. Take a look back at last years’ career…

• Executive Job Search and LinkedIn: Do I Need a Photo on My Profile?

  Meg Guiseppi

  11 Jan 2012 | 7:22 am

  Executive Job Search and LinkedIn: Do I Need a Photo on My Profile? is a post from: Executive Resume Branding Whether or not to include a photo on LinkedIn and other online profiles continues to be debated among career professionals. My c-suite executive clients are typically over 50. They’re understandably concerned about ageism. A photo could indicate age and leave them open to discrimination. Often, posting a fully completed LinkedIn profile is their first foray into online job search and career marketing . . . the first time they have considered putting a photo of themselves…

• Blogging for Executive Jobs: Overcoming Writer’s Block

  Meg Guiseppi

  5 Jan 2012 | 6:46 am

  Blogging for Executive Jobs: Overcoming Writer’s Block is a post from: Executive Resume Branding I encourage my c-level executive clients to blog as part of their online brand communications plan. Blogging is one of the most important marketing strategies I use to build my brand, market my business and attract potential clients. Potential clients find me through my blogging efforts. Because job search is much like running a business, blogging greatly benefits job seekers, too. Those who blog purposefully are found by executive recruiters and hiring decision makers who are searching…

• How To Land A C-level Executive Job in 2012

  Meg Guiseppi

  22 Dec 2011 | 7:28 am

  How To Land A C-level Executive Job in 2012 is a post from: Executive Resume Branding If you’re like most of my c-suite clients, it’s been several years — maybe more than 10 years — since you were thrust into a job search or considered a career move. You figure all you need to do is find a copy of that old resume of yours, dust it off and update it to send to the recruiters who helped you in the past. Then you can sit back and let them do all the work, right? But things have changed drastically in the past several years. Jobs aren’t as likely to just “come to…

• 

  SimpliFlying

• Surprise Dance on Finnair Flight to celebrate India’s Republic Day – it’s better than a flashmob!

  Shashank Nigam

  25 Jan 2012 | 8:40 pm

  Finnair has been in the news over the last few months. First, they rebranded to a new, clean livery. Then they launched the Singapore route by having an Angry Birds competition on-board, which went crazy-viral. And now, the airline that prides itself in providing the shortest flying times between India and North America has gone a step further, with a dance crew surprising passengers after boarding of a Finnair flight to Delhi to celebrate India’s Republic Day on January 26th 2012. Just imagine blonde flight attendants dancing to Bollywood tunes right after you board a flight! And…

• The magic of delighting customers: Top 10 Wow Initiatives by Airlines and Airports

  Marco Serusi

  23 Jan 2012 | 7:52 am

  In marketing, we often talk about the value of brand associations, of being at the top of the mind of consumers and having the brand instantly connect with a feeling, memory etc. However, putting all this into practice is probably one of the hardest things in the industry. According to researchers, there can only be 3 brands in of a consumer per category… don’t believe me? A short brand-recognition exercise Let’s do a little exercise: name 3 brands of Cola. Now let me guess: The first one that you thought of was: Coca Cola? And maybe the color red? The second one was: Pepsi,…

• Size doesn’t matter. Interview with Estonian Air CEO Tero Taskila reveals a grand vision for the future

  Shubhodeep Pal

  19 Jan 2012 | 12:23 am

  Since taking over the helm seven months ago, Estonian Air CEO Tero Taskila has been the driving force behind the airline’s makeover. But as he shares in our inaugural marketing strategy podcast, the changes that we’ve seen so far are just the beginning. Being placed in charge of a company that has been losing money since 2005 isn’t exactly the kind of dream job that most people have in mind. However Tero Taskila has always relished a good challenge. After all, the Finn, who was previously the Chief Commercial Officer of Latvian competitor airBaltic, lives by the motto: “I want to have…

• SimpliFlying launches fortnightly Marketing Strategy podcasts for airline and airport marketers

  Shubhodeep Pal

  18 Jan 2012 | 12:32 am

  We promised we’d make the New Year exciting for you. And here we are – delivering on the promise we made! After creating quite a buzz with our revamped SimpliFlying Heroes initiative that saw almost 3000 votes pour in over just a week, we’re back with something even more exciting. So sit back, relax and enjoy the show that we’re bringing you today (and every fortnight hereon)! Today, we’re launching SimpliFlying Podcasts – a brand new product that should excite our readers, most of whom are travel marketers. Starting this Wednesday, SimpliFlying will be…

• Introducing the newly expanded SimpliFlying team, with special focus on community engagement and airport marketing

  Shashank Nigam

  17 Jan 2012 | 6:23 pm

  SimpliFlying has become known for its thought leadership in the aviation marketing space – from our Top 10 Case Study packs to our infographics and presentations at industry conferences. And this year, we’re looking to carry on the streak with the introduction of podcasts, webinars, eBooks and a major expansion into airport marketing! To accomplish this, we need to work with great minds and it’s with great excitement and pride that I introduce to you two new members of the SimpliFlying family who have joined us recently. Marco Serusi, Valencia, Spain Marco Serusi  joined…

• 

  Unbound Edition

• McDonald's Is Changing Its Burger Recipe To Take The 'Pink Slime' Out Of Its Meat

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:20 am

  McDonald's is changing the recipe it uses for its burgers in the US, after a lengthy campaign by TV chef and food activist Jamie Oliver, reports the Daily Mail. The fast food juggernaut used ammonium hydroxide -- an additive typically found in household cleaning products to kill bacteria -- in its US meat. Oliver calls it "pink slime."

• A New Challenge for Web Freedom

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:13 am

  The Internet is celebrated as a machine that runs by itself, but this is not quite accurate. The Web does have oversight, just not by any multinational organization, national government or regulator. It's run by a small, private, nonprofit institution that is rarely in the news. This week will be an exception. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, known by the acronym Icann, is accepting applications for an infinite number of new Web addresses, known as top-level domain names. In addition to the existing two dozen suffixes, such as .com, .org and .net, Icann will let people…

• JCPenney Re-Refreshes Brand - Third Time's the Charm?

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:10 am

  Trying to figure out what’s on sale when and then waiting for the next sale to buy particular items can be frustrating to consumers so J.C. Penney Co. — in its first major overhaul of its retail arm since former Apple exec Ron Johnson took over as CEO in November — is attempting to make things much easier. The company this week announced that its stores are doing away with having seven kazillion different items on different sales simultaneously and just “marking down all of its merchandise by at least 40% so shoppers will no longer have to wait for a sale to get the lowest prices in…

• Consumer Behavior: From Trading Up To Trading Off

  27 Jan 2012 | 8:03 am

  The opposite of trading up is not trading down. In fact, there is no opposite of trading up; shopping behavior is more nuanced than that. When shopping hit the skids after the financial crisis, there was a lot of talk about a new normal of frugality, as if the only thing possible after a decade-plus of trading up was a generation to come of nothing but trading down. It’s clear now that those prognostications were flawed, not to mention overly pessimistic.

• Target doesn't want to be the showroom for online retailers

  26 Jan 2012 | 3:55 pm

  Remember all that talk before the holidays about the blissful union between brick-and-mortar retailers and mobile users? Retailers seemed to have accepted that many of their customers shop with smartphones in hand — and retailers even appeared to be embracing it. A Deloitte consultant who follows these things, Kasey Lobaugh, told Internet Retailer that retailers: "... need to invest in providing customer connectivity in the store, including in-store Wi-Fi, ... building functionality that best serves the customer at the 'point of need' and thinking about the capabilities that align with the…

• 

  jkr

• Object posters and how to set a mousetrap

  admin

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:35 am

  Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, as that there Da Vinci noted. Less is more has become such a cliché that it’s easy to forget its power. Having recently stumbled on the 1940’s poster work of Niklaus Stoecklin I thought I would share it, because it proves how timeless and powerful simplicity can be. Here is a product that explains its use in a charming and memorable visual shorthand. And that makes the pack the star of the show, rather than something plonked onto the main idea. Isn’t it beautiful? Doesn’t it turn something potentially humdrum into an object of desire? Below…

• DC comics quick costume change

  admin

  26 Jan 2012 | 4:07 am

  Time was when American comics followed in the fine traditions of ‘penny dreadfuls’. They were pulp entertainment, printed cheap, and while fantastically popular did not give themselves too many airs and graces as ‘brands’. Above is the latest incarnation of DC comics’ identity. Like any new prominent identity work it will get a good pounding, probably doubly so given the passion of the comics’ fan base. To declare a prejudice (and my age) I always thought of DC as a bit vanilla compared to their great rival Marvel back in the seventies and early eighties. Personally I…

• Which is best, one way or two way traffic?

  admin

  25 Jan 2012 | 4:38 am

  The letter below is currently doing the rounds in the marketing world. It doesn’t matter whether it’s real or not, either way it’s a good point well made. The idea of brands involving their audience is not a new objective of advertising. It’s just that historically it only required them to keep watching the screen or keep reading the copy until the brand resolved the story. Technology now enables brands to ask for a whole new level of involvement from their audience. But just because they can, it doesn’t necessarily mean they should. So, does this have…

• Champions of Design – Crayola

  admin

  24 Jan 2012 | 4:24 am

  It’s all about colour. Crayola took a memorable name and framed it with a memorable design. The early packs were things of typographic beauty, the simple green and yellow livery creating an impact. The dynamic chevron shape of the design’s ‘architecture’ has also endured. These days things might be a little less elegant (or simple), but the basic design formula has remained consistent. All this is a great lesson in ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. Sticking to a template has ensured that its visual equities now have a symbolic power – Crayola defines its category and…

• Andy Warhol Vs Trendwatching.com

  admin

  23 Jan 2012 | 3:48 am

  Are some brands for us, and others for ‘them’? The ‘them’ in question being the growing, lower income, developing world urban population. Andy Warhol is often portrayed as a bit vacuous in person – a bit ‘gosh, wow’ about the world. But he said some very sharp things. Here he is on Coke, brands and America: “What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just…

• 

  Brandtelling

• Writing Something of Value

  Mark Kindley

  24 Jan 2012 | 11:58 pm

  I happened upon a gratuitous slam about the shallowness, i.e., valueless-ness of marketing in an article in the New York Times recently. Gratuitous slams on marketing are ubiquitous these days. It’s almost taken as a given that marketing is shallow and has no inherent value. Obviously the New York Times editors didn’t think a slam on marketing required two sources to substantiate. While I was a journalist, which covers most of my career, I never questioned gratuitous slams on marketing. Most journalists assume that marketing is basically crap. That marketers typically get paid more…

• How can you stay creative?

  Arthur Germain

  20 Jan 2012 | 8:24 am

  Creativity can be a challenge for anyone. It’s not an industry-specific or job-specific challenge either. I came across this terrific explainer video from the folks at Explainia and TO-FU Design that shows 29 simple ways to stay creative. I particularly like No. 27 — my office tends to be a bit messy and I always feel more creative and energized (and sometimes a few dollars richer) when I clean it up! 29 Ways to Stay Creative 29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.

• Let me tell you a story

  Arthur Germain

  31 Dec 2011 | 7:58 pm

  There may be few more powerful words than these six: Let me tell you a story… From the time you were very little to whatever age you are now, a well-told story holds unimaginable power over you. Stories have heroes and villains, challenges and solutions, happiness and sadness. But most of all they are compelling. We listen, we relate and often we retell the stories we’re heard. As we close 2011 and enter 2012, think about brand storytelling and how it can work for your brand. Think about your stories of triumphs and failures and how it has shaped you and the brand you represent.

• Does your brand have a sweeps week?

  Arthur Germain

  18 Dec 2011 | 2:55 pm

  Four times per year, television can be really terrific –  or it can be really terrible. That’s because four times per year the Nielsen folks and other television ratings companies poll, count and otherwise survey households to learn about their television viewing habits. So, if you’re involved with producing television programs then there are four weeks each year when nothing is off limits in your programming strategies. These four weeks are often when we see strong news coverage, top personalities interviewed, and lots of twists and turns in scripted programming. So, the…

• Zen and the art of brand storytelling

  Mark Kindley

  8 Dec 2011 | 10:21 pm

  There have been lots of interesting things in the news as this year comes to a close. Personally, I find the Occupy Wall Street phenomenon interesting. Some people might find the Republican debates interesting. Different topics interest and engage different people. Like beauty, what we find interesting is often in the eye of the beholder. What we find interesting, as a result, says something about who we are. So what do you do if you are the marketing person assigned to interest the media and potential customers in some service or product line that you personally find inherently boring? You…

• 

  BrandingPays

• Survey: Professionals Seek Job Changes in 2012

  Karen Kang

  24 Jan 2012 | 10:26 am

  Mindset Shift from Job Survival to Job Mobility Note: This is the first in a 3-part series on findings from the BrandingPays Pulse Survey on current attitudes on mobility and social networking among professionals. If you are looking to change your job this year, you are in good company. Our January 2012 survey indicates that job survival fears during the last two years of economic uncertainty are giving way to a willingness to risk changing jobs or careers.   Findings from our BrandingPays Pulse Survey (conducted in early January) indicate that many professionals are seeking job changes…

• Brand or Reputation?

  Karen Kang

  10 Jan 2012 | 11:35 am

  A French friend just sent me a link to a large company’s internal social network.  A blog post on the network said that you need to distinguish between your brand and your reputation. What is a brand if it doesn’t comprise your reputation?  A visual image, a tagline? Visual branding or key phrases will not sustain your brand over the long term unless it is associated with your reputation. Your reputation needs to be established by 1) delivering value 2) being true to your brand values and image 3) developing win/win relationships in your brand ecosystem.  Focus on these…

• A New You for the New Year

  Karen Kang

  9 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pm

  The New Year is a great time for resolutions: exercise more, eat less, be kinder or get a new job.  If finding a new career opportunity is a priority, perhaps, reinventing yourself should be at the top of your To Do list. Change is scary.  Let’s face it, taking risks is not part of everyone’s DNA.  I happen to live, work and breathe Silicon Valley, so it feels natural to me.  But, what is the alternative to change?  Stagnation and death.  I guess when you put it that way, change becomes less scary. I used to be a newspaper reporter (a long time ago!).  Had I not reinvented…

• One-Minute Survey on Jobs and Personal Branding

  Karen Kang

  9 Jan 2012 | 9:47 am

  Do you want to know how many others are looking for a job or position this year?  Do you wonder what they are doing about it—online and offline?  Take part in our one-minute survey at http://svy.mk/yp2LEG. Feel free to share it. Deadline is January 16, 2012.   To post this survey on jobs and personal branding to your site, the embed code is: <a href=”http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RLMHX2Z“>Click here to take survey</a> Thanks for your help!  I’ll be blogging on the results.  So stay tuned.

• Brand is Everything

  Karen Kang

  5 Jan 2012 | 7:43 pm

  Brand is everything. And everything is brand. Is this too bold a statement to make?  Not really.  Think about it. You have a 360-degree brand.  It encompasses how you are perceived rationally and emotionally from all different aspects:       Visual Communication Strengths Attitude Presence Value Everyhing you think, do and say has a bearing on your brand.  Some more than others.  But, brand is built up in layers and experiences over time.  How consistent, how clear and how compelling you are will determine if your brand is desired. This is true for people, products and…

• 

  Storytelling To Create Impact Brands

• Stories That Create Trust

  Mark

  2 Jan 2012 | 3:54 pm

  Stories help us understand the world around us. They have a sticky quality to them when they work and are told well. Somehow we are made to create and retell stories and these sticky stories are often part of culture … Continue reading →

• 2011 in review

  Mark

  2 Jan 2012 | 2:50 pm

  The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 11,000 times in 2011. If it were a … Continue reading →

• Brand Happiness

  Mark

  26 Dec 2011 | 3:57 pm

  Successful brands create  states of happiness which may last for seconds or become a permeant for the user. Happiness is a much better gauge  of  brand success than equity measures we often use today. It seems that happiness, at least … Continue reading →

• Storytelling Superbrands B2B Marketing

  Mark

  24 Dec 2011 | 8:16 am

  Storytelling to create Superbrands Here is the article I wrote for Superbrands Swedish Edition 2011. One of the most recent trends in business communications is storytelling. It’s an ancient art that has been suppressed in the modern world in favour … Continue reading →

• Toms Shoes tells stories

  Mark

  20 Nov 2011 | 12:43 am

  “I realize the importance of having a story today  is what separates companies. People don’t just wear our shoes they tell our story”. Blaise Mycokoski Related articles Toms Shoes CEO Blake Mycoskie On Social Entrepreneurship, Telling Stories, And His New … Continue reading →

• 

  GIRVIN | Strategic Branding Blog

• THE RAVENOUS HUNGER| THE CREATIVE PREY

  Tim Girvin

  24 Jan 2012 | 4:36 am

  the creative hunger, the force of passionate making raven, verb i"m thinking about the hunger that is beneath the hunger. I’m talking less about food and more about the notion of the food beneath food — that is, what drives the hunger itself? Emptiness? Or rather, fullness? When that comes to the creative place – the place of making – what does that mean? There is a hunger that lies beneath, another drive to action. That is the passion, the heated fire to building, making,  drawing on, and from, the fire that lies within that sensing of hunger; it is the…

• You’re so cool.

  Tim Girvin

  18 Jan 2012 | 2:08 pm

  Design, brand foundations and Silicon Valley: opening the channels to brand origination. “I know that there’s a story here, but how will people get it? What is the story, what’s cool about it — and why would anyone care?” I was thinking about the beginnings. Technology: story, relevance, resonance, relationships — and the carrying of ideas and ideals. Is there a way to get people to love an enterprise, and what it offers? There is a process — never perfected, never perfect — but always abetted by design. We have history in exploring that…

• THE STRATEGY OF A STORY

  Tim Girvin

  16 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am

  THE STRATEGY OF A STORY, THAT’S AN OLD STORY, THAT’S A NEW STORY, RETOLD. Why do you carry a story, that is another story (even brand story) that becomes your story — brought forward? What does the listener hold? If there’s a scent – a perfume – could that story be an old story, that transforms to a new story? Sometimes we’re telling a story that we’ve heard from another. We listen — and take that story as our own, moving that forward — a trade to the newly transitioned. In that telling, the experiencer personally integrates that…

• My house, held. And the work in it.

  Tim Girvin

  12 Jan 2012 | 6:41 am

  Thinking about the iconography of place, what’s made in it. What are the talismans of your place? A person stopped by my condominium, asking to borrow a can opener. Peering into my place, she said — “are you moving?” As I looked back, there were piles of books, clothes, luggage, presentation tubes, folders and project envelopes (and lots of power cords). And I realized, in 2011, that if I wasn’t going somewhere one day, I probably would shortly thereafter — so I was always leaving my luggage out, partially filled with clothing and stuff that I’d…

• Focused attention. Seeing in-to things.

  Tim Girvin

  10 Jan 2012 | 10:26 am

  When you’re looking at something, how closely are you tuned? I was watching people watch. This is a habit. That is, studying people as they “study” — watching to see how people are paying attention. This couldn’t be any more in-depth or capable interpretation of the ongoing analysis of watchful friend, Linda Stone, and her studies of “attention.” But it’s more to an inherent curiosity that I’ve got about people and how they see things, and what they do when they see them. How they do, or do not, pay attention. With people that I work with,…

• 

  More Than A Logo

• Patagonia - Legally Bound to its Purpose

  Nicole Armstrong

  21 Jan 2012 | 1:00 am

  Finally, a brand, other than Apple, we can express immense admiration for, or as my flatmate tweeted this week, "open-mouth kiss" - hello Patagonia! Last week, I wrote about its Common Threads initiative, where Patagonia clearly establishes its role/purpose within the global community - "to build useful things that last, to repair what breaks and recycle what comes of its useful life"- then asks its customers to do the same to help accomplish its purpose. Now, Patagonia has asked the government to help it truly live by its purpose without boundaries, becoming California's first Benefit…

• 2012 - Let's Say Less and Play More

  Nicole Armstrong

  16 Jan 2012 | 1:00 am

  Image Found Here Happy 2012!!  I think we're in for another exciting year, and I'm rather pleased where branding is going, maybe slowly, but it's in the right direction...let me explain... With so much distrust and uncertainty - lots of skepticism - towards corporations and advertising, people are more receptive to brands that are consistent in their actions, transparent with information and good to everyone around them. However, a consistent, transparent and good brand cannot be developed through an ad campaign any more. People are too smart and have endless access to information…

• Happy Holidays

  Nicole Armstrong

  11 Dec 2011 | 8:21 am

  Note: Image from flickr With another year coming to a close and an exciting 2012 just around the corner, I'm going to sign off from my blog while I travel back to Canada to spend some time with family and friends for the holidays!! Thank you for continuing to follow my blog and challenge me to explore my great passion for branding and all that it encompasses and impacts! Although I would have loved to write so much more, this year was very exciting with many adventures, from making the difficult decision to leave Blast Radius, to volunteering in Tanzania for a month and then coming back to…

• The Experience is the Brand

  Nicole Armstrong

  27 Nov 2011 | 6:04 am

  A couple weeks ago, my flat mate, Roger, made a wrong turn and went to use the map on his Blackberry (having just switched from an iPhone - I should note not by choice), and it was anything but an intuitive experience. This led to an immediate trip to the Apple store, where he bought the new iPhone outright, and will never look back at Blackberry (BB) again. This got us talking about where BB went wrong, and why the once market leader in smartphones seems to be stumbling all over the place. I believe BB lost sight of its core competency - mobile business solutions. Rather than focusing on its…

• Remarkable Stories = Social Currency

  Nicole Armstrong

  6 Nov 2011 | 3:04 pm

  I've been wanting to write this post for some time now, but oddly haven't got around to putting it down. I want to talk about stories again. I did so a year-plus ago, but it's a topic that seems to be continually popping up. Everyone has a story to share and/or are working towards creating them. I find it slightly amusing when I'm walking around London seeing people pose for the perfect picture, which immediately makes me think - profile pic! People are continually striving for social currency. Social currency is a concept that comes from the social capital theory, which is about increasing…

• 

  Healthy Conversations

• Insight for healthcare marketers: rise of the e-patient

  Eric Brody

  25 Jan 2012 | 8:51 am

  Good presentation from Pew Internet Project Director Lee Rainie to Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, CA, on understanding social networking and online health information seeking. You can view the presentation here. Key takeaways: • new social operating system: networked individualism • impacts include: “second opinions, allies and complements for care delivery, providers assessed and judged in public ways” • empowered and engaged: 61% getting health info on line, 29% contributing, 19% consult rankings/reviews of providers and hospitals • relevancy of mobile:…

• Health brands’ “ideal-driven” opportunity

  Eric Brody

  18 Jan 2012 | 9:47 am

  Improving lives = customer and brand energy = brand success. Great article on mediapost.com – Fastest-Growing Brands Are Ideal-Driven. It recaps the research conducted by Millward Brown and Jim Stengel, former global marketing officer of P&G. It seems that the common denominator across the 50 brands showing the fastest growth both in depth of customer relationships and financial value between 2000 and 2010 is that they’ve been built on an ideal of improving lives in some way. By “ideal, they’re referring to a “higher-order” purpose or benefit that the company/brand…

• Blast from the past: 10 brands to watch in 2001

  Eric Brody

  13 Jan 2012 | 8:09 am

  I was going through some old files and found the January 2001 issue of (now defunct) Brand Marketing. This is actually pretty surprising, as I’ve rightfully earned the nickname of “the great purger” of old files at Trajectory. The cover article is ten brands to watch in 2001. And the sub-head reads Brand Marketing picks the consumer products and services most likely to make an impact this year. It’s their top picks for the biggest potential newsmakers. Not necessarily the most successful, but those judged to make the biggest impact. Here they are. Hot off the presses…

• Better questions, better branding, better marketing

  Eric Brody

  10 Jan 2012 | 10:50 am

  Your brand is only as strong as the customers you create. The customers who you advance through your marketing beyond what they can do on their own, and beyond the reach of competitors. One important key to unlocking this value is the power of a BETTER QUESTION. Obvious questions yield answers that are more affirming and validating. Better questions lead to new perspectives, new insights, new ideas. They provide answers that lead you to “wow, I never thought about that in this way before”,  ”never imagined they felt this way before”, “never imagined they looked…

• Healthcare marketing: it’s time to evolve

  Eric Brody

  5 Jan 2012 | 7:42 am

  Can we evolve healthcare marketing? Yes we can. This was the topic of a recent talk of mine, which included five reinforcing themes.  As a foundation for these themes, it was agreed that whatever form of marketing you undertake, it needs to be: • Grounded in truth: genuine to an organization’s story, values and ambition • Relevant to audiences: in ways that are real and genuine • Deliverable based on promises: able to be reinforced through the patient experience (which means deliverable across the organization) The five themes included: 1. Wider Angle Lens: seeking out new…

• 

  brandcowboy

• Monkey Butt.

  16 Jan 2012 | 10:20 am

  If you’ve remained alert during one of my recent speeches, you probably know that I consider pants to be the essential cultural bellwether. Here’s something you may not know, though: I have a thing for internet forums. To me, these primitive places are the real internet, where one ordinary person helps another ordinary person fix a toilet float, or convince her cat to eat dry kibble, or get chip dip stains out of a cummerbund. They’re the original social media, older than the web itself, the places where the communitarian voices of regular folks still rule. Whenever something new…

• Pebbles.

  5 Jan 2012 | 4:26 pm

  Ah, 2011. Strange days. What with all the populist revolutions and lost icons, you probably forgot this was your humble scribe’s first year alone in the branding wilderness. It was at the end of 2010 that I forsook the comforts of agency life and wandered monkishly off in search of marketing’s soul. Promoting Consumer Republic and building my consulting practice, I probably ended up hearing more new voices in the last twelve months than in the preceding 12 years. The bad, if unsurprising, news was that the marketing professions are in a pretty deep funk right now (according to Forbes,…

• 7 Nov 2011 | 9:11 am

  7 Nov 2011 | 9:11 am

  If you read The Orange Code and enjoyed it, you may want to deplete your savings just a little more to invest in this new book by Arkadi Kuhlmann. Arkadi and I wrote The Orange Code together and, while we went into it meaning to explain how culture becomes a brand, it unavoidably took us to the topic of leadership. It's this, I've come to believe, on which all the rest of it depends. Leaders build teams. Teams build cultures. Cultures build brands. Brands build communities. It's fashionable to talk about the latter as where marketing is going, but the elephant in the room is always going to…

• The thought that counts.

  28 Oct 2011 | 9:59 am

  Once, a long time ago, someone gave me a nose hair trimmer. I didn’t think this was a particular problem of mine, but it was German, came in a very nice box, and bristled with elaborate engineering that promised to ease the burden of the task. These are qualities I admire, so I accepted it without rancor. The next time this sort of grooming was necessary, I looked forward to executing it with elegance while saving valuable seconds in the process. I was, of course, disappointed. You probably saw that coming. The diabolical little appliance, with all of its arrogant whirring and snipping, was…

• Burning down the house.

  29 Sep 2011 | 10:16 am

  Once, at a cocktail party, I challenged a group of people with the following question: Your house is on fire, I said. Your family and pets are safely on the front lawn watching the conflagration, and you have time to save five of your possessions. What do you grab as you bolt for the door? It was an experiment designed to reveal something about how we relate to our possessions (and it failed, because I think they all fibbed. They claimed they’d grab sentimental stuff like photographs; nobody admitted they’d save their Rolex, or their Eames chair, or their 25 year-old Macallan), but it…

• 

  Synergist

• Aetna’s New Trendy Logo

  Cathy Cotter

  20 Jan 2012 | 8:44 am

  Aetna has a new logo – the 12th logo in the company’s 157-year history. This is part of their new brand’s “passion for helping people make confident choices and celebrate the equity and tradition of the Aetna name.” Aetna’s logo evolution from the 1860s. Courtesy of Business Insider. The new logo is clean, simple, memorable, unique and appropriate for the new brand. They use all lowercase letters in a modern font. The trend of using lowercase letters has become popular recently as they represent a friendlier look and feel. Shown below, the bright color palette with its…

• Logos and brands

  Cathy Cotter

  1 Jan 2012 | 10:36 am

  Our good friend (and former client, now retired) Anne Ritchey, gave us a very appropriate holiday gift – The Logo Board Game. Thanks Anne, for thinking of us in a big way! The game is like a trivial pursuit. There are cards that ask questions in relation to brands we are often familiar with. Although it is a board game, we had much fun with answering questions. Some relate to visuals and logos, some to taglines and branding. But mostly, it got us thinking and helped us build on our brand vocabulary. We share some of the fun here with questions for you: 1 Which brand uses a red spoon as…

• Branding at its best…The Santa Brand

  Cathy Cotter

  17 Dec 2011 | 8:15 am

  There are many different spiritual beliefs that have become part of the holiday season. Of the many seasonal icons that exist, the imaginary one that remains the strongest, most fun and most playful is the belief in Santa Claus. Let’s just pretend for a minute. We have posted this in years past, so please excuse us for pulling it out of our sack again! All in fun, we share with you… The Santa Brand.

• The power of infographics

  Cathy Cotter

  21 Nov 2011 | 7:44 am

  Knowledge is power. Conveying that knowledge with infographics (or “data viz” for data visualization) is a new way of seeing. An infographic neatly combines statistics and design to communicate multiple layers of information. Great for your presentations when a graphic can speak volumes. Highly effective when it’s important to illustrate information clearly and quickly. Ideal for communicating with your online audience. A visually pleasing and compelling infographic is likely to be shared on potentially buzz-generating social networks – expanding your reach. Studies have proven…

• The influence of color

  Cathy Cotter

  31 Oct 2011 | 12:53 pm

  How do colors influence marketing? It is important for us to consider that consumers place visual appearance and color above other factors when shopping. Buying habits are complex but here are some quick percentage points made in a kissmetrics study on the color of psychology.  See the infographic here. 85% of shoppers place color as a primary reason for why they buy a particular product. Color increases brand recognition by 80%. 52% of consumers are more likely to enter a store when there is a sale sign in the window. 60% of consumers feel at ease and are more likely to buy a product that…

• 

  Razor Branding Blog

• Step 3 - Communication to Reinvent Your Brand

  Jaci Russo

  26 Jan 2012 | 8:00 am

      Picking up where we left off from our previous blogs, let the third tip of the 5 C’s and R’s to successful branding through social media and good public relations continue. You have your content and related it to your audience, establishing that emotional connection with your audience.  The conversation aspect has been created, and now we are ready to communicate and reinvent. As always – let’s take time to remember what your brand really is. Your brand is NOT your LOGO.  Your brand is NOT your PRODUCTS.  Your brand is NOT your COMPANY.

• Step 2 - Resolve to Build Your Brand Through Conversations

  Jaci Russo

  25 Jan 2012 | 8:06 am

  Continuing with our tips in our previous blog – Content & Relate – the second tip for improving your brand through social media and good public relations is… Conversation & Resolve. As stated before… Your brand is NOT your LOGO.  Your brand is NOT your PRODUCTS.  Your brand is NOT your COMPANY. Your brand is made up of a person’s emotional response to a company, product, or service. Through relating your content to your clients/readers, you have established that emotional connection necessary to move the relationship forward. The next step in…

• Step 1 - Develop Content to Relate to Your Brand

  Jaci Russo

  24 Jan 2012 | 8:06 am

    Here at The Russo Group, we absolutely LOVE social media and all of the perks for your business that come along with it.  Whether it be a company blog, website, Twitter account, Pinterest account, or Facebook page – there are many ways to promote your business using social media along with great public relations skills. Perking up your company and it’s brand is easier than you think.  In our latest eBook, -TRG Brand eBook The 5 C's and R's for Successful Branding, we talked about 5 simple tips that included 5 “C” words and 5 “R” words…

• Brand Buzz: 5 Tips for Successful Branding

  Jaci Russo

  23 Jan 2012 | 8:03 am

  Tune in to KPEL 96.5 every Monday at 5:15pm for Brand Buzz.  Each week we discuss best practices to improve your brand.  Click here to download the ebook, The 5 C's & R's for Successful Branding, and follow along with the show.  We will be discussing a different tip each day this week. You may remember last year we talked about The 5 R's of Branding.  The focus was on the 5 steps to build your brand.  This year, the push is the 5 C's of Branding.  The 5 steps to maintain your brand.  This week we will look at how the 5 R's and the 5 C's work together.

• Agencies Discuss Building Your Brand

  Jaci Russo

  18 Jan 2012 | 7:32 am

  In today's issue (January 18, 2012) of The Independent, the article Creative Class - Is Your Business Plan Failing Marketing 101 focuses on the local advertising and marketing agencies and their thoughts on where the advertising industry is heading. Thank you to The Independent for including The Russo Group and recognizing all of these agencies for what they contribute to the growth of businesses in the community. It's interesting to read the similarity in agencies that have been around for 30 years compared to the ones that are only a couple of years old.  Every agency is finally…

• 

  Profitable Growth

• With All the Business in Technology, Where’s the Technology in Business?

  Andy Birol

  16 Jan 2012 | 1:04 pm

  Business people are fascinated by the benefits, profits and potential of technology. Just visit any tech event and witness the financiers, service providers and the media networking with techies to discover “the next business thing.” But despite all this “technology-transfer”, why isn’t there more technology in business? After 15 years of consulting with more than 430 firms and presenting to or interviewing another 10,000 business leaders, I’m dismayed by how little technology actually makes it into most mainstream, medium and small businesses: Most inventories are…

• Get Your Loving at Home; He’s No Hugger!

  Andy Birol

  18 Dec 2011 | 10:06 pm

  Have you ever wondered what would happen if you cut out all extra service and personal touches from your business?  Would customers still come if you were excellent but detached? My recent shoulder surgery was an in-your-face experience of how this works. After enduring shoulder pain for a year, an MRI confirmed that my rotator cuff was ripped apart. I found Pittsburgh’s best surgeon, and after a 15-minute consult, he booked me. 90 days later, I arrived for the surgery, and was quickly processed, IV’d, gurneyed and staged for the operation.  No visit from the surgeon, little small talk…

• Lessons Learned from Marcellus Part 4: Insights After 6 Month’s Focus on Shale

  Andy Birol

  18 Dec 2011 | 9:16 pm

  Not until the summer of 2011, did the Marcellus opportunity begin to make sense to me. Knowing nothing about gas drilling, energy policy or how big energy companies function, I grew increasingly frustrated by all the attention that Marcellus was attracting. Then I recalled my Economics 101 professor’s simple message; the impact of one dollar spent in the economy is multiplied 3-10 times as it passes from each buyer to another seller. And with a trillion dollars of spending on natural gas in Western PA, the multiplier effect is mind-boggling! Every business that can do business downstream of…

• Five Keys to Sustaining Your Advanced Consulting Business

  Andy Birol

  18 Dec 2011 | 8:57 pm

  After 14 years of consulting and relocating my business to Western Pennsylvania, many of you have asked, “What keeps you going, Andy?” In advance of my introducing an “Advanced Consulting Mastermind Group” with Michael Couch and the Pittsburgh Consulting Community on January 31st, here’s a preview of my keys to keeping your consulting business healthy and wealthy. 1. Sustain and nurture your professional passion. Constantly learn about your clients’ challenges and help them succeed on their terms. a.    Live to learn, but advise with detached passion. Stay devoted to your…

• Assess Corporate Culture When Choosing Your Next Customer

  Andy Birol

  12 Dec 2011 | 3:03 pm

  It is standard practice to qualify a prospect on the basis of time, need, authority and money, but why not by corporate culture as well? We all find it easier to work with some companies just as we prefer working with some employees more than others. In fact, as a result of outsourcing, with more and more work going to suppliers instead of employees, perhaps the supplier-customer relationship should (and will) start to mimic the employee-employer relationship. If this is so, then as suppliers, we should start to assess our prospect’s corporate culture just as we did when deciding to accept…

• 

  brandSTOKE

• Proud sponsor of plagiarized taglines

  Kirk

  24 Jan 2012 | 8:32 am

  Brands used to pay hefty fees to be sponsors of major attractions, such as the Super Bowl. One reason: They benefit by borrowing brand equity from the event. Turns out, there’s a much cheaper alternative. Many brands, for nothing, are claiming “sponsorship” of free-floating concepts. Why borrow equity from the Summer Olympics when a brand can borrow instead from, say, “the American dream?” Here are a few examples: Mutual of Omaha: Proud Sponsor of Life’s Aha Moments American Cancer Society: The Official Sponsor of Birthdays Omaha Steaks: The Official…

• Chobani starts Greek war, wakes giants

  Kirk

  17 Jan 2012 | 8:36 am

  Usually, niché players are satisfied to pull small shares away from the category leaders. And usually, category leaders overlook the incursions. Only rarely does the niché grow to challenge the entire category, but this is exactly the case with yogurt. Until recently, yogurt sales in the U.S. have been dominated by Dannon and Yoplait. Now, Greek-style yogurt, hardly a presence four years ago, dominates. And New York-based Chobani is the niché-turned-category leader, having launched only four years ago. Greek company, Fage, also led the revolution. It began importing its product in 2000 and…

• Movie quiz: Match the ad claim with the film

  Kirk

  10 Jan 2012 | 8:38 am

  Feel like a movie? See if you can match the following films, now playing, with the blurbs used in their advertising. (Answers below.) Movies 1. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close 2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 3. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy 4. War Horse 5. A Separation 6. A Dangerous Method 7. The Iron Lady 8. Young Adult 9. J. Edgar 10. The Muppets Ad Blurbs a. “One of the Best Films of the Year” b. “One of the Best Films of the Year” c. “Easily One of the Year’s Best Pictures!” d. “Best Picture of the Year” e. “The Best…

• Banished ad words? Whatever.

  Kirk

  5 Jan 2012 | 8:26 am

  Every year since 1976, Lake Superior State University has released its annual list of “Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness.” From the all-time list, I found many clichés used in marketing. Below are a few examples with some comments from the nominators: All new “Of course it’s all new. Why can’t they just say ‘new’?” And more! “Everything marketed can be something else! ‘It’s a hamburger meal, but it’s much, much more! It’s a time machine, too!’” Ask for it by name. “As if…

• Can Coke save its polar bears?

  Kirk

  3 Jan 2012 | 8:25 am

  Pacific Life is saving the whale. Lacoste is saving the croc. Big Ass Fans is saving the donkey. Can The Coca-Cola Company save the polar bear? In 1993, Coke launched its “Always Coca-Cola” campaign, featuring warm-and-fuzzy computer-animated polar bears drinking Coke. (Below is a TV spot typical of the series.) Ironically, while becoming one of the most popular symbols of the Coke brand, the polar bear also emerged as the poster child for the negative impact of global warming. When brand identity is tied to a threatened species, what’s a brand to do? Coke, along with the…

• 

  SiteFox

• Politics, Small Businesses, and You…

  Samir Balwani

  24 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am

  We don’t often talk about politics here, but we came across this awesome infographic that is definitely useful for all small business owners. If you’re not sure who you’re voting for this year, check out the infographic below to see how each candidate stands on small business issues. I’m sure it will change and hopefully we’ll get some updates. In the mean time check it out and let me know what you think. How much of an impact does the candidate’s stance on small business issues impact your choice? Credit: FastUpFront – Business Loans Made Easy.

• The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide [Free Download]

  Samir Balwani

  9 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am

  Let’s face it. Online marketing is difficult to understand and even harder to execute successfully. There’s so much talk about using Facebook and Twitter or having a conversation with your customers. How are you, a small business owner, supposed to find the time to learn all the in’s and out’s of online marketing? That’s why we put together the SiteFox Marketing Guide. It’s a 99-page guide that explains exactly what you need to know about marketing your business online. It also includes a set of action plans to help you execute a successful online marketing…

• Definitive Guide to Word of Mouth Marketing

  Samir Balwani

  22 Dec 2011 | 11:16 am

  Think back to a time you had a problem you needed solved. How’d you find the business you’re using now? Most likely you did one of two things: searched a business directory (maybe online) OR you asked a friend for a recommendation. Having people recommend your business is the basis of word of mouth marketing. It’s doing something so memorable that people talk about you; it’s tied to customer service, viral marketing, and just being a business people like working with. How are you maximizing your word of mouth marketing? What are you doing to make sure people talk about…

• Our Marketing Tracking Document [Free Download]

  Samir Balwani

  20 Dec 2011 | 1:00 am

  When we first started marketing SiteFox, we realized that it wasn’t all about big marketing campaigns or messaging programs. We quickly learned that it was really about maximizing our returns from each channel. One of the things we did early on was setup a document to track each channel and gauge its efficiency for registering new clients. The efficiency is based off a number we derived after deciding on how much of our revenue we wanted to invest in marketing. We’ve been using the spreadsheet for a while now and it’s really helped us strategically invest money in ways that…

• Dos and Don’ts for Your Small Business Newsletter

  Samir Balwani

  15 Dec 2011 | 6:00 am

  Although social media gets all the buzz, email marketing still continues to be an extremely lucrative marketing channel. Businesses are continuing to grow their email lists and connecting with consumers through their newsletters. Making sure you’re creating an active newsletter list directly effects your revenue from your emails. Following a few core rules will make sure you get the most from your list and keep your subscribers happy and opening your emails. Do: Use a Professional Template The first tip is to use a professional template. You’ll notice that a lot of people use the plain…

• 

  PeakBiety branding + advertising

• PeakBiety Chosen by Central Florida’s American Cement Company for Environmental Sustainability Campaign

  PeakBiety

  11 Jan 2012 | 12:13 pm

  PeakBiety branding+advertising announced today that Central Florida’s leading state of the art cement facility, American Cement Company, has chosen it to create an innovative corporate sustainability campaign that will highlight American Cement’s commitment to operating a sustainable manufacturing facility in difficult times and beyond. PeakBiety will build an advertising campaign that will run in industry publications. American Cement recognizes sustainable practices as essential for the future of the company’s operations, as well as the quality of life of its people and the…

• Do you see what I see?

  PeakBiety

  16 Dec 2011 | 9:22 am

  Take a break and let’s decorate the tree! click on the ornaments to begin. Share this:

• The Right Tools for an Agency Search

  PeakBiety

  12 Oct 2011 | 12:34 pm

  What do you need to consider when searching for integrated marketing?   Click to Open Share this:

• QR Codes. Gimmick or Viable Marketing Strategy?

  PeakBiety

  13 Jul 2011 | 1:57 pm

  By Amy Phillips, Creative Director There’s never a dull moment in ad agency world when it comes to technology and new media applications. So one might ask, “what’s up with all the hubbub about QR codes?” Short for Quick Response, QR codes were originally created in 1994 by a subsidiary of Toyota for tracking vehicle-manufacturing parts. Today, QR codes are quickly becoming more popular than traditional (vertical line) barcodes. Why? Because QR codes can hold up to 7,089 characters, whereas the traditional codes only hold a maximum of 20 digits. With their horizontal and…

• PeakBiety Welcomes Art Intern Dan Holden This Summer

  PeakBiety

  30 Jun 2011 | 3:33 pm

  Dan Holden, a recent graduate from the International Academy of Design and Technology is a creative individual with a passion for illustration, print, and plain old good design. Originally from Massachusetts, Dan grew up with a paintbrush in his hand and was constantly drawing and painting. He has won multiple art awards over the years and has the attitude and motivation to be successful at whatever he puts his mind to. Whether he is out for a night on the town or at the golf course he is always admiring and critiquing other design, trying to inspire new ideas or see where it can be improved.

• 

  Executive Career Brand

• Just Joined the New Work Coach Cafe Team

  Meg Guiseppi

  23 Jan 2012 | 7:31 am

  I was thrilled for Susan P. Joyce, my esteemed colleague and online job search guru, when she told me last month that she was about to purchase Work Coach Cafe, a widely-read and highly respected job search and career hub. I was even more thrilled when Susan invited me to join her new team of career professionals supporting Work Coach Café, beginning in the new year.  Ronnie Ann Himmel, who founded the site in 2007, decided to move on to the next stage of her career. She built an amazing community of supportive members and will be sorely missed. Taking over the reins from Ronnie Ann,…

• The Lazy C-level Executive Job Search

  Meg Guiseppi

  16 Jan 2012 | 7:53 am

  So you’re suddenly in an executive job search or planning one – by choice or by circumstance. Things look different out there than they did the last time you were seeking a new opportunity, don’t they? If you’re just starting out or, if your job search is lumbering on and you’re getting few or no interviews or action, you may not know how to job search well. Or you may be lazy – thinking that if you put out a few feelers and get your updated resume onto plenty of job boards, you can sit back and wait for interviews to roll in. That makes you a passive or REACTIVE job seeker,…

• 5 Key Elements of a Strong Online Personal Brand

  Meg Guiseppi

  9 Jan 2012 | 7:49 am

  Do you want to increase your chances to be found by executive recruiters and your target employers? What job seeker doesn’t? Most recruiters and hiring authorities source talent by searching relevant keywords on LinkedIn, Google, and other search engines, and then assessing the people those searches reveal by what they find about them online. If you’re in a job search and have no “online footprint” – that is, a good number of positive, solid search results when your name is Googled – you may be invisible to the very people you need to be positioned in front of. The…

• Brand New Year. New Personal Brand?

  Meg Guiseppi

  2 Jan 2012 | 6:22 am

  If you’re like many people, January is the time to make – and stick to – resolutions that will improve your life in some way. While you’re working on those resolutions, why not also take stock of your personal brand and brand messaging, to be sure they’re aligned with your career plans for this year. Times being what they are, you never know when a new job opportunity, a possible career change, or even a layoff may come your way. Maybe it’s time to re-brand. Ponder these questions: What’s my brand reputation about these days? Have I become the “go…

• Bullet-Proof Your Executive Career in the New World of Work

  Meg Guiseppi

  19 Dec 2011 | 6:37 am

  (An edited version of this article was originally posted on Quintessential Careers as part of the fourth annual Job Action Day initiative, celebrated this year on November 7.) Finding a job and staying employed today – two separate challenges – require more effort and strategic planning than ever before. Maybe you think that finding a job in the digital age means posting your resume to as many job boards as possible, then sitting back and waiting for the interview offers to come flooding in. If that’s how you spend most of your job search time, you’re setting yourself up for…

• 

  Online Branding Blog - reactorr.com

• Personal Branding – Invest in Yourself

  Mark Nicholson

  16 Jan 2012 | 10:45 pm

  Where wil you be in 5 or 10 years from now? It’s impossible to tell, but one thing you can be sure of, what you do today to build your personal brand can create opportunities for you tomorrow. Where to start? Get yourself a blog, but don’t settle for a free hosted one, invest in your own dot com. Everyone (possibly the exception being Seth Godin) eventually switch from a free service at some point. Commit to some kind of schedule and update it on a regular basis. What else? Venture into social media and start networking. There’s plenty of options, I’d recommend Twitter…

• Branding Online as a Medium

  Mark Nicholson

  16 Jan 2012 | 9:51 pm

  Does the Internet suck as a branding medium? That was the question I saw on a post at Millward Brown, and I would have to question this for a few reasons. It’s level of interactivity is second to none, providing a vast amount of options. Video, display ads, search, and most communications options seem readily available. Additionally, its far more easy to measure the effectiveness of any marketing efforts, as well as the ability to evaluate and make quick changes. In many ways, the Internet is almsot a hybrid of most other marketing channels (print, broadcast, DM) with outdoor possibly…

• Digital Marketing Forecast

  Mark Nicholson

  27 Dec 2011 | 11:08 pm

  Search, social, mobile, email and display marketing is thought to grow to $77 billion by 2016, or 35% of all advertising. Interactive teams and budgets are growing as marketers believe the digital channel delivers better results and measurable returns. Search marketing continues to dominate with the largest amount of the marketing budget, while social grows moderately. Mobile marketing overtook both social and email this year. Source: Forrester US Interactive Marketing Forecast, 2011 To 2016 Digital Marketing Forecast is a post from: Online Branding Blog - reactorr.com

• Branding Perspectives

  Mark Nicholson

  26 Dec 2011 | 6:11 pm

  Just how important are brands online? When a consumer is interested in a product or service, they’ll typically search for available options. Or they might turn to their personal network for ideas and suggestions. Since over 25% of search results for the world’s top 20 largest brands are links to user generated content and 34% of bloggers post opinions about products and brands, it’s difficult to ignore the opportunity to connect. Its been said that a company can boost profits by 75-100% by retaining as few as 5% of their current customers. Whatever business you’re in,…

• Targeted Social Media

  Mark Nicholson

  25 Dec 2011 | 9:56 pm

  Social media is both a persuasive and influential part of online branding, and clearly the norm these days. It’s estimated that many Internet users are spending up to 25% of their time on social networks, with as many as 53% of them following or interacting with brands. To understand what’s driving the growth, its important to look at both demographics and psychographics of social media users in order to put things in perspective. Females make up the largest segment of social media users, and 18-34 year olds being the most active among all age groups. Even today targeting is…

• 

  Your Brand Plan for business and career - Blogs - David Sandusky

• How A Start Up CEO Salary Can Help Predict Success or Failure

  David Sandusky

  26 Jan 2012 | 2:49 pm

  Compensation has always been a great indicator of fit between a company need and candidate capabilities. For a start up, this equation indicates the true economy as closely related to the founder and candidate. When I'm asked how much a start up CEO should be paid my answer is "I don't know". Investigating how much a founder is willing to and can pay for the value of the CEO discipline is half of the equation; the other half is how much and what type of compensation structure the best candidates is willing to take personal risk on behalf of the founder vision. Risk, reward and personal…

• Diligent Start-Up Recruiting

  David Sandusky

  9 Aug 2011 | 1:03 pm

  Many entrepreneurs have unique abilities to move fast on opportunities but have many questions when it comes to control of the mission. “How should I finance my start-up?” and "How do I recruit the right people?" are commonly asked questions. There is significant due diligence involved in the answer. You will not find YOUR answer online because your situation is as unique as you are. What you can find is good advice from what questions to ask yourself before you seek the right investors for your mission. You can learn from others about mistakes made in recruiting. Mistakes like not paying…

• Personality in Job Descriptions

  David Sandusky

  17 Jul 2011 | 12:42 pm

  Canned and unoriginal job descriptions represent a company culture brand in the same way. You don't want that do you? Most job descriptions are commodity in nature however. Rethink. Market your culture and your management style while addressing actual problems you need solved via the skills you would be investing in. Job descriptions that paint the picture about what it is like to work in your business makes sense. Personality is not something you should put a lid on. Lay it all out. You might even chase people away who don't fit in to the personality you present. Take this job description…

• What If Everyone Was a Recruiter Even If Recruiter is Not in the Title

  David Sandusky

  1 Jul 2011 | 12:27 pm

  Obviously the entrepreneur and CEO of companies large and small wear the recruiter hat for the brand they create and represent. Why do so many feel the brand championing or deflating stops there? Every person in the organization contributes to the culture and delivers the internal and external brand. Therefore, everyone is responsible for establishing the recruiting platform to recruit and retain the best. Only companies who manage to attract a base of employees who take pride in the products and services they represent can accomplish true expansion of a healthy culture. These companies can…

• Retaining Members with Effective Meetings

  David Sandusky

  13 Jun 2011 | 1:40 pm

  Great people and strategic plans recruit great people. Great people with new ideas recruit great people to help build early stage strategy, funding and teams. As soon as the excitement is at the top and the energy is driving great things, founding culture killing meetings start to drive away the talent. Sound familiar? We already know the reputation of regular meetings held by management in corporations. Boring. Nearly worthless. At least non-profits retain people based on shared mission, but to retain the best volunteers also experiences a short shelf life when meetings kill the momentum.

• 

  Marques inspirantes et déprimantes - Par Jevto Dedijer

• Coca Cola purifie l'air aux Philippines

  Jevto Dedijer

  13 Jan 2012 | 6:44 am

  En collaboration avec le WWF Coca Cola a conçu une affiche géante et vivante à l'aide de plantes de thé. Pas mal les amis!

• Is your brand honest and transparent like Domino's Pizza?

  Jevto Dedijer

  13 Jan 2012 | 6:34 am

  Domino's Pizza share both the good and the bad about their brand. On Times Square you can watch live tweets about the brand, its products and service, some favorable some not. People don't expect perfect brands today. They expect honest brands.

• Quelle direction la sortie?

  Jevto Dedijer

  13 Jan 2012 | 5:35 am

  En cas d'urgence allez à droite! Non, à gauche! Non, en bas.

• Apple n'a pas fabriqué cette machine

  Jevto Dedijer

  13 Jan 2012 | 5:30 am

  Ce qui se passe dans une industrie influence les autres industries. L'autre jour je voulais payer mon stationnement et je me vois confronté à ce monstre. Quatre minutes pour payer mon stationnement. C'est évident que cette machine n'a pas été conçu par Apple. La morale de l'histoire. Il ne suffit plus d'être expert de votre industrie. Vous devez surveiller tout ce qui pourrait influencer la perception de vos produits, services etc.

• Votre marque est-elle utile pour vos clients?

  Jevto Dedijer

  3 Jun 2011 | 8:54 am

  Êtes vous encore en train de vendre à vos clients? Si oui, vous êtes dépassé. Désolé! Vous devez être utile pour vos clients, les aider, rendre leurs vies plus faciles etc. Aujourd'hui, en tant que consommateur, on se pose la question suivante lorsqu'on voit une marque essayer de nous rejoindre par tous les moyens: ''Qu'est ce que vous faites POUR MOI à part d'essayer de me vendre quelque chose? Dans le Globe and Mail d'aujourd'hui il y a un article sur ce que la ville de Toronto essaye de faire pour paraître mon platte. La stratégie est simple. Ils…

• 

  Stealing Share

• Vergara is vibrant, but Diet Pepsi spot is not

  ssadmin

  25 Jan 2012 | 1:09 pm

  If you’re a fan of the ABC show, “Modern Family,” you’re familiar with Sofia Vergara, the hot mama married to the family patriarch. If so, then you may have noticed the new Diet Pepsi ad featuring her. If you’re anybody else, you didn’t. That’s because the campaign demonstrates exactly why the beverage industry is stuck in park with nobody shifting into drive to take even a few market share points. This is a spot that does absolutely nothing new. The thrust of the ad is this: Sofia tries to work her way through a Miami nightclub, chasing an elusive can of Diet Pepsi – but is…

• Citgo’s “good gas” means proving others have “bad gas”

  ssadmin

  23 Jan 2012 | 12:27 pm

  I will sometimes fill up my gas tank at a Citgo down the road, but my usage is based on its proximity to my home and the lack of traffic getting in and out of it. Not because of any preference with Citgo. On recent visits, I noticed posters Citgo has hung around the station with the slogan, “Citgo is good gas.” My question to Citgo is, what percentage of the market believes that the gas they buy at gas stations is bad? Gas, at least from my perspective, is gas. I either get gas here or I get gas there. No matter where I buy gas I believe I already have “good.” Regular is…

• The cruise industry put itself in this spot before the Italy disaster

  ssadmin

  19 Jan 2012 | 8:26 am

  The cruise industry is about to go into shambles, which is not the most profound thing I’ve ever written in light of the inane and tragic crash of the Costa Concordia cruise liner near Italy. I’m not going to get into the specifics of the tragedy, although the cowardliness and ineptitude of the cruiser’s captain is beyond my understanding. Instead, from a consumer point of view, let’s briefly examine what mistakes the industry has made that means it will struggle to overcome the increasingly negative perception of the industry and what it could have done about it. For years, the…

• RIM misses the necessary “table stakes” with the Blackberry Playbook

  ssadmin

  18 Jan 2012 | 2:57 pm

  I may remain perpetually baffled with the technological outfit, Research In Motion (RIM). As you may recall, several weeks ago, I gave RIM a wagging finger of disapproval for its maligned understanding of cell phone prerequisites. This is now a moot point, as unbelievably, RIM is now displaying that it understands the tablet world even less than it does cell phones. My sensors went into overdrive as I read Ian Austin and Brian Chen’s New York Times article, “Analysts Fault Additions to RIM Playbook Tablet.” After the first paragraph, the necessity of tablet “table stakes” came into…

• Hulu Plus does right what Netflix doesn’t

  ssadmin

  16 Jan 2012 | 8:42 am

  Recently, the online video subscription service, Hulu Plus, announced that it ended 2011 with a whopping 1.5 million subscriptions. Specifically, what is it that the Hulu Plus brand is doing right? More importantly, why is Hulu Plus in route to supplant Netflix? Let’s take a look at Hulu. Hulu offers current content. Sure, Netflix has a substantial collection of television series that have been or are still in syndication, or it simply has past seasons. Not current ones. But it doesn’t deliver the current content that Hulu does. For example, perhaps you are a Parks and Recreation fan.

• 

  InterbrandBlog

• Capitalizing on Baby

  26 Jan 2012 | 9:31 am

  Whether you call her Hip Hop royalty or the next generation of stardom, on January 7th 2012 Jay –Z and Beyonce welcomed their first child, a daughter named Blue Ivy Carter. At just 4 days old, Blue Ivy Carter was the youngest person to appear on the Billboard Charts with ...

• From wonderfully simple to simply woeful: 2011 names in review

  24 Jan 2012 | 10:56 am

    From wonderfully simple to simply woeful: 2011 names in review As the holidays are done blaring, and the promising buzz of the next has already begun, we find it's our favorite time to take stock on the year that was, and publish our famous, unquantified, limited-sample-size, purely personal, ...

• The Day the Internet Stood Still

  18 Jan 2012 | 11:10 am

  Today the web goes on strike to protest anti-piracy bills – Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in Congress and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in Senate. It is estimated over 5,000 websites will go black anywhere from one hour to 24 hours or websites will remain live with links to ...

• A new gTLD window opens, and the dotbrand watch begins

  12 Jan 2012 | 1:29 pm

  Today marks the official start of a much debated and highly opposed move by ICANN to open up domain name extensions. According to Network World, this controversial plan makes 2012 a year “poised to go down in Internet history as one of the most significant 12-month periods from both ...

• What is your branded mobile application strategy?

  23 Dec 2011 | 11:04 am

  Nowadays, mobile technology is ubiquitous. There’s been an enormous increase in the worldwide use of cell phones, digital music players and other mobile technology devices in recent years. Smart phones represent the ideal combination of all these functionalities, which explains their popularity. Whether you’re waiting for the bus, traveling by ...

• 

  Create and Conquer

• How to be Interesting Online (And Snap Some Sweet-Ass Attention)

  MarsDorian

  26 Jan 2012 | 1:23 pm

  You weren’t meant to be boring as fuck. There’s a shiny uniqueness within you that wants to get the hell out. And it’s not just a line I read in book, it’s actually a VITAL virtue if you want to make your online presence STAND OUT. Read the following cartoon-enhanced post and remember the stuff. Damn, your digital future’s is on the line ! BTW – I’m sorry for the crappy drawings. I didn’t sleep last night (creating too much), so my creativity is below toilet level. Don’t flush me down yet – this post can still edutain you. Time to…

• The Bitter Truth You Have to Embrace (IF You Want to be Remarkable)

  MarsDorian

  19 Jan 2012 | 2:26 pm

      Here’s the problem: A lot of (online) solopreneurs read Seth GODin like he got the cure inside. They get infected with remarkablitis and think they’re now Purple Cows. They produce a lot of work and products that are merely good, while believing they’re creating OUTSTANDING work. They’re not. And this is the danger of delusion. Once you think you’re doing kick-ass work, you become complacent, and that prevents you from REALLY creating kick-ass stuff. What those people create is just “good” work, and in rare, and I mean very rare…

• 10 CARTOONS That Will Inspire You to ROCK this Year with Endless Fire Inside

  MarsDorian

  6 Jan 2012 | 12:16 pm

  1) Make your mind go empire We all know that the world we want to build has to be first created in our minds. The moment you think something is impossible is the same moment someone else makes it possible. I challenge you to think big, and I mean really big this year. Even if you don’t achieve your crazy-ass goals this year, you’re going to get damn close. If you have unrestricted online access, you can build whatever the hell you want to build. Remember the cute animales in the imperial image above. Sure, they’re small  & look plush-y, but the weapons they’ve…

• Read my blogging lessons of 2011 and avoid sucking as much as I did

  MarsDorian

  22 Dec 2011 | 2:42 pm

    Hellow my fellow digital crusader. Here’s a short, but juicy list of the good and bad I did with building my  online brand in 2011. I hope you soak up this post like a hungry Spongebob Squarepants – there may be  some “aha” – moments and warnings you don’t want to avoid. Achtung – strong language up ahead. Kids, please ask your parents for moral guidance ! Let’s start with the positive: What I did right: Sharpening my inner voice. In the beginning of this year, my style was mellow like Mr. Marshmallow . I was avoiding going all the way…

• Why Being PUBLICLY Vulnerable Can Dramatically Advance Your Online Career

  MarsDorian

  10 Nov 2011 | 10:20 am

  Fuck fuck fuck. It’s been a long ass time since my last post, but I’m back into my groove. I want to write about an interview that changed the way I look at my brand and career, and I think the following story can also dramatically change the way YOU handle your online presence. A few weeks ago,  I listened to an interview on Endingthegrind.com Steve, the owner of the site, is a family guy who’s stuck in a 9-5 and wants to get out ASAP. He interviewed famed bloggess Penelope Trunk to get some tips on living and working on one’s own terms. The first 10 mins were…

• 

  The Online Community Guide

• Responding To Members

  Richard Millington

  26 Jan 2012 | 3:46 am

  Yesterday a commenter asked how anyone can reply to all community member e-mails in an hour or less. It takes her nearly all day to get through them all. The answer is fairly simple.  You don't get all the e-mails done in an hour. You only give yourself an hour to go through it (the hour is arbitrary). You get through as many as possible in that hour. The rest of the time you spend developing your community.  The danger here is spending more time on unhappy members and ignoring the happy people in your community. Would you rather spend 20 minutes resolving a minor…

• Essential Elements Of Community Platforms

  Richard Millington

  25 Jan 2012 | 3:23 am

  Don't compare community platforms by the features they do/don't have. Compare community platforms by the features that are essential to you and how well they execute on those features.  The number of essential features is very limited.  Discussion area. Members need a place in which they can interact. This will usually be a forum-based.  Notifications. Members need to be notified when people have responded to their posts. This keeps members coming back. It sustains activity.  Analytics. You need to be able to properly track what's going on. You need to know…

• A Simple Way To Stimulate Interesting Discussions

  Richard Millington

  24 Jan 2012 | 3:14 am

  If you want to initiate discussions which get a good response, you need to know a few things: 1)   What do your members really care about? 2)   What are your members’ biggest problems? 3)   What do your members do? (habits online/offline) Once you know this, it’s relatively easy to initiate discussions along these lines (and highlight discussions initiated by members along these lines). For example, what is the best way to…? How many of you have found {x} is really difficult? Have you ever found that….? You don’t always need to ask for the…

• Community Management: Planning The Week

  Richard Millington

  23 Jan 2012 | 5:57 am

  Professional community managers plan their week in advance. Their plans are based upon data collected from the community (growth, engagement and sense of community), and knowledge of what communities need to further develop.  Let's assume your community is in the establishment phase and you're a full-time community manager working 40 hours a week (I know, but let's imagine). Using the Community Management Map, you would spend approximately the following amount of time on each element of community management: Strategy: 2 hours (collecting/analyzing data) Growth: 10 hours…

• The Internal Problems You Don't See

  Richard Millington

  20 Jan 2012 | 5:59 am

  Last week a number of community managers claimed their biggest problem was internal.  They didn't have the right support of the organization.  This had many manifestations including: Using the wrong platform. Lacking resources. Juggling multiple projects. No budget for training. Couldn't allow community members to contribute content. Forced the community manager to use formal language. Restricted off-topic conversations. Demanding results too early.  Removed criticisms.  Do these sound familiar? There are three problems here. First, when asked, many had no plan…

• 

  Personal Branding TV

• Personal Branding Interview with William Arruda renowned author and speaker

  Regina

  24 Jan 2012 | 10:38 pm

  This video interview by Zoe Sands, Head of Digital Marketing at Juniper Networks, with William Arruda was taken at the Juniper Networks Global Partner Conference on January 18, 2012. The interview covers the basics of personal branding and provides hints and tips on tuning your own personal branding and dealing with any digital dirt associated with your name and individual brand. The video is about 10 minutes in length, but well worth taking the time to listen. If you are interested in developing your personal brand then why not check out William’s book “Career Distinction“,…

• Personal Branding With a Spin – Become Your Brand – Gears 5 & 6

  Regina

  19 Jan 2012 | 1:30 am

  This is the third video in a 5-part series outlining the 10 gears you need to shift through to become your brand and demonstrate your unique promise of value. In this video Peter covers Gear 5: your competitors / peers and Gear 6: your personal brand statement. BIO: Peter Sterlacci, Founder of BEYB – Believe. Become. Be Your Brand combines personal branding strategy with cycling imagery to empower on-the-move careerists in global companies in Japan to shift gears, get out of the saddle, and sprint to career success.

• Commercial Break: Toyota Rav 4 …

  Regina

  12 Jan 2012 | 6:07 am

  From Issue 65 of YOUnique, the Reach Personal Branding Newsletter: Toyota Rav 4 Some Things in Life Can Wait I love this commercial because: I actually love the casting. I think the main character is the perfect mother – wishing for grandchildren; and love the way it is filmed flashing back and forth between the two scenes. This ad and YOUR personal brand: If your brand community sees your value in one way, how can you show them your versatility? Letting them know ALL the value you can bring to an engagement.

• Leaders Know How to Build Relationships

  Regina

  9 Jan 2012 | 12:52 am

  Valerie Sokolosky Speaking at the Women in Transportation Summit about Leadership Presence, and Personal Branding. In this video she talks about leaders knowing how to build relationships. Bio: Valerie Sokolosky founded Valerie & Company in 1981, an international leadership development consulting firm focusing on people skills. Her executive coaching and training in Fortune 500 companies has motivated their employees which has resulted in significant profits for these organizations.

• Fawn Germer Interview – Reach Personal Branding Interview Series

  reachproducer

  4 Jan 2012 | 10:30 am

  Click on the microphone to download the interview >>> Hard Won Wisdom This Reach Interview is sponsored by Stress Coach U. Learn to teach your clients effective stress reduction techniques while earning 5 ICF CCEs. This 5-session tele course starts February 1, so register now for the few remaining spaces: www.stresscoachu.com. We are delighted to start 2012 by hosting one of our nation’s most sought after inspirational speakers, Fawn Germer. Fawn’s recent book, Hard Won Wisdom, was declared by Oprah Winfrey to be “very inspiring.” And considering all…

• 

  Beneath the Brand RSS News Feed

• The Reinvention of J.C. Penney

  Kaitlin T. Gallucci

  27 Jan 2012 | 9:12 am

  Summary: Age ain't nothing but a number - J.C. Penney may be nearly 110 years old, but the retailer is embarking on one of the most drastic and innovative rebranding strategies, led by its new CEO Ron Johnson (of Apple fame). The brand is rolling out a new "fair and square" pricing and promotional strategy.

• Chobani: On Board With Pinterest

  Rosann Fisher

  27 Jan 2012 | 6:38 am

  Summary: In just a few short years, Chobani has morphed itself from a small yogurt company to a $257-million business that's ranked third among all yogurt brands. And now, according to Fast Company, the Greek yogurt giant is expanding its progressive social strategy to include Pinterest. After noticing that fans were pinning images of the yogurt, the Chobani social media team decided it was time to create an official place for their customers to connect.

• Maintaining a Luxury Brand Image

  Kaitlin T. Gallucci

  26 Jan 2012 | 6:33 am

  Summary: Luxury consumers are online, and luxury brands are certainly on their way. Still, there are numerous challenges facing the luxury marketer online -- how can you maintain the mystique and prestige of a brand's image in a channel that is essentially a free-for-all? The eTail Blog recently shared some of the most important elements.

• The ABCs of Mobile App Measurement

  Ted Curtin

  25 Jan 2012 | 9:24 am

  Summary: Understanding the metrics behind this growing channel is fundamental to understanding the value of your mobile app as well as the ROI of your mobile investment. According to e-Marketer magazine, an astonishing 63% of marketers don't measure beyond the initial downloads. You need to understand how customers are interacting with your content and with what degree of frequency.

• 'Challenged' or Not, Hermès is Engaged

  Kaitlin T. Gallucci

  25 Jan 2012 | 9:21 am

  Summary: We recently saw Hermès receive a rating of "challenged" in L2's "Digital IQ" report. Well, perhaps that will change in 2012. FMM just named Hermès' Paris Mon Ami one of the best luxury fashion brand blogs of 2011. The blog just launched in August of 2011 and introduced its latest campaign, "My Horse & I," just days before the new year.

• 

  West Hall Media

• How To Have A Banner Year

  David Horne

  8 Jan 2012 | 6:14 pm

  Remember this, and 2012 can be a banner year: Win from within If you can’t see the video, click here.

• Happy Thanksgiving

  David Horne

  24 Nov 2011 | 7:56 am

  We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Here is one of our favorite turkey day spots:

• The Future of Advertising

  David Horne

  11 Nov 2011 | 9:04 pm

  The future of Advertising is CATVERTISING Enjoy this brilliant video from the Toronto based agency, John St. If you can’t see the video, click here.

• Begin With The End In Mind

  David Horne

  12 Oct 2011 | 11:28 pm

  Begin with the end in mind when creating your marketing strategy. This time of year we talk with clients about what they want to do next year to move their brand forward and take business to the next level. This is easier to figure out by looking back as if it is already done and you are just recounting what you did to get there. Plus, thinking about the end helps you prioritize what is most important to accomplish. Try this. Imagine you are being interviewed by someone. The date is December 31st, 2012. You are being asked about how you were able to hit your goals for the year. Write down…

• QR Code Campaigns

  David Horne

  7 Sep 2011 | 4:13 pm

  We are working on a few QR Code campaigns for clients. Each one is as unique in its execution as it is in its purpose. If you have thought about using them, check out a few of my favorite cool and creative uses below. But First! Here are three questions to ask before you jump into the quick response (QR) trend. Know your audience. Do they use smartphones and have QR readers? Why? What relevant and unique content or landing page are you going to send customers to who scan? World Park: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OCyfV_k2_g if you can’t see the video, click [here]. Home Plus/Tesco:…

• 

  Deep Ad Thoughts

• Oh the Things We Say…

  Laura Farnham

  27 Jan 2012 | 1:45 pm

  I would like to end this busy week with a little TCA humor. Tidbits of our insightful conversations are worth sharing, because frankly, they’re kind of weird and kind of funny.  Happy Friday! You... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Test Campaigns – Take Your Media Ideas for a Spin

  Danielle Ensley

  19 Jan 2012 | 2:14 pm

  As marketers, we are always conducting research to verify the perfect target audience for a product or service. We are experts at knowing the target audience – what they do and how they think.... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Things We Love – Up Up Up

  Kyle Sacks

  12 Jan 2012 | 12:37 pm

  If you’re like me, sometimes a good toe tapper is all that will get you through a particularly tedious task. This song, *Up Up Up* by Givers is a catchy little pop number with a pretty epic... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Things We Love…

  Jocelyn Rimbey, Digital Marketing Manager

  12 Jan 2012 | 10:29 am

  …coffee edition. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• The Cyphers Agency Grows: Welcome Laura Farnham

  Jocelyn Rimbey, Digital Marketing Manager

  10 Jan 2012 | 8:58 am

  We’re happy to announce the addition of Laura Farnham to our work family. She has joined us as an account executive, working directly with clients like Huntington Learning Center and Mr. Beams,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• 

  Dwayne Flinchum

• Supporting Your Investments

  admin

  17 Jan 2012 | 6:36 pm

  I recently had a meeting with a private foundation in which we discussed the idea of an agency-vendor pool of resources, designed specifically to support the communications of their grantees. They realized that they were making important investments in those research and charitable ventures, but that in most cases, the capabilities of those organizations to present their own brand image and messaging could be improved. I left the meeting truly inspired by what I’d term innovative thinking at its best. What an obvious need and what a resourceful, breakthrough solution! Brilliant.

• Media Gifts: A Funny Family Anecdote

  admin

  29 Dec 2011 | 6:26 pm

  As many of us are prone, I welled up with the holiday spirit, thankful for so much and wanting to give as much as I could to my mother, girlfriend, brother, my two sisters and my children, my client managers, my staff, the doormen, valets and porters in my building, the security people and super at my office, tutor, caretaker, housekeeper, dog walker. . . there seemed no end. I was determined to give and “share.” My company even donated over a hundred pounds of canned food to City Harvest. For many of us, 2011 has been another year of constricted budgets, of doing more with less.

• The Great Holiday Sweater Showdown

  admin

  2 Dec 2011 | 12:34 pm

  Design is everywhere — in your brand, in the holiday season, on the sweaters we wear! At IridiumGroup, we develop strategies and design for brands. But why should we have all the fun? This month, we’re giving you the gift of a blank canvas to share your own story and create your own brand… on a sweater. Design and express winter apparel that is uniquely YOU, and register for the chance to win a prize. Visit sweatershowdown.com to create your design. We are utilizing emerging technologies like HTML5 Canvas, SVG, data API and the Facebook API among others. As a more technically…

• An Interactive Challenge to Marketers and Communicators

  admin

  8 Nov 2011 | 10:09 am

  Where does your organization rank in the realm of interactive marketing? Are you best in class at application of your brand online? Are you poised for the invariable changes that will affect this area of your brand? Read this Q&A if you would like to learn astute insights into the world of opportunity — and risk — that can affect your performance in the brave new world of digital brand management. Eamon Sisk joined IridiumGroup as part of our continued investment in an “A-Class” level of capabilities for interactive communications. Eamon has worked for over eight years as an…

• Accessibility of Information: A Good Thing for Business?

  admin

  6 Nov 2011 | 8:35 pm

  Floyd Norris at The New York Times hit the nail on the head this weekend with a great summary of the financial markets. Volatile, but Nearly Running in Place The Federal Reserve offered an official statement last week, acknowledging that it had grossly under-estimated the depth of the economic recession that began in September, 2008. . . this, all while refraining from issuing new policies to jump start the economy. They predicted 2 more years (at least) of recovery, although I cannot be sure that they used the same exact vernacular. Regardless of how they finessed their own misread of the…

• 

  The Fosbury Flop

• Reputation Communications Cheers and Jeers

  Jim Barbagallo

  27 Jan 2012 | 3:47 pm

  As usual, politicians, athletes and business leaders have given us a week full of opportunities to cheer or jeer their actions.  As a result, reputations have either advanced or have been damaged.  For some, the damage can be managed.  For others, well, not so much. My favs for the week: Cheers to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick for standing up for “basic courtesy and grace” in the wake of Tim Thomas’ decision to avoid a photo opp earlier this week with the President of the U.S.  Thomas, superstar goalie for the Boston Bruins, snubbed the President and his own…

• Irrefutible Rules of Executive Media Training

  Jim Barbagallo

  20 Jan 2012 | 11:03 am

  If business and political leaders committed to listening to their media specialists before talking to the press, their interview success rate would be through the roof.  The journalist would be on the receiving end of a better interview delivered by an informed and articulate content provider (aka, the spokesperson); the spokesperson will have delivered key messages in a concise, coherent and clear manner; and, the media specialist would have one less fire to extinguish. Yet, we see time-after-time leaders putting a foot in their mouth because they did not properly prepare for a planned…

• Stories Are the Single Most Powerful Weapon in a Brand’s Arsenal (video link)

  Jim Barbagallo

  18 Jan 2012 | 4:25 pm

  Content-centered public relations turns ideas into stories and then into experiences that lead people to respond through action.  In public relations, we talk about stories as being the single most powerful weapon in a brand’s arsenal. A successful public relations campaign serves to define a brand in ways that educate and inform markets so that the target audience(s) is motivated to act after experiencing great content.  For the target audience to act, the story must be compelling and be brought to life in content best-suited for that particular audience — eBooks, events, blog…

• Why Pay-for-Performance PR Agencies Can Hurt PR

  Jim Barbagallo

  13 Jan 2012 | 12:57 pm

  Recently a marketing executive from Israel posted the following update on the “Technology PR, AR and Social Media” group on LinkedIn.  Question: Looking to hire a PR firm in the U.S. but not able to go crazy with retainers. Does anyone have good experience with working on a pay-per-performance model with a PR firm? The request garnered only three public responses from the group’s membership of more than 800 public relations professionals.  You can interpret whatever you’d like from the dearth of responses.  Whatever the reasons may be, there are still hundreds…

• The Simple Life: 5 New Year Resolutions to Make

  aimeecharest

  5 Jan 2012 | 4:09 pm

  Umi/Aki Java Calendar 1997 digital media | CD-ROM by John Maeda. Source: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Recently I came across a TED talk by John Maeda, president of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and formerly of MIT’s Media Lab.  The subject was finding simplicity – the simple life – in a complicated digital age.   As a communications professional, the idea of simplicity is both timely and applicable, and it adds needed perspective to all of our professional lives. Here are 5 ways to get back to basics in 2012. Get quiet.  This recent NY Times opinion piece “The Joy…

• 

  mymagneticblog.com

• How Entrepreneurs Define Success

  Silvia Pencak

  27 Jan 2012 | 1:17 pm

  Recent Hartford’s Small Business Success Study released earlier this week surveyed 2,000 small business owners to discover that in spite of all the problems they face, solo-preneurs still remain optimistic about their future. It’s really great to see that profits is NOT how small business owners define their success. Success for entrepreneurs is more about living their passion. Although 77% want to increase their profits, only 18% define it as the most important success factor. It’s interesting to look at the barriers small businesses face on their road to success. No…

• Tips For Creating Powerful Headlines That Sell

  Silvia Pencak

  24 Jan 2012 | 4:05 am

  No matter whether you run offline or online business, you have mere seconds to capture a prospect’s attention. One of the single most powerful tools out there to help you accomplish this task is your headline. There are several keys to a compelling and profitable headline and a few tips to help you get the job done. #1 Tap into Your Prospects’ Emotions According to psychologists our buying decisions are based first and foremost on our emotions. Use headlines which offer your readers a strong emotional benefit or reaction. Some possible emotions are: smart, powerful, profitable.

• Strategy Quotes 2

  Silvia Pencak

  18 Jan 2012 | 6:54 am

  “All successful people have a goal. No one can get anywhere unless he knows where he wants to go.” Norman Vincent Peale “Organize, don’t agonize.” Nancy Pelosi “There is always a better strategy than the one you have; you just haven’t thought of it yet.” Sir Brian Pitman “A strategy delineates a territory in which a company seeks to be unique.” Michael Porter “Finally, strategy must have continuity. It can’t be constantly reinvented.” Michael Porter “So companies have to be very schizophrenic. On one hand, they have…

• Strategy Quotes

  Silvia Pencak

  18 Jan 2012 | 6:45 am

  “What’s the use of running if you are not on the right road.” Author Unknown “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” Napoleon Bonaparte “Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action comes, stop thinking and go in.” Napoleon Bonaparte “Strategy is the art of making use of time and space. I am less chary of the latter than the former; space we can recover, time never.” Napoleon Bonaparte “The strategy of my coach and me was that we looked at pictures of all the best pole vaulters from around the world, and we took the best…

• Social Media for Dummies: How to Use Social Media

  Silvia Pencak

  17 Jan 2012 | 6:24 am

  In a world that is driven by the internet, business owners are quickly realizing the value of social media marketing. Social media has many different valuable uses in the world of marketing. Not only does it help you find your target audience and get your message across to them, but it also helps you develop connections with them – one of the most important aspects in business success. Here is a short summarized guide to social media for dummies that will teach you how to use social media as a successful marketing strategy. Where will you market? There are dozens of different social media…

• 

  RSS feed | Labbrand Brand Innovations

• San Pellegrino sparkles with BVLGARI

  labbrand_user

  17 Jan 2012 | 9:07 pm

  The Italian brand of sparkling mineral water San Pellegrino, recently teamed-up with the iconic jewelry and fashion accessories brand BVLGARI to commemorate the latter’s 125th anniversary. The two Italian firms jointly designed a limited edition bottle named BVLGARI x San Pellegrino, which aims to celebrate Italy’s refined spirit and culture.

• Brand Research in China: Local Considerations for Global Projects

  labbrand_user

  27 Dec 2011 | 11:24 pm

  Over the past several years, in the face of change in global markets, the role of market and consumer research in addressing business concerns has evolved significantly. This evolution has not always been smooth, and numerous debates have emerged surrounding key areas: qualitative vs. quantitative approaches, online vs. offline, moving from presenting the “what” to the “so what”, and more. At the same time, emerging consumer groups in developing nations are attracting more attention from brands and researchers, with Asian markets as well as Generation Y sparking…

• China’s Top Brand Stories of 2011

  labbrand_user

  27 Dec 2011 | 9:51 pm

  In 2011 the world witnessed various alterations of growth dynamics within and outside of China. However, the word ascendance is still the one that can best describe the current state of affairs ofthe country. Having surpassed Japan to become the world’s second largest economy, Chinese states men and business leaders are becoming increasingly aware of the crucial role that branding and communications play in this process of growth. For all major brands, international or Chinese, the aim is now to better tailor their products, image, and communications to the needs of a growing, more…

• The Sound of Brands

  labbrand_user

  27 Dec 2011 | 8:02 pm

  A Look at the Positive Effect of Sound Repetition in Brand Names   What do the brands Coca-Cola, Hubba Bubba, TuttiFrutti, Zara, Sasa, and Kit Kat have in common? Say them aloud and you will realize: They all have a repetition of sounds in their brand names. The sound of a brand can have a big part to play in its popularity, as recent studies have now shown.

• Name Analysis: Chinese Indigenous Brands with Foreign Names

  labbrand_user

  25 Dec 2011 | 11:44 pm

  In recent years it is becoming obvious that there is an increased awareness and understanding of Chinese companies regarding the importance of brand building. Conscious of the positive association between foreign brands and product quality that exists in the minds of Chinese consumers, many domestic companies are creating brand names that sound foreign in order to appeal to their target consumers. A large number of Chinese companies that use this naming strategy operate in the fashion, real estate, and household goods industries. Below is a list of some of the most popular brands in the…

• 

  Audacity

• Audacity’s CEO to Coach Classes at SDSU

  The Audacity Team

  23 Jan 2012 | 7:06 pm

  Starting Wednesday, January 25th 2012, Audacity’s CEO Gaetan Fraikin will begin coaching a series of classes at San Diego State University on the topic of branding. Kick off the Marketing & Media program by learning how to identify and understand your target market(s) and  simultaneously create and position a brand identity. In this fast-paced course, you’ll learn how to differentiate your company from the competition, how to position a brand in the marketplace by creating cohesion across your internal efforts and focus, and how consumer perceptions are formed from brand…

• The Dream Has Become a Reality

  The Audacity Team

  10 Jan 2012 | 5:50 pm

  Rest easy doubters and naysayers, for it has finally happened… The $1000 genome has finally arrived! Today, at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, two giants of the genetic testing and research market revealed two new products whose releases mark a historic day for the genetic analysis industry as a whole.  Thanks to Illumina and Life Technologies (via Ion Torrent), the long-held dream of the $1000 genome has finally become a reality.  Both companies used their moment in the sun to spotlight each of their soon-to-be-released genomic sequencing instruments: the Benchtop Ion Proton…

• Emerging US Bioclusters

  The Audacity Team

  5 Jan 2012 | 3:10 pm

  According to an article from Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News, due to several factors that include a weak economy over the past four years and industry cutbacks, a handful of emerging biotech clusters in the US have risen to prominence.  One is left to ponder if the growth of these areas may prove sufficient enough to eventually come close to, or perhaps even overtake, more established life science clusters across the country. The article recaps interesting analysis points from a recently released report on the state of the global life science from consulting firm Jones Lang…

• Patients Want Physicians to Share More

  The Audacity Team

  22 Dec 2011 | 12:32 pm

  According to two new recently published studies, not only are a majority of patients interested in seeing what their doctors write on their personal health records, but they are also interested in being able to share the contents of those files with third parties, particularly family members. The first study gathered information from over 18,000 individuals, mostly men aged 50 and older who use the MyHealtheVet online service.  The survey was conducted for a little over a month via the same online service.  When the results were tallied, researchers found that approximately 79% of the…

• Junior Graphic Design, Production | San Diego

  The Audacity Team

  16 Dec 2011 | 11:44 am

  JUNIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER | SAN DIEGOReady for a new challenge in graphic design, with a fast moving, international branding and communications agency? If you have a passion for graphic design: send us your resume today!Audacity is the only branding + marketing communications agency that builds high-performance life science brands with heath care providers, key opinion leaders, labs, pharma and patients, by creating brands and brand experiences that tangibly impact markets’ behaviour in their favour, through our proprietary C.O.D.E. approach. Clients include Sony, HP, Samsung,…

• 

  Hinge Branding and Marketing Blog

• The Digital Revolution In Professional Services Marketing

  sylvia@hingemarketing.com

  23 Jan 2012 | 7:53 am

  By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.   Whether you are prepared for it or not, there is a wave of change ready to break. The world of professional services marketing is about to change in ways that many folks have not anticipated. There will be new winners and new losers. Some firms will rise to reshape the industry. And it is likely to happen very quickly. Some people believe that professional services are inherently local. You must be face to face to build trust and provide service — ergo professional services will always be local. As it turns out, there is another path to trust and that…

• Three Questions for Marketing Plan Success

  sylvia@hingemarketing.com

  16 Jan 2012 | 6:21 am

  By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.   If yours is like most professional services firms, this is the time of year when you are scrambling to finish up your marketing plan for the new year. I know, you had intended to have it wrapped up by the end of last year, but here you are. In the spirit of helping you make those last few decisions, I thought it might be helpful to pass along three questions that may give you a better perspective. At Hinge, we have been doing a boatload of marketing strategy reviews, and we have found that these questions help put things in perspective. If you answer them…

• LinkedIn Strategy For Professional Services Executives: 3 The 10-Minute-a-Day Plan

  sylvia@hingemarketing.com

  9 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am

  By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.   If you are like most professional services executives you are strapped for time. And while the benefits of social media sound appealing, the process also sounds very time intensive (which it is). Does all of this activity justify the time devoted to it? The answer, in my experience, is to start small and determine if it is a good match for your disposition and target client group. Here’s a plan to make that happen. Step 1. Find your 10-minutes a day.Consider substituting this “online networking” for a piece of your traditional…

• LinkedIn Strategy for Professional Services Executives 2: Top Tools To Use

  sylvia@hingemarketing.com

  2 Jan 2012 | 6:00 am

  By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.   So you’re on LinkedIn but not really sure how you should be using it. Is it a good use of your time? What exactly should you be doing when you are there? In the first post in this series, we made the case that LinkedIn is both a widely used tool and is seen as effective by those that know and use it well. We also reviewed the most realistic goals for a LinkedIn strategy. In this post we’ll explore the top "tools" that LinkedIn provides with its free accounts. These tools will provide all the functionality that most professional services…

• LinkedIn Strategy For Professional Services Executives: 1

  sylvia@hingemarketing.com

  28 Dec 2011 | 1:50 pm

  By Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D.   If you are a professional services executive there's a good chance that you're already on LinkedIn. You may love it, hate it, or not even understand it, but you can’t ignore it. So what is the appropriate LinkedIn strategy for you and your professional services firm? Let’s start with the basics. What is LinkedIn? LinkedIn is the premier social media site for professionals. With its laser0like focus on the business side of life (as contrasted to the more personal focus of Facebook), it may be something of a misnomer to call it a social media…

• 

  Aaker on Brands

• What Readers Should Know While Reading Jim Stengel’s “Grow”

  26 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am

  GROW: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World’s Greatest Companies by Jim Stengel, the former CMO of P&G who has made several notable contributions advancing the field of brand management, is an important brand book and a good read. Its central and provocative thesis is that growth brands tend to have a higher purpose, termed by Stengel as a “brand ideal.” A brand ideal has a shared goal of improving people’s lives and comes in five types. It elicits joy, enables connections, inspires exploration, evokes pride and/or impacts society.A brand ideal is often based on a brand’s…

• Culture Matters: Lessons from the Haas School of Business at UC-Berkeley

  18 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am

  The Berkeley-Haas school has codified a well-defined culture into a set of core brand values: namely, “question the status quo (innovate and champion bold ideas),” “students always (never feel you have learned all you need),” “beyond yourself (consider larger interests than short-term profits, go beyond personal ambition), and “confidence without attitude (without arrogance employ analysis, trust and collaboration).” The values are oriented toward the reduction of overconfidence and self-focus, which are perceived to be excessively present among the business graduates and…

• Great CEOs are Born, not Made

  12 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am

  Bob Lutz in his recent book Car Guys vs. Bean Counters makes the point that GM was doing fine until in the mid 1970s the MBA-trained finance guys took control of product development from the "car guys," who were engineers and designers. The result, he says, was inferior cars and a decline in the firm. He believes that CEOs and the top management should not be bean counters but rather should be a "product guys."The poster child for his view was Roger Smith who was an MBA-trained accounting and finance specialist. During his ten year tenure as GE's CEO during the 80s, Smith made breathtaking…

• Why I Bought a No-Name Computer From a Components Firm

  5 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am

  I was told by the computer doctor that my wife's desktop computer had all but died at the hands of a virus and, in addition, it had been obsolete for years. A new replacement was needed. My mind immediately went to a two-brand consideration class — Dell (most of my computers had been Dell) and HP (I have HP printers and have always like the "HP Way"). But minutes later, I decided to buy an ASUS computer even though I had never heard of it. Why? Three factors were convincing.1. The recommendation. The computer doctor said that he had just bought and installed for another client an ASUS…

• My Top 6 Aaker on Brands Blog Posts

  29 Dec 2011 | 2:00 am

  After some 14 months of blogging about branding, I have over 60 postings. Looking over that list, I picked out three that had the most impact in terms of interest, comments, and readership and three that described a topic that had a big influence on me.Impact on the audienceThe post “Secrets of Social Media Revealed 50 Years Ago,” also published in HBR, coincidentally got a lot of attention on Twitter. It describes Ernest Dichter’s classic study of WofM brand communication, which revealed four motivations to talk about brands and two motivations to listen - findings that are relevant to…

• 

  BrandingPays

• Survey: Professionals Seek Job Changes in 2012

  Karen Kang

  24 Jan 2012 | 10:26 am

  Mindset Shift from Job Survival to Job Mobility Note: This is the first in a 3-part series on findings from the BrandingPays Pulse Survey on current attitudes on mobility and social networking among professionals. If you are looking to change your job this year, you are in good company. Our January 2012 survey indicates that job survival fears during the last two years of economic uncertainty are giving way to a willingness to risk changing jobs or careers.   Findings from our BrandingPays Pulse Survey (conducted in early January) indicate that many professionals are seeking job changes…

• Brand or Reputation?

  Karen Kang

  10 Jan 2012 | 11:35 am

  A French friend just sent me a link to a large company’s internal social network.  A blog post on the network said that you need to distinguish between your brand and your reputation. What is a brand if it doesn’t comprise your reputation?  A visual image, a tagline? Visual branding or key phrases will not sustain your brand over the long term unless it is associated with your reputation. Your reputation needs to be established by 1) delivering value 2) being true to your brand values and image 3) developing win/win relationships in your brand ecosystem.  Focus on these…

• A New You for the New Year

  Karen Kang

  9 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pm

  The New Year is a great time for resolutions: exercise more, eat less, be kinder or get a new job.  If finding a new career opportunity is a priority, perhaps, reinventing yourself should be at the top of your To Do list. Change is scary.  Let’s face it, taking risks is not part of everyone’s DNA.  I happen to live, work and breathe Silicon Valley, so it feels natural to me.  But, what is the alternative to change?  Stagnation and death.  I guess when you put it that way, change becomes less scary. I used to be a newspaper reporter (a long time ago!).  Had I not reinvented…

• One-Minute Survey on Jobs and Personal Branding

  Karen Kang

  9 Jan 2012 | 9:47 am

  Do you want to know how many others are looking for a job or position this year?  Do you wonder what they are doing about it—online and offline?  Take part in our one-minute survey at http://svy.mk/yp2LEG. Feel free to share it. Deadline is January 16, 2012.   To post this survey on jobs and personal branding to your site, the embed code is: <a href=”http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RLMHX2Z“>Click here to take survey</a> Thanks for your help!  I’ll be blogging on the results.  So stay tuned.

• Brand is Everything

  Karen Kang

  5 Jan 2012 | 7:43 pm

  Brand is everything. And everything is brand. Is this too bold a statement to make?  Not really.  Think about it. You have a 360-degree brand.  It encompasses how you are perceived rationally and emotionally from all different aspects:       Visual Communication Strengths Attitude Presence Value Everyhing you think, do and say has a bearing on your brand.  Some more than others.  But, brand is built up in layers and experiences over time.  How consistent, how clear and how compelling you are will determine if your brand is desired. This is true for people, products and…

• 

  Do You Have A Disastrous Internet Identity in need of an Internet Identity 911?

• Online Profile – How Can I Find My True Internet Identity?

  DrMarcNCharlie@CreateYourOwnLegendNow.com (Dr. Marc Kossmann and Charlie Seymour Jr)

  24 Jan 2012 | 6:20 am

  Online Profile "How can you help me find my rock star identity? My true Online Profile? I know you have a how-to-appear-on-camera course, Unleash Your Rock Star Identity – but how do I... You only get the full impact at our site: http://CreateYourOwnLegendNow.com

• Charlie Seymour Jr Goes Behind The Scenes On The Radio

  DrMarcNCharlie@CreateYourOwnLegendNow.com (Dr. Marc Kossmann and Charlie Seymour Jr)

  21 Jan 2012 | 6:19 pm

  Charlie Seymour Jr Goes Behind The Scenes Cucina Chatter – we all have great conversations "around the kitchen table" and we all stand around chatting in the kitchen when we... You only get the full impact at our site: http://CreateYourOwnLegendNow.com

• Business Marketing Data – How To Write A Book To Market Your Professional Business

  DrMarcNCharlie@CreateYourOwnLegendNow.com (Dr. Marc Kossmann and Charlie Seymour Jr)

  17 Jan 2012 | 6:35 am

  Write A Book As a professional or small business person: How Can I Write A Book to Market My Professional Business? As a mid-career professional, you ARE an expert. What better way to... You only get the full impact at our site: http://CreateYourOwnLegendNow.com

• Business Marketing Sales – How To Market A Book In Your Professional Business

  DrMarcNCharlie@CreateYourOwnLegendNow.com (Dr. Marc Kossmann and Charlie Seymour Jr)

  9 Jan 2012 | 6:27 am

  Market A Book As a professional or small business person: How Can I Market A Book In My Professional Business? As a mid-career professional, you ARE an expert. What better way to... You only get the full impact at our site: http://CreateYourOwnLegendNow.com

• Your Business Marketing – Online Business Marketing on Steroids For Your Professional Business

  DrMarcNCharlie@CreateYourOwnLegendNow.com (Dr. Marc Kossmann and Charlie Seymour Jr)

  2 Jan 2012 | 6:10 am

  Business Marketing As a professional or small business person: How Can I Create An Online Business Marketing System And Put It On Steroids In My Professional Business? Read more on Your... You only get the full impact at our site: http://CreateYourOwnLegendNow.com

• 

  The Instar Group

• 5 Brands Renamed As To Tell You Everything

  admin

  27 Jan 2012 | 1:15 pm

  We recently read and enjoyed, “5 Movies Whose Titles Tell You Everything” by movie critic Christy Lemire. With it being an amusing read, we thought we would use the article as inspiration and spin the concept as a companion piece to go along with our Branding 101 series. If the premise of the article is to highlight a movie’s “brand name” that lays all its cards on the table and leaves little mystery as to what the movie is about, then we thought we would spin the concept into the business world and choose five corporate brand names whose identities do not tell…

• Branding 101 – What is a Brand?

  admin

  23 Jan 2012 | 9:48 am

  Here at The InStar Group, we’ve spent a lot of time writing articles covering the wider spectrum of the Marketing world. Of all the topics, the one piece that we seem to discuss and undertake the most with our clients, is a company’s brand. So, we thought we’d take a step back and undertake a mutli-part series covering the elements that comprise a brand. Part 1 – What is a Brand? A brand, branding, or brand identity can be traced back to the Old Norse word “brandr”, which means “to burn”. While watermarks were used several hundreds of years ago,…

• Advertising We Love – Staples and the Many Daves

  admin

  16 Jan 2012 | 6:01 am

  In what will be an ongoing series, we at The InStar Group thought it might be a good idea to draw attention to some of the current advertising that we feel deserves a little more credit than others. For this series, when a worthy candidate emerges, we will aim to do a brief call out to the advertising and explain to you why we feel it is better than others at the given time. Our candidates can be from any form of media, such as television, print, radio, internet, print, social, outdoor etc. We will only limit it to those executions we believe to be national and not local, as to not keep some…

• Liz Claiborne Changes Name

  admin

  4 Jan 2012 | 11:03 am

  Liz Claiborne has been going through some aggressive changes lately, and today, as part of their ongoing “make over”, they have officially announced their new name: Fifth & Pacific Cos. While we won’t go into the history and recent issues with the Liz Claiborne brand, we do have some thoughts on the brand name. Our first reaction is that we really like it. When you look at the fashion brands peppered throughout your local mall, whether they be stand alone stores or labels hanging on the countless racks at the department stores, there’s one over arching theme that…

• When Hollywood Influences Madison Avenue

  admin

  12 Dec 2011 | 9:28 am

  We all know that Hollywood movies influence pop culture. From the way we speak to the way we dress, the hobbies we pick up and even the people we fall in love with. But what about when Hollywood influences Madison Avenue? It’s been happening since the first time commercials started to air. While the list would be too long and too cumbersome to detail, two recent commercials are clearly taken from iconic movies. The first commercial is from the new HTC Rezound, featuring Beats Audio. As the young man walks through city streets, the pieces around him begin to explode to the beat of the…

• 

  Strategy & Brand

• Raising Inspired Young Women

  Thoreau Bred

  24 Jan 2012 | 10:25 am

  Raising girls is tough. Raising confident, curious, inspired, courageous, authentic, well-rounded, well-educated young women who don’t feel pressured to conform to the world’s view of perfection is beyond daunting. We’re looking for parents of 7th, 8th, and 9th grade girls willing to talk honestly about parenting girls. We’re setting out to radically improve the lives of girls. We’re conducting a short 6 question parent survey as part of our ongoing research. If you’re a parent of a 7th, 8th, or 9th grade girl, you can lend your insights here: If you know other parents working…

• Simple Questions For 2012

  The BlackDog Team

  3 Jan 2012 | 2:53 pm

  Share and Enjoy:

• Solving Your Upstart Brand Woes

  Thoreau Bred

  15 Dec 2011 | 11:19 am

  As a general rule, BlackDog doesn’t brand upstarts. Here are some resources to help get your brand new brand off the ground though… If you can’t find the answer to the brand query you’re muddling over, puzzling out, and Googling till the cows come home, send it our way. BlackDog’s 365 blog is an ongoing, evolving, question and answer guide developed to help business owners and entrepreneurs understand and hone their brands. Submit your questions on brand, branding, or branders to BlackDog and we’ll send you a personal response with the answer. An anonymous and confidential…

• Who Do You Love?

  Great Dame

  28 Nov 2011 | 10:07 pm

  Approximately sixty percent of Americans believe in love at first sight.[1] Fifty percent report that they have actually experienced the powerful phenomenon.[2] But, drill the statistic down to those in long-term relationships and you find that only 11% report that their lasting relationships started in an all-knowing instant.[3] Proving that for most of us love and loyalty are earned one interaction after another. Over time the enchantment or familiarity is enhanced or the spell is broken! Who do you love, really?  Take the loyalty survey: For more on brand loyalty…read “Do You Believe…

• The Better You Are, The Better You Look

  Thoreau Bred

  28 Oct 2011 | 4:58 pm

  “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world… it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead It took me 30 minutes this morning to buy wheat pita bread at the grocery store. Not because the lines were long or the aisles congested, but because every brand of bread I selected from my grocer’s shelf contained High Fructose Corn Syrup. I scoured the bread section looking for any loaf sans this pesky addition. Oatmeal, Wheat, Whole Grain, Rye, White…There wasn’t a single bread brand or style that didn’t contain High…

• 

  brandsalsa.com

• Walmart Creates Own Version of Reality TV Show

  Guest Blogger

  24 Jan 2012 | 9:41 am

  Recently, Walmart has announced its own version of a reality TV show called “Get on the Shelf.” This new program is run by @Walmartlabs’ social media and ecommerce division. So exactly how does the “Get on the Shelf” program work? Walmart has welcomed all companies to submit a submission video online about why their product [...]

• NFL Brand Playoffs

  Guest Blogger

  21 Jan 2012 | 8:30 am

  In the upcoming round of the NFL playoffs, four teams will face off for a chance to play in the Super Bowl. But if it were a contest of brand strategy, which two teams would most deserve to compete on February 6th? Names: In the renaming of the New England Patriots in 1971 (originally the [...]

• Iconic Brand Files for Bankruptcy

  Guest Blogger

  19 Jan 2012 | 10:23 am

  As many of you may have heard, Hostess, the maker of Twinkies, Ho Hos, Wonderbread, and many other food products we all know and love, has filed for bankruptcy. Hostess, who also filed for bankruptcy in 2009, has been fighting $860 million in debt. But do not run out to your local grocery store and [...]

• Branding Politics

  Guest Blogger

  13 Jan 2012 | 3:47 pm

  How are branding and politics related? Does a political candidate as an individual constitute a brand? Should maintaining a candidate’s brand be at the forefront of campaign strategy? There are mixed reviews from experts in the industry, but in today’s political climate it’s impossible to ignore the importance of a candidate’s logo, slogan and brand [...]

• Google This and Google That

  Beth Anne

  10 Jan 2012 | 6:44 am

  There are certain brands that fascinate me and I can never learn enough about them. Google is one of those brands. I recently finished Douglas Edwards’ book “I’m Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59” and I can’t stop talking about it. Just ask my coworkers – it’s been Google does this and [...]

• 

  Brand Touchpoints

• Can you recognize the brand?

  Abhinaya Chandrasekhar

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:06 am

  This piece of news has been circulating since 2008. Inspired by the results, I attempted testing brands in a similar scenario. Results follow - A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed  his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute…

• Here’s how Coke messed up

  Abhinaya Chandrasekhar

  18 Jan 2012 | 1:40 am

  Its a common strategy among many brands to release a different holiday packaging reflecting the spirit. Coke followed suit and released a white can with red Coca Cola lettering. The can also had polar bears and snow flakes on it. The original plan was to keep this on shelves till Feb. But, here’s what happened -  Why did they do it? Coke executives wanted a disruptive shift and the white cans were unique enough to Coke’s usual red. They wanted it to be bold and attention-grabbing. Also, it fits in with their effort to raise awareness about global warming being a threat to polar…

• Fiat shoots underwater. But why?

  Abhinaya Chandrasekhar

  16 Jan 2012 | 11:54 pm

  Fiat Linea Punto releases its new TVC shot underwater. Here’s their list of reasons why and what they were trying to communicate - 1. The TVC shows two cars being assembled against all odds in a challenging environment.  : Actually the serene blue sea makes me feel more comfortable and relaxed. Gives no indication of ‘against all odds.’ I am sure the production would have had a challenging time shooting this, but that is not translated in the TVC. #fail 2. The upgraded four features to communicate were powerful ground clearance, automatic rain sensing wipers, brighter…

• Become a code monkey in 2012

  Abhinaya Chandrasekhar

  11 Jan 2012 | 5:52 am

  Establish the brand + Build a huge community + Move the community to do something together = Create brand evangelists and fans Sound similar? This is the social media dictum laid down for us to follow. Brands are today stepping on each other to get the consumer’s attention, let alone engagement. The holiday season has just gone past and you saw every brand trying to outdo each other in being more festive and generous with their freebies. But here’ s a different technique altogether. This brand has managed to attract 300,000 people (and still counting) to not just…

• How much do you read?

  Abhinaya Chandrasekhar

  10 Jan 2012 | 3:10 am

  I used to read a lot. A wide variety too. In the pre-GPRS and smart phones and the swanky gadget days, I read to keep me going and learn about new things. And then, something happened. Its been two years and I must have bought max 5 books. This habit is now completely replaced by a whole new world of online distractions.  Lately,  I have been riddled with this strong feeling of not knowing enough, almost illiterate. So, to get back quickly into the golden habits of reading, and being truly inspired by a brilliant post, I am going to read one book a week for this year.  That makes it 51…

• 

  Upheavals: Mark Di Somma's blog

• For your information: why so many brands are not listened to

  markdisomma

  25 Jan 2012 | 2:57 pm

  The insurance company wrote to me again. That can only mean it’s a bill or a change in policy. Either way it’s more expensive – literally, because I’m paying more, or metaphorically because I’m getting less for the money I do pay. I’ve lost count of the number of meetings I’ve been to where marketing managers in the financial sector and in utilities have told me that they are keen to build closer relationships with their customers. They want more loyalty, they want customers to engage with them. Everyone nods. But then their customer service teams keep sending out the same bills…

• Likeable brands: Debating the true value of Likes.

  markdisomma

  22 Jan 2012 | 3:35 pm

  Image via Wikipedia If brand owners are buying Likes on Facebook, what are they actually worth?, asks Alexis Dormandy in this recent article in The Telegraph. “Can we really value a ‘Like’ or a ‘Follow’ when so many of them are bought rather than earned?” Dormandy’s question goes to the heart of the marketing community’s ongoing fixation with volume and to the business world’s fascination with social metrics. With marketing managers under huge pressure to build and participate in scaled brand communities, perhaps it’s inevitable that fast-track approaches to ramp up fan…

• The future of brands: 7 takes from Jim Stengel

  markdisomma

  15 Jan 2012 | 7:55 pm

  Recently, Jim Stengel, the former global marketing officer at P&G, opened up on his blog on what he perceives as the future of marketing. I very much liked what he had to say. My takes and comments. 1. Brands are becoming more important not just as identifiers in crowded markets but also as valuation mechanisms. As Stengel points out, 30 years ago, “almost none of the market capitalization of the S&P 500 could be attributed to brand equity; today it is above 30%.” Stengel sees that as a sign that marketing has become more important. I agree – certainly in the sense that brand…

• Human marketing

  markdisomma

  12 Jan 2012 | 10:30 pm

  This highly informative post from James D. Roumeliotis on Customer Devotion introduces to me the expression “human marketing” which I am much taken with. Not only does it speak to the necessity for everyone within the organisation to think and act like a marketer, it’s also a reminder that, ultimately, people deliver some of our most powerful and memorable consumer experiences – and insights. People have an instinct for people that simply cannot be duplicated any other way. In the rush to mechanise and socialise, it’s easy to overlook the need for brands to continue to humanise…

• Gazing into the tea leaves

  markdisomma

  1 Jan 2012 | 9:44 pm

  Image via Wikipedia Happy New Year to you all. Over at Corporate Eye, Susan Gunelius references two JWT Intelligence reports just out that are predicting these five key trends for 2012. Here’s how I see what JWT are seeing. 1. Price Opportunities: Brands will introduce low-cost entry-point products into markets for price-sensitive consumers with “stripped down offerings” and smaller sizes. My view: Agree. The combination of depressed consumer spending and the rise of house brands will see brands looking to diversify their price points. In many sectors, I think this will be accompanied…

• 

  A view inside the Lyfestyle of Brand and Gentleman

• YES, your email address must be brand approved!

  norman Carswell

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:30 am

  So... in a recent conversation with a close friend, I couldn't help but laugh at the small  branding mistakes made everyday. Read the scenario below CLOSELY and see if you can spot "where's waldo"?A qualified applicant submitted for a very lucrative position with Mircosoft. The resume was written and reviewed by the best professionals. Their LinkedIn recommendations and technical skills were second to none. Confident, they pressed send using their personal email which happened to be: mike3434@yahoo.com*did you spot waldo*

• my recent spanking!

  norman Carswell

  19 Jan 2012 | 4:01 pm

  In a recent meeting I got taught "you don't know, what you think you know"..I've been in marketing/branding for 11 years and fully understand my grasp and lack of knowledge however in this particular conversation I HAD TO TAKE IT, LOL...I learned a few more things about myself and how to step out my arrogance box, challenge myself to ask the tough questions , become a better marketer/branding guybut, yea, I took this spanking!

• Hire a horse for your Branding/Marketing

  norman Carswell

  9 Jan 2012 | 11:32 am

  One of my favorite movies is "Secretariat" the story about a racehorse considered the greatest ever. What caught my attention was when not racing he would loathe around, sleep all day and eat, well, like a horse. Watching him you'd think "sheesh, this dudes not worth a wooden nickel"In a particular scene Penny, the owner, is talking to her ailing dad about Secretariat, he looks at her with all his strength and says "Let him run his race"..See a race horse wears blinders and with these on they can't see the other horses and stay focused on the end goal. They can still see what's coming and if…

• Your brand is like a basketball team

  norman Carswell

  22 Dec 2011 | 11:55 pm

  There are 5 players on a basketball teamPoint Guard=directs plays, controls the gameTwo Guard=scores pointsSmall Forward=scores and reboundsPower Forward=rebounds and defendsCenter=All the aboveTo succeed your brand will need someone to play each of these positions. The key to remember is you're the Power Forward

• i was asked if "i know what i'm talking about"

  norman Carswell

  15 Dec 2011 | 1:00 pm

  A recent conversation with someone who inquired about my Brand Manager skills let to them visiting this site, and saying, "i'm going to keep my eye on you".Certain marketing/branding professionals are conceptors, thought leaders, strategist and executioners. I post on this site to make you THINK, the postings maybe short but they are quick reads in hope you will sit back and say "hmmm, never took that angle"Most people don't think about a "brand manager" it's more about a Manager, accountant or personal circle. For many it's hard to pay someone to, as they put it, come up w/ideas for them".

• 

  » Branding Blog

• Wishing You A Cool Dragon Year Ahead.

  Peter Gan

  18 Jan 2012 | 10:13 am

  Dear Readers, First off, we would like to wish everybody a very Happy Chinese New Year. Being the Dragon Year and all, we should be probably looking forward to an eventful one! We wish everybody a safe journey back home and may the spirit of the Dragon Year spread to all friends and family! While in the realm of the Dragon, and in the spirit of giving, we here at Ganforhire are giving away our very own Dragon Tail Fans this New Year. From us to you. This is to fan the flames of fortune and prosperity, to help you breeze through the coming year without any difficulty, and to also keep you cool…

• Can Your Brand Survive a Quality Crisis?

  Peter Gan

  11 Jan 2012 | 10:02 am

  It’s safe to say that most brands (including yours, perhaps) are going digital. Which doesn’t come as a surprise really, as the web is a platform where brands are no longer confined by space, and have the opportunity to create and own a personalised ecosystem that allows for interaction between brand and consumers from pretty much anytime, anywhere. But like all good things – going digital comes with a price. You run the risk of having the namesake of your brand being made a bigger public spectacle – especially in matters of quality. They bloody amplify. If your product’s good…

• A Maze Worth Getting Lost In?

  Peter Gan

  4 Jan 2012 | 10:01 am

    In Greek mythology, Theseus entered the labyrinth of the Minotaur with a ball of string, which he used to find his way out after defeating the bull-headed behemoth. Fortunately (or unfortunately, if you know how the tale pans out) for him that maze wasn’t built by the experts at IKEA, or he would STILL be there. Everyone who’s been into an IKEA store will know what I’m talking about. While far from the gloomy, haunted labyrinth of yore, the purpose of the maze-like, IKEA layout is the same; in the words of Alan Penn, the director of the Virtual Reality Centre for the Built…

• Staying Resolute

  Peter Gan

  28 Dec 2011 | 10:04 am

  One of the cardinal rules of branding, in our books, at least, is to never make a promise you don’t intend to keep. Or, in the case of the waning days of the year that is about to pass, don’t make resolutions you’re not ready to pour your heart and soul into. So you could say it’s a bit of risk putting what we want to do for the coming year out in the open like this, to you, faithful reader and all those like-minded individuals who have been receiving the Bullet these past few months. But it’s one we’re willing to take because these are things we feel passionately about and will,…

• Merry Christmas and A Transformative New Year!!

  Peter Gan

  22 Dec 2011 | 6:32 am

  Have an enchanting Christmas and a transformative New Year!

• 

  Saffron Brand Consultants

• What do we want – cheap or responsible?

  wally

  16 Jan 2012 | 4:50 am

  So what do we really want – cheap and nasty, or responsible, sustainable and authentic? In October 2011 Asda lowered its prices. Again. 3,000 products had their prices slashed and there was a special offer: spend £40 this week and you get £5 off the next £40 you spend. Tesco also cut prices like crazy and Sainsbury had ‘brand match’ – whatever you cut, we’ll cut too. Even Waitrose started comparing prices – in a rather genteel way, of course. As for Aldi and Lidl – don’t ask. Christmas and post-Christmas was a price-cutting bonanza. And it hasn’t stopped. As…

• Apple without Steve

  Sahil

  6 Oct 2011 | 11:45 am

  Ian was asked by Al Jazeera to comment on the impact Steve Job’s passing might have on Apple. You can find the full article here.

• Family Business

  wally

  20 Sep 2011 | 7:47 am

  I’ve had a lot to do with family businesses, in India of course, but also in Britain, Spain and quite a few other places. In fact, I come from a family business. My father was head of a transport business and all his brothers (my uncles) and, maybe more important, all the brothers’ wives were in it too. The wives didn’t work in it, of course, not in those days, but they were pretty good at being involved (and sometimes stirring up trouble — ‘he earns more than you’ or even ‘his office is bigger than yours’). The trouble with family businesses is that not every member of the…

• The real value of brands

  admin

  24 Aug 2011 | 11:32 am

  Every so often The Economist writes about marketing. It sometimes even writes about branding, quite often metaphorically holding its nose. A few months ago it published the results of a study carried out by a couple of researchers in the Netherlands which seems to prove what most of us know already that we don’t only buy designer labels like Tommy Hilfiger or Lacoste because we like the look and feel of them but also because of the status they confer on us. The research is entertaining but hardly groundbreaking. It will be published shortly in Evolution and Human Behavior a US scientific…

• Slut talks

  tina

  24 Aug 2011 | 9:50 am

  Sensational headlines are in editorial bad taste – but they are the best way to get noticed. It’s no surprise then that Slutwalk – a global movement fighting the suggestion that what girls wear makes them a target for rape – is a headline maker. The issue is debatable and culturally very sensitive, especially in countries like India. Does the name trivialise the issue? Does it only further objectify women? Or is it, as some feminists say, the most successful women’s movement in the last 20 years? No matter which side of the argument you take, Slutwalk highlights the power of…

• 

  The Frager Factor

• SOPA, PIPA and bills like them want to kill this blog. And yours.

  27 Jan 2012 | 11:23 pm

  PLUS: Apparently, If Your Domain Has 'Dirt' In The Name, Section 230 Safe Harbors Don't Apply; Harvard wants the next Zuckerberg to stay at Harvard; New-home sales hit a record low, and Super Bowl Spending Could Hit $11 BillionOwen Frager likes a link.Five News Apps For Your SmartphoneA list of 5 great news apps for your smartphones.Owen Frager likes a link.Harvard wants the next Zuckerberg to

• iPhone 4S accounts for 90% of US iPhone sales, 42% of customers break contract to buy but "Will Your Browser Go Dark on March 8?"

  27 Jan 2012 | 9:42 am

  PLUS: Apple is moving deep into the Enterprises in ways IT could have never imagined nor endorsed just a year ago. Lot's of runway left on my favorite stock. Is anyone listening to the guy no one thinks anyone listens to about this stuff? What say you, Steve Sacks?And.. who needs Venture Capital to start a new business. Just make a fictions bid for the Presidency and start a PAC like Herman Cain

• DNS Sells LucyLingerie.com Ahead of Superbowl Ad

  26 Jan 2012 | 9:41 pm

  Sold for less than $3K, to LucyLingerie.com.VE, LucyLingerie.com has to be one of the DNS best buys of all time. Meet the models at domainFEST. (Sellers suite).

• FEST in Distress? Organizers Frantically Executing Last Minute Discount To Fill Empty Seats

  26 Jan 2012 | 1:04 pm

  All domain conferences are sucking wind these days. So too are most 'domainers.' It was a game that always reminded me of "tag you're it." You can always prey on the uninformed and sell worthless things to others until once day there are no ignoramuses left to sell to. I always said at that time, I wouldn't want to be "it."And that is where we are at today. With domainFEST organizers using

• Booty Call In Dispute — Court Shown New "Pole Dance" Evidence; Asked to Redefine "Booty"

  26 Jan 2012 | 7:58 am

  PLUS: Google’s CEO Dealt Drugs and Knew It, Say Feds; EBay Seller Seeks a Cool $1 Million for President Obama's Chrysler; Joan Rivers undergoes ANOTHER cosmetic procedure on reality TV show This one is removable face; Demi Moore high ON laughing gas?Rolls-Royce says more cars ordered custom ... AND... Make sure references aren't torpedoing your job chancesOwen Frager likes a link.JC Penney

• 

  Brand Regard - Magazine

• New Year, New Man

  Oliver Pitcher

  20 Jan 2012 | 5:35 am

  GQ is self-acclaimed ‘The World’s Leading Men’s Magazine’. But it’s much more than a magazine. It’s a global brand. And a brand CLUB at that. Not only is it The World’s Leading Men’s Magazine; this brand has built itself to Lead The World’s Men. Well, a certain type of man. Starting off in 1930’s America as a magazine for wholesale buyers and retail sellers, the original ‘Apparel Arts’ turned ‘Gentlemen’s Quarterly’ evolved to become the magazine of the metrosexual, the new man… A brand so broad that it touches all parts of this type of man’s life and…

• The Irrationality of Infectious Affection for Inexplicably Russian Meerkats. Simples.

  Oliver Pitcher

  16 Jan 2012 | 4:56 am

  meerkat  noun i. a small southern African mongoose ii. the mammal of the moment, now available as stuffed toy - Don’t compare the meerkat, compare the market. Simples. Insurance price comparison site Comparethemarket.com is a brand. Uniquely, a brand packaged around comical and inexplicably Russian meerkat mascot, Aleksandr Orlov. Objectively: irrational. But how could you rationally market Comparethemarket? It’s difficult to distinguish one comparison site from another. Novelty is the only way to cut through. And for Comparethemarket, the novelty of its meerkats has become its USP.

• The S Word

  Oliver Pitcher

  11 Jan 2012 | 6:26 am

  They’ve been here for more than a week already. A subject that’s crossed all our minds. Should we or shouldn’t we? An experience even more intense than its pre-Christmas counterpart. Welcome to The Sales. Red and white are the colours of Father Christmas. Red and white are the colours of The Sales. But Christmas Day is the threshold of a very big shift in retail brand marketing. Pre-Christmas marketing appeals to the consumer perception of the idea of that perfect gift for a friend or family member. Post-Christmas marketing spins back at the consumer’s personal desires, at a…

• My Light Bulb Moment

  Oliver Pitcher

  23 Dec 2011 | 6:17 am

  Last Saturday was a rare night out in London’s West End – the West End bit that is. But on that night, there was a rarer sight to behold: a red double-decker bus. A standard sight for Regent Street you might think. But this was one of the reddest buses I’ve ever seen. It was brand-free: absolutely no print ads. That horizontal strip between top and bottom decks and stumpy bit below usually host lingerie-clad Beckhams for Armani, Rupert Grint’s Make Mine Milk face with absurd white moustache, and Marley the Dog of disastrous rom-com, Marley and Me. Oh how weirdly my selective brain…

• How a cute and cuddly bear with bad intentions invaded the 2010 Winter Olympics

  Agnar Sigmarsson

  20 Dec 2011 | 5:56 am

  The Olympics are one of the biggest events held in the world. It is a stage that athletes dream of performing on to prove their superiority in their discipline. Given the scale of this event, inevitably it won’t go by without a hitch. During the Vancouver winter Olympics someone decided to pull prank on the media. It was a subtle, but yet a hilarious way to mess with the Vancouver 2010 brand. Originally, the Vancover Winter Olympics were represented by three mascots; Miga, Quatchi, and Sumi. They also had a sidekick called Mukmuk. How cute are they! But back to the prank: A Canadian artist…

• 

  Idea Stylist

• Ask a designer: combining styles

  lisa

  26 Jan 2012 | 4:23 am

  This post is part of the Ask a Designer series. You ask me questions, I answer them to the best of my ability. The questions can be about design process, branding, software, technical things -- or even completely unrelated. Want to play? Leave me a comment here, or use the contact form. I will answer it in a few days. Question: What if your client is unable to decide between 2 styles. Say a clean, colorful modern style and one of the monochrome kraft paper and black ink looks. Can you make disparate styles work together?? by Nancy Stuckwisch Answer: As is often the case with specific design…

• The best way to understand your niche

  lisa

  24 Jan 2012 | 4:18 am

  Niche: it's not them, it's us.   I saw this phrase in a book a while ago, and it stuck with me.   Think about it. How do companies usually describe their target market?   Here are some typical phrases:   “They are women ages 24-35, married or in a relationship.” “Our target market is senior citizens.” “Our customers own their home. They live in the city.” “They have two or more children.” “They care about their appearance.” “They go out at least twice a week.”   Notice anything? It's them, them, them.   Yeah, alright. There are those…

• Website design: Juicy Life

  lisa

  20 Jan 2012 | 2:00 am

  This project has been in the works for quite some time and I must admit I was getting impatient to show it off. Why? Because it really did turn out as juicy and refreshing as the name suggests. This is one of those cases where a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll spare you the words and let you see for yourself. Or check it out live right here.

• The Trendsetter Recipe

  lisa

  19 Jan 2012 | 3:30 am

  You have probably heard that the success of truly innovative, different products is often defined by just a handful of customers – the so-called early adopters, or trendsetters. Because we are cautious of new things by nature, most successful new products go through a phase where only a few people pick it up – and love it so much, they tell everyone who will listen all about it. With big companies, the traditional way of getting the trendsetters to pick up their new product is to advertise it to the masses and wait for the select few to notice. But of course many smaller companies simply…

• Resolution Revolution: Don't ditch yours yet!

  lisa

  17 Jan 2012 | 4:48 am

  According to the various sources I use to create my Pick Your Own Holiday Calendar, today is Ditch Your New Year's Resolutions Day. I don't know how it came about, but I do suspect there is a reason for it. And that makes me sad. I know, I know. It's probably just an ironic holiday, a joke that is fun to repeat. But I still can't quite shake the feeling that there really are plenty of people who get excited about the new year, new possibilities, new opportunities – only to give up on them a mere 17 days later. Why? The way I see it, there are a couple of most likely reasons. One is that…

• 

  A Branded You

• Reviewing Your Social Media Presence – Facebook

  Nick Gilham

  18 Jan 2012 | 7:00 am

  I recently wrote about how to re-evaluate your LinkedIn profile for the new year. In this second post in the series, I am providing tips for cleaning up your Facebook profile. Reviewing your Facebook profile is especially important because many of us post so much personal information to the site. We are talking online with our friends and family and many times we aren’t considering the impact to our personal brands. The new year provides the perfect opportunity to review the content that we have posted to Facebook over the last year and clean up any problems. It also is a chance to…

• Reviewing Your Social Media Presence – LinkedIn

  Nick Gilham

  5 Jan 2012 | 6:38 pm

  As we start a new year, it is a great time to reflect on the year that was and set our goals for next year. In addition to coming up with resolution, I think it is also a great opportunity to review your social media presence and evaluate what worked last year and what didn’t. Use this time to verify that your privacy settings are correct and that all your information is current. This is the first in a series of three blog posts with steps you should take immediately to make sure you are using social media effectively in developing your personal brand. Don’t let this period of…

• Leveraging the SERPs

  Ivan Temelkov

  15 Dec 2011 | 4:41 pm

  The power of the web presents tremendous opportunities for any business model.  Search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo are used by consumers for research, shopping and competitor analysis on daily basis.  Visibility of your brand in these avenues serves as a crucial component in providing the necessary exposure for reach of target audience.  Consumers use search engines primarily due to the fact that they provide up-to-date relevant information on any given topic or subject.  Individual search queries performed by internet users are backed up by a result referred to as a SERP…

• Eying Your LinkedIn Profile

  Nick Gilham

  1 Dec 2011 | 8:01 pm

  Photo Credit: Mashable & EyeTrackShop, Inc.Mashable recently posted a study of how people look at various social media profiles. They used eye tracking software to see where people’s eyes were drawn when looking at someone’s Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter profiles. The results of the LinkedIn profile analysis are interesting, but not at all surprising. The study found that people’s eyes were drawn primarily to the headline of the profile. The headline, by default, is TITLE at COMPANY NAME. The prominence of this field shows why it is so important that you update it to…

• Speaking Your Way to Becoming an Expert

  Nick Gilham

  29 Nov 2011 | 9:41 am

  Do you consider speakers to be experts on their topics?What is the best way to become an expert on any subject? My answer might surprise you… It isn’t going to school for years or having decades of experience. Spending hours doing research in the library (or on the Internet as the case may be) isn’t even the answer, although it definitely can’t hurt. So what is the best way to become an expert? Two words: Public Speaking. Public Speaking Speakers are considered to be experts almost instantly. If you can speak in front of an audience intelligently about a subject, your…

• 

  Blake's Blog

• Speak Like the Iron Lady

  blakelandau

  18 Jan 2012 | 7:37 pm

  I just saw The Iron Lady, the film about Margaret Thatcher’s life starring Meryl Streep. It’s an incredibly inspiring film, and I recommend all women see it (and men too). However this blog is not about politics, nor is it about Margaret Thatcher the former Prime Minister. It’s about public speaking. I went to Toastmasters in 2008 because I wanted had to improve my speaking skills for my job where I had a podcast. I ended up loving Toastmasters and even ran the club for one year. It was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences in my recent past. I went from being…

• Blue Ocean Strategy: Common Sense Individuality

  blakelandau

  11 Jan 2012 | 7:04 pm

  Four years ago I interviewed one of the Blue Ocean Strategists Bill Kimbrell on a podcast. Blue Ocean Strategy came out of the Insead School of Business. Blue Ocean Strategy is a book that speaks to the idea that there are blue oceans and there are red oceans. Companies have long engaged in head-to-head competition in search of sustained, profitable growth. They have fought for competitive advantage, battled over market share, and struggled for differentiation. And most notably the book gives a handful of examples of companies that have differentiated themselves by going completely outside of…

• Top Five Life Lessons (and ways to avoid eating dirt)

  blakelandau

  9 Jan 2012 | 7:19 pm

  I’ve been working for myself for the last year and a half. Through eating dirt I’ve learned how to manage myself in difficult circumstances. Below I’ve made a list of the top five lessons I’ve learned in the last year. Please learn from my mistakes–here are my top five lessons from 2011. 1. No more drama. I now understand what Mary J. Blige was talking about in her song “No More Drama.” Being melodramatic and overly emotional about the small stuff just makes your life very difficult. Nothing is ever good or bad but thinking makes it so. If someone…

• My Top Ten Tips for 2012.

  blakelandau

  8 Jan 2012 | 6:59 pm

  I love coaching people through positive suggestions because I do this for myself. Thanks for your readership for 2011–the first full year I had my blog. Here we go! 1. Plan your goals in achievable chunks. Give yourself short-term, achievable and manageable benchmarks. When I was training for the marathon–during the first part of training I was terrified by the number 26.2. But over time I built up my mileage and learned it wasn’t so bad if I ran with friends, and brought treats with me (like alien food called “Gu” to keep me sustained). 7 miles turned into 16,…

• 8 Reasons 2012 Will Be A Beautiful Year For You

  blakelandau

  31 Dec 2011 | 12:46 pm

  1. Options. You have more options than any human being in history. Go create the life you want. 2. Community. You have the ability to surround yourself with people who make you vibrate. 3. The philosopher. Fascinating conversations are happening in every corner of the planet. Go get involved in them. Live a life of passion and ideas. Join the conversation. 4. Indulge in the nectar of life. Buying local and seasonal is easier than ever before. Feast your eyes, taste bud and wallet on the farmer’s market, and discover the beauty of a year filled with nourishing food, good for the body,…

• 

  Fresh Sprouts

• Dude, Where’s My Traffic?

  Joellyn Sargent

  4 Jan 2012 | 2:17 pm

  “Help, I built a website and no one came!” So you have a new website, and you’re waiting for business to roll in…and waiting. Still waiting? Stop. It’s time to act. No matter how wonderful your new website is, traffic won’t come just because you built it. Sure, Google and Bing will find your site eventually, but can you afford to twiddle your thumbs until then? A website is just the beginning of a solid digital marketing effort. It can serve as the anchor for your campaigns, a place where visitors come to learn about your business and engage with your…

• Can Your Business Pass The Twitter Test?

  Joellyn Sargent

  14 Dec 2011 | 7:50 pm

  Several years ago I worked in corporate marketing for UPS, a remarkably well-oiled organization. To improve our Preferred Customer Program, we decided to benchmark best-in-class performance of other companies. Our team members wrote personal letters to several companies about real-life experiences to see how they addressed concerns, compliments and complaints. The results were eye-opening. Some companies went above and beyond to address issues and concerns, while others never even acknowledged our letters. Customer service, it seems, was more of a priority to some businesses than others. For…

• Is Your Business Ready to Blog?

  Joellyn Sargent

  23 Nov 2011 | 8:15 am

  Not sure if your company should be blogging? Take this quick, 5-Step Blog Readiness Test to find out. I hear this question all the time from business owners, “Do I need a blog?“ My answer is usually, “It depends.” Every company is different, so answering the question about whether your business needs a blog requires a quick assessment. Answer these questions to see if your organization is ready to take on the blogging challenge: Are you genuinely interested in writing a blog? Do you really want to blog, or would you just be doing it because you’ve heard that you…

• Is Content Killing Content Marketing?

  Joellyn Sargent

  28 Oct 2011 | 8:21 am

  For years we’ve heard that “Content is King,” and businesses around the world have been listening. The growth of social media has provided a platform for distribution of content like never before, and companies are churning out articles, blogs, white papers and other content at a record pace. So what’s the problem? Not too many years ago, content was produced by analysts, researchers, writers and journalists who spent a great deal of time developing well-written, thoughtful and provocative material. This material was published for readers who had a deep and genuine…

• 13 Signs You’re Heading for Social Media Obscurity

  Joellyn Sargent

  20 Oct 2011 | 1:30 am

  Social Media is all about engagement. But unfortunately, lots of people – and the companies they represent – still don’t understand that a one-way conversation isn’t a conversation at all. It’s a broadcast. In the interest of helping you see if your business has a problem, here are a few questions to ask yourself. Check for these thirteen signs your social media program may be falling short of the mark: It takes 9 months to respond to a tweet. This really happened to me. The response was something like, “Thanks for tweeting, we didn’t understand your…

• 

  Annemarie Cross

• Your Blog: Free or Self-Hosted. Which is best for your brand?

  Annemarie Cross

  18 Jan 2012 | 6:30 pm

  Want to Use Your Blog to Build Your Brand? Want to build your reputation as an authority in your field while build an audience of ideal clients who are interested in what you have to say? My advice: Create a blog. And, not on a free blogging platform (such as Blogger.com or WordPress.com) – but a self-hosted WordPress blog. That’s the blogging platform that my blog www.annemariecross.com is built on. The beauty of having a self-hosted WordPress blog is that it’s not just a blog; it’s also a fully functioning website, which I think is pretty cool. When setting up your own…

• Sell yourself: Personal branding in the age of the Internet

  Annemarie Cross

  10 Jan 2012 | 1:43 am

  This is a guest post by Murray Newlands. In the past, there were very few places you could go to verify what a company said. If Coke said it was refreshing, a lot of people believed it to be true. We weren’t sheep, but there were much fewer information outlets (even though newspapers were more diversified) and those outlets that did exist were dominated by people who could afford to run ads. The Internet made it so that anybody with a keyboard and a web browser could buy a domain (or get one for free) and start their own website. If they then spend a little time building links to it…

• How to make sales and turning prospects into customers – FUN!

  Annemarie Cross

  31 Dec 2011 | 4:43 pm

  Struggling to make sales and turning prospects into customers – FUN? Does your throat go dry and your mind blank when you’re about to have a meeting with a prospect? If you answered ‘yes’ – you’re not alone! Many ambitious entrepreneurs dread the ‘sales conversation’, which unfortunately can make it difficult for them to build a successful, thriving business. Annemarie Cross has invited Meridith Elliott Powell – author of ‘42 Rules to Turn Prospects into Customers’ back on the show to share her wisdom about how you can finally get rid of your fear of selling and…

• How to Charge What You’re Worth and Get It

  Annemarie Cross

  19 Dec 2011 | 9:40 pm

  Still struggling to charge what you’re worth and get it? You’re not alone! In fact, numerous entrepreneurs and service-based business owners I speak to find this difficult, which is why I spent an entire hour with my Get More Clients Booked members on this topic. As a gift, I’d like to give you exclusive access to the webinar recording so that you can learn the key steps you need to implement so that you can finally charge what you’re worth and get it. Find out: 8 reasons why you haven’t been able to charge what you’re worth The importance of building a Signature Brand if you want…

• Not using LinkedIn? You’re leaving money on the table!

  Annemarie Cross

  13 Dec 2011 | 5:59 pm

  LinkedIn – the untapped social media marketing (networking) tool Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. They’re all tools you’re probably quite familiar with and using in your business communications and social media marketing efforts. But, what about LinkedIn? Are you leveraging LinkedIn as well? If you’re anything like many of the business owners I speak to – your answer is ‘probably not’. At least not to the extent you’re using other social media technologies. If that sounds like you – then you MUST keep reading. Why? Because your leaving money on the table. And lots of it!

• 

  Bulldog Drummond - Uncommon Sense

• Redesign the Report Card

  admin

  27 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pm

  We are fans of GOOD’s most recent challenge: ‘Redesign The Report Card‘. This contest challenged designers to redesign the education system’s report card so that it’s visually appealing, informative, inspirational, and gives context to student achievement: Uncommon Sense in action.

• Ten Tips for Merging Business and Passion

  admin

  25 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pm

  I’m fascinated by the different types of people I meet in the business world and the way that their personalities show up in what they do. I’m drawn to people who have a quiet inner confidence that is expressed in their interactions and their output. I am comforted by their sense of self. They know who they are and they operate with a kindness of spirit that makes shared time and conversation pleasant. They exude confident energy to everyone they come into contact with. Matthew Larson is the Chief of Product Design for Matuse, one of the surf industry’s most exciting new…

• The Innovators

  admin

  23 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pm

• When We All Think Alike

  admin

  19 Jan 2012 | 10:47 am

• Think Different

  admin

  19 Jan 2012 | 10:47 am

• 

  Design Kompany is a brand design studio. We do: corporate identity, brand identity, branding, logo design, corporate communications, creative marketing.

• All new Sharpie drawings for Today I Love You

  dipika

  23 Jan 2012 | 10:30 am

  One of the things that happens when you’re inextriciably influenced by the aesthetic of Japan, love modern Scandinavian patterns, and feel a little critical about the way people overconsume is this: You draw. Doodling helps you see what you even think about a thing. Eventually, you assemble what my friend WH called “a body of work.” I’m going to show some of that body for the first time, in public. My first solo show for the series Today I Love You opens with what I hope will be Design Kompany’s biggest party yet. Are you local? See you Friday, February 10. XO,…

• Keep it simple and take your time

  dipika

  21 Jan 2012 | 12:39 pm

  EXPAT: A roundtable Thinking about all the conversation last night at EXPAT, a roundtable on being elsewhere, I am still spinning with the kind of buzz that you get only after meeting people IRL. In real life, I mean. It’s good to mix things up. See who’s around. What they think. Isn’t that why we travel? The people who come to the Expat roundtables (this was our second) are an intriguing self-selecting bunch. I am always amazed at what transpires when we have our breakout conversations, and the energy in the room is amplified a zillion times. I’m not one for…

• Why expats wear yellow

  dipika

  19 Jan 2012 | 2:04 pm

  Shomuni. A Japanese drama A while back I told you about Six Thinking Hats by oft-quoted creativity thinker Edward de Bono. One of them is yellow. I thought I’d tell you about it, since tomorrow we host EXPAT, a roundtable on what it means to be somewhere else. (More about our roundtables is posted at our new site, OrangutanSwing.com). Why expats wear yellow hats Why yellow? Why indeed. The thing is, the yellow hat belongs to a way of approaching a situation that involves suspending your personal belief. Amazingly hard if you’ve never left the country. Surprisingly natural if you…

• A pic of me and our three year old boss

  dipika

  18 Jan 2012 | 2:05 pm

  Kush putting on a shirt “all by my own.”

• Our first party in Durham is TODAY I LOVE YOU on February 10

  dipika

  16 Jan 2012 | 11:15 am

  Making art for TILU Trusting the process On February 10, fall in LOVE. A party. Today I Love You is the first solo show of my Sharpie art in Durham. It’ll also have some new stuff, in pencil. Whoa. See the invitation. LOVE A reception for Today I Love You The Carrack Modern Art 7 to 10pm Friday, Feb 10-Sun, Feb 12 Durham More: http://www.todayiloveyou.com

• 

  ROKBRAND

• “Pluck Your Hard Out” posters

  ROKBRAND

  27 Jan 2012 | 4:00 am

  I recently came across the wildly imaginative poster portfolio of French design shop,”Arrache Toi Un Oeil,” which I’m told by Google translate either means, “Pluck Yourself Out” or “You a Hard Look” (any of you reading this fluent in French—please let me know where I’m going wrong here.) No matter the name I’m slaughtering, this guy and girl team of Gaspard and Emy Rojas Quiniou produce amazing work. Gaspard began designing gig posters in 2002 as he was organizing hardcore/punk/garage shows throughout Paris. Since then, he and Emy have…

• George Harrison axe app

  ROKBRAND

  26 Jan 2012 | 4:00 am

  While George Harrison will never go down in history for rippin’ guitar solos, he will always be remembered as an excellent songwriter and guitarist. In fact, he loved playing guitar so much that during his lifetime, he amassed a collection of axes (I’m quite positive John and George referred to their guitars as “axes” – google it) that deserve their own museum. And now, thanks to the iPad, Harrison’s guitar collection has that museum (albeit digital), and it will allow anyone to peruse and enjoy all of his axe artifacts. As seen in the demo above, the app…

• Raging Recommends: Die Antwoord

  ROKBRAND

  25 Jan 2012 | 4:00 am

  If you’ve never heard of our monthly guest columnist, click here for a Bastard primer. For those of you already familiar, Raging has decided to bring in the new year with a bit of fantasy and gore. Above is a teaser video for rap/rave musicians, Die Antwoord and their new album, TEN$ION, releasing February 7th. The video really defies description and utilizes themes, visuals and characters not typically associated with rap or rave culture. In fact, I’m not even sure it relates directly to any established musical culture. Metal perhaps? But that’s why it’s so damn…

• pink paper hearse

  ROKBRAND

  24 Jan 2012 | 4:00 am

  Last year, designer Paul Sahre designed the cover art for a series of singles from They Might Be Giants‘ new album, “Join Us,” and featured a monster-truck style hearse (in pink nonetheless) on one of the four advance singles. To promote the band’s impending 2012 tour, Sahre was asked to create a life-size version of the hearse, and he did so (as you will view above) out of cardboard, paper and a TON of glue. And, oh yeah, after they spend hours constructing the thing, they end up . . . well . . . you’ll just have to watch.

• Soundmachines

  ROKBRAND

  23 Jan 2012 | 4:00 am

  The above video demonstrates the functionality of Soundmachines—part instrument and part art installation. Created by Berlin-based design studio, The Product, Soundmachines reinvents the traditional turntable, retaining the traditional movement of a spinning disc, but trading vinyl grooves for visual patterns that are then interpreted by music software. Watch closely, you’ll see the traditional needle is gone and now replaced by a beam of light. More from The Creator’s Project.

• 

  Crowdtap

• Social Consumers Shift Focus to Smartphones

  Ben Kessler - Director of Marketing

  10 Jan 2012 | 12:54 pm

  Research released today by the Pivot Conference and Crowdtap reveals that consumers who are active in social networks are increasingly using mobile devices to connect and share across a variety of activities including location-based check-ins, photography, games, and more.Pivot conducted the research by polling conference attendees as well as over 500 influential consumers on Crowdtap’s influencer marketing platform. The results were revealed live in realtime during the 2011 Pivot Conference in New York City this past October.Key findings from the report:• The iPhone is the most…

• Holiday 2011 Spending Through The Eyes of Influencers

  Ben Kessler - Director of Marketing

  23 Dec 2011 | 1:00 pm

  The holiday season is a time to reflect on the year behind us and spend time with friends and family. It’s also a time to shop for presents, and the last few weeks for retailers to increase sales for the year. In the latest edition of our Brand Advocacy series, we polled influencers on Crowdtap to learn more about their holiday spending habits including budget, purchasing decisions, and top retailers they frequented.Although social media has opened a new channel directly into consumers’ news feeds, the onslaught of sponsored placements has driven them to tune out of most new forms of…

• Goodbye 2011 – It’s been an amazing year at Crowdtap!

  Brandon Evans - CEO

  22 Dec 2011 | 8:00 am

  What an amazing year 2011 has been for all of us here at Crowdtap! It is hard to believe that we launched publicly to clients just 9 months ago at SXSW Interactive. We started the year with just 8 people and now have 20 full-time employees at the new Crowdtap HQ in Union Square. At the start of 2011, few were talking about or even thinking about Influencer Marketing but as we near the end of the year, more and more marketers have made it a focus. Crowdtap is extremely fortunate to be working with some of the best brands in the world and funded by great investors.Given all that we have…

• Mashable Names Crowdtap “Up-and-Coming Social Media Service”

  Brandon Evans - CEO

  19 Dec 2011 | 5:48 pm

  The votes are in: Crowdtap was named “Up-and-Coming Social Media Service” in the 5th Annual Mashable Awards!This is a huge honor for all of us here at Crowdtap, and further validation for our work in the fast growing, but still mostly nascent influencer marketing space.To our members, clients, fans, and supporters: THANK YOU! For the past two months we’ve been blown away by the enthusiasm and constant support on Twitter, Facebook, and across the web.This award will serve as a reminder of our incredible community and motivate us to continue innovating and building out the…

• Crowdtap Recap: This Week’s News

  Ben Kessler - Director of Marketing

  16 Dec 2011 | 5:48 pm

  It’s on! Facebook releases the Timeline worldwide, publishers and brands get hot for Pinterest, and a look back on the state of social in 2011.Let’s Do The Timeline AgainIn September at the annual f8 conference Facebook unveiled the Timeline; a completely redesigned profile that tells the “story of your life” according to Mark Zuckerberg. The new design not only makes it easier to travel back in time to see all of the posts, photos, and moments you’ve shared, it also incorporates new Open Graph like frictionless sharing from Spotify and a slew of other web…

• 

  Branding Business with RiechesBaird

• The Kodak Brand Lesson: Your Heritage is Not Your Future

  Alan Brew

  26 Jan 2012 | 4:38 pm

  Kodak’s recent filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection is a historic comedown for a brand that once defined American industrial power and innovation. The photography empire founded by George Eastman started at the end of the 19th century, dominated the 20th and did not last long into the 21st. The company felt a tremendous impact from the shift to digital photography — a technology Kodak invented — and away from film, where Kodak once earned 70% margins and enjoyed a 90% market share in America. Yet its problems were not unlike those of other big American technology…

• The All and Ever Powerful Logo

  Michael Dula

  24 Jan 2012 | 6:09 pm

  When you think of a great company, most likely, its logo is one of the first things to come to mind. Think Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola and Target to name just a few. The word “logo” is derived from ancient Greek and translates as “word” or “speech”. The word “icon” translates as “image” or “likeness”. Brand identities often incorporate a hybrid of these two. Though many designers use alternative names, the word “logo” is customarily synonymous to describe a mark of identity. Around 4100-3800 BC, tokens in Uruk, in Mesopotamia,…

• Consistent Communication is Critical to Creating a Unified Brand

  Kristy Yamamoto Gulsvig

  19 Jan 2012 | 5:24 pm

  It’s a common situation: at a recent client presentation, we were tasked with delivering some disappointing news: the client’s ground-level employees felt a distance between themselves and management. They were unaware of the company’s vision and direction and did not know how to describe the brand. This topic comes up again and again with many of our clients and it can almost always be tracked back to a single need: increased communication from management. I often see executives baffled by the idea – many feel that they are already open with employees and point to specific…

• Playoff Update: Are you ready for some more…brand assessments?

  Tim Price

  17 Jan 2012 | 6:30 pm

  It was another season of twists, turns, and almost the second coming of John Elway. But as we head into the decisive weekend leading up to the big one, only four remain…but I just couldn’t let Denver go quietly so they’re here too. Did your favorite team (or brand) get overlooked? Who’s missing and why? As always, your suggestions and comments are welcome.

• Protect Yourself From Being Brandjacked

  Ray Baird

  12 Jan 2012 | 12:30 pm

  Without fail, whenever we begin the process of re-branding, naming or tagline development with a client, legal questions relating to protecting intellectual property, trademark registration and what instances can lead to trademark infringement inevitably come up. Whether you’re a large company or a start up, protecting your brand is critical to overall business success and maintaining brand reputation. In our experience, it takes a good marriage and understanding between legal counsel and brand marketers to arrive at the right recommendations. Let’s face it, in todays over populated sea…

• 

  Imagemme New York

• Is Bad Packaging Design Making You Unhealthy?

  admin

  27 Jan 2012 | 10:26 am

  When it comes to effective, safe and healthy food packaging, a few factors come into play.  First there is clear labeling, then there is the packaging itself, and finally there is the representation of the contents on the label so consumers can make a healthy and informed decision. A recent study conducted by Nielsen deduced that 59% of consumers find it difficult to clearly comprehend nutritional values on food packaging.  Moreover, 53% of those polled consider themselves overweight.  The study went on to unveil that nearly 60% of consumers have difficulty understanding food packaging…

• The Power of Social Validation in Web Design

  admin

  23 Jan 2012 | 4:55 pm

  …By Amina AlTai Few of us are renegade enough to make decisions without social validation— in life and in our virtual behavior.  More often than not, we look to others to determine how we should behave.  Our sense of self is largely dictated by social constructs, and we are all arguably two people; our social selves and our true selves.   It is this behavioral pattern that has made social validation such a strong converter on websites.  Online ratings and product reviews have an enormous effect on our subconscious.   A study by De Vries Pruyn suggested that products with…

• Promotional Packaging – Maximizing ROI

  admin

  19 Jan 2012 | 4:35 pm

  …By Amina AlTai The challenge with packaging design is to create true human connection and evoke emotion all in a matter of seconds.  When consumers make purchases they are inundated with tens of thousands of messages trying to persuade them to buy one product over another.  So how do you craft successful messages that rise to the top and convince consumers to buy?   Since packaging is the only in-store touch point that is completely controlled by the brand, make you are using it to your full advantage.  When creating your promotional packaging strategy, make sure you identify…

• London Olympics 2012: A Branding Success Or Total Eyesore?

  admin

  15 Jan 2012 | 7:50 pm

  …By Amina AlTai Upon it’s launch in June 2007, the Olympics 2012 logo was blowing up the blogosphere.  However, after a recent trip to London where the design has become a part of the city backdrop, I thought it appropriate to address this controversial design and its application 5 years on. I always spend a good part of the holiday season in England and Wales navigating through the santa-clad, garland-strewn, over-lit streets. This year, however, there was a slightly different vibe.  Stealing the show from the customary tinsel and its counterparts was a new brand….the London 2012…

• QR Codes on Packaging Design

  admin

  11 Jan 2012 | 5:20 pm

  QR codes are small, square 2D bar codes. When scanned with a smartphone camera, the code redirects the user to a specific webpage in only a few seconds. These custom labels are a growing marketing trend that takes very little space on product packaging and can yield tremendous results. Nearly 6.2 percent of the total mobile audience utilized QR codes in June 2011, but few marketers used them as effectively as possible. In most cases, QR codes are used to direct customers to the main website of a certain business or product. From there, customers have to navigate to their desired location.

• 

  John Morgan

• 10 Reasons We Won’t Promote Your Business

  John Morgan

  23 Jan 2012 | 11:21 am

  You’re looking to increase the size of your audience and you see someone who’s already got a decent size audience. It only makes sense that if they would promote your product or service to their existing audience, it will help you grow your own audience and make sales. This happens in business every single day and it’s an extremely effective strategy. However, most people never reap the benefits of having someone of influence promote them because their approach is all wrong. Most screw it up big time. Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t ask me to retweet them, link…

• Does Your Business Have A Reason To Exist?

  John Morgan

  20 Jan 2012 | 12:54 pm

  Does your business have a reason to exist in the marketplace? It’s not an easy question to answer because for most people the answer is no. I’m not talking about your reason ‘why’ in that you’re doing business to provide a great life for your kids. I’m talking about justifying the space your business takes up in the marketplace. You see, the vast majority of businesses are copycats. They sell the same widget as everyone else in their industry. This causes them to spend all of their efforts on trying to stand out when they really have no reason for standing…

• 3 Steps To Making Any Business Work

  John Morgan

  16 Jan 2012 | 8:40 pm

  After owning several businesses and consulting/coaching with hundreds more, I’ve noticed that there’s an extremely simple formula or template or whatever you want to call it, to making business work. It all boils down to 3 simple steps. Now, I know what some of you are thinking…there’s more to business than 3 steps! Of course there is Mr Fancypants. But business at it’s most simple form and at it’s core comes down to just 3 steps. They are as follows: Step 1: Generate Leads This is where most businesses fail. You must have a system for generating leads and…

• How To Under-Promise And Over-Deliver Your Way Out Of Business

  John Morgan

  13 Jan 2012 | 10:16 am

  Under-promise and over-deliver. How many times have you heard that phrase? Chances are if you’ve been in business longer than a week, you’ve heard it at least once if not a dozen times. This business “tip” is very dangerous advice. Allow me to explain… It’s not the over-delivering part that is dangerous. Over-delivering and WOW-ing your customers is good business. It increases customer satisfaction, repeat business, and word of mouth which all leads to referrals. You can never add too much value for your customers. (Tweet this.) It’s also not the…

• Oops! Your Brand Is Showing

  John Morgan

  10 Jan 2012 | 8:41 am

  Like it or not, you’re on display 24/7. You can thank Al Gore for that. The internet has made it so that your brand is always showing. Hopefully, this isn’t an issue. But at the very least you must be aware of this fact at all times. Truth be told, the internet didn’t put our brands on display night and day. It’s always been that way. People are watching you online and off. One of the things I talk about in Brand Against The Machine is how everything we do is branding. Every action has an affect on your brand. This means each and every interaction someone has with you,…