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David Cameron's On Brands Blog
Brand Fan Rule #8: Don’t Be a Sore Loser
Misunderstanding happens. Brand fans and managers need to anticipate it and be ready to fix it when it does. And yeah, don't call a fan of your brand a sore loser....
Winnie the Pooh on Rebuilding Brands
It’s not business as usual for brands that need to recover and rebuild from a crisis. When you’ve let consumers and fans down, “so very up” is your new destination point....
Toyota's troubles won't disappear overnight. It's going to take years to restore the auto manufacturer's brand image....
The intentions behind brand aid may partially be out of self-interest, but that's not necessarily a bad thing....
When Asking for Fans or Followers, Be Remarkable
If you're paying attention and striving to be remarkable in all the little things you do, including how you engage potential fans, chances are you'll build remarkable brand equity. Don't do that and chances are you'll stunt your growth....
Accenture did. Should Nike?...
Oculus
Jetro Singapore held a food packaging seminar this week.Certainly Japanese consumer products packaging remains amongst the best in the world in my opinion in terms of innovation and other attributes like easy to open.The seminar showcased a variety of different packaging formats from paper packs, paper cans, PET, standing pouch,...
It’s been a long habit of mine to exercise every morning. I can’t say that I particularly enjoy it at the time, but afterwards it makes me feel better.Usually when I’m traveling the exercise tends to be a short jog around the streets rather than staying in a hotel gym...
Exigo’s Steve Galloway spent an enjoyable and productive day at Foodex Japan in Tokyo yesterday and we’re posting these pictures to give a flavour of the atmosphere and activity.Foodex remains one of the biggest food and beverage trade shows in Asia and is the most popular amongst foreign firms looking...
I spent all of last week in Korea and Japan.It has been a while since I was in Seoul and whilst it would not be true to say that the place was unrecognizable - the Han river is still there - many new buildings and business centres have emerged since...
I’m off to Japan on Sunday night.I’ve lived there twice and travel there often.But I’ve never really enjoyed flying into Narita. Not only is it far from the city, but it lacks the shops that you become accustomed to in Changi or Heathrow and it lacks the scenic bay views...
Rocketseed » Blog
Put the ‘email’ back into ‘email marketing’
My favorite online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, defines email marketing as follows: “E-mail marketing is a form of direct marketing which uses email as a means of communicating commercial or fundraising messages to an audience.” Usually, this form of marketing employs bulk mail (typically referred to as newsletters) with lists of user email...
Maximizing your marketing spend
Marketing budgets are under pressure – again. Marketers need cost-effective and measurable ways to reach their target audience. Email marketing and SEM continue to be go-to programs. One email marketing channel is being over-looked however, and it can reduce your SEM cost-per-click in the process. Email marketing with a twist –...
Rocketseed breaks the million mark
July is smack bang in the middle of winter in South Africa, a month we normally associate with cold weather and dark skies combine this with the dark clouds of a recession which hangs over all of us and July 2009 should not be something you would want to celebrate. But...
E-mail Marketing vs. E-mail Branding
Because you receive an e-mail notification when someone clicked on one of your links, you can imagine the coolness that comes with calling said person literally within the same moment that they’re browsing your website....
We live in a time where media and marketing have become the sex symbol of commerce, where turnover and profits seem secondary. I have yet to witness a business that manages to survive on this mantra though....
Email branding to hit inboxes around the globe + 15 reasons not to be left behind
Probably the most perfect opportunity to impress your brand image onto your customer is ignored for reasons that boggle the mind. Coca Cola, the world's most recognized brand, is spending billions of dollars each year on marketing and advertising, yet they don't brand a single one of their emails....
Girvin Strategic Branding Design Blog
The Character of the Alphabet and the Maze of Knowing, the Real and Uncertain. What’s real, anyway? And — to the question of “any way, which?” what is the right “reading”? There’s a mystery in the alphabet — one, ages old and powerful — and one that relates to the notion...
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: the branding impetus
Girvin office lobby | Seattle Exploring the concept of Zen in the construct of branding In working with teams, on the implications of their brand, the process is inevitably collaborative. How can I, or Girvin, completely understand without comprehending where the brand currently lives without bridging into that culture? A place in...
Marketing 3.0 | Inspiration, brand, books and storytelling
Examining the concept of brand books — selling the story, the magazine, that brands own The idea of brands that publish their own books isn’t new. I can recall the early days of Abercrombie & Fitch and some of their wildly outrageous “brand books”. Girvin’s designed some of these, in the...
Minimalism in packaging expression: 28 examples of simple elegance
© 2008 Sam Carter & Patrick Gunn Collections 1896 Ginger Beer Exploring restrained packaging design vocabularies in brand. We’ve been working on packaging, up north in Canada. And in exploring the idea of messaging, in the context of container expression — shelf presence...
Human Brands | Ken Stuart and Seattle BioMed
Image credit: Matt Hagen Exploring the concept of human branding, foundational leadership, evolution and Seattle BioMed. Working in a long string of partnerships, with founding board members, executive committees and scientists, from the early 2000s, then 2004, then presently, our teams have been honored to work with Ken Stuart and his team...
WHAMO! The Frisbee brand and passage: Walter Frederick Morrison
Authentic brand simplicity: Frisbee, an American classic The Frisbee was one of those progressively personal, explored brand creations — enthrallments that went from basic object, a toy for a kid; elementary school student, and an obsession of flinging skills; in high school and college, a girlfriend acquisition and impression tool. Everyone...
Greteman Group Blog
If you’re a Gmail user (or simply a reader of the Internet) you might have heard about Google’s latest foray into the social media space. Their new service, Buzz, is a Twitter/Facebook-Status-Update/Foursquare hybrid that lives inside their mail service. Even though Buzz is yet another service for people to keep updated,...
Marc’s Pick for Final Friday – January 2010
To cap off a dreary January, perk yourself up with some cheerful hues this Final Friday. Mary Werner and Brenda Jones at Steckline Gallery Mary Werner joined Newman University in 2003 as Director of Visual Arts, where she has been building a vital program by employing her wisdom, charm and dedication to...
Tragedy in Haiti Sparks Memories, and Raises the Question – How Best to Help? Vivid pictures keep flashing through my head. Images of the riotous ruin that was Port au Prince, Haiti, in what were relatively good times during my visit there 10 years ago. Mental portraits of the many good...
This morning, I had the opportunity to go on KNSS NewsRadio to talk with Steve McIntosh about Do the Deed. For four whole minutes, the Wichita airwaves filled with talk of acts of kindness. If you missed the interview, no worries. We’ve got it below. Have a listen and then head...
My husband and I attended the inaugural event at Wichita’s Intrust Bank Arena on Saturday evening – the Brad Paisley concert. For those of you who don’t live in Wichita, there was great debate several years ago about building the arena given its downtown location and potential parking issues. I’d...
This year, my colleagues gave me the best gift ever. Instead of buying me a present, GGers took our Do The Deed campaign as inspiration and pledged to do small acts of kindness on my behalf. Each team member wrote down his or her commitment and bound them together, creating a...
.think - A Brainstorm blog
Eventually, your logo becomes a touch point by which your audience either recognizes or mocks your brand. The Struggle Many businesses struggle through the development of their business or product logo because they believe the logo is their brand rather than understanding it is but one representation of their brand. No logo...
5 Focal Points for Brands in 2010
We’ve identified five focal points of opportunity for 2010. They’re not an end-all priority list for brands, nor predictions, but rather initiatives, items born of trending behavior and emergent technologies being embraced by consumers. 1. Mobile-based marketing Smartphones are fast becoming the center of consumer experience for work, home and play (see:...
Voodoogoo Jam Perfecting Good Taste Friends from afar sent me not one but seven jars of assorted gelatinous delights for the holidays. Each homemade delectable is tastefully adorned with an elegant custom label and a short background regarding the origin of the harvested contents. Perfect. I can barely wait to taste them...
Top 20 Favorite Friday Night Wind-Downs
Panic room, interesting video Our latest list of inane musings from the Brainstorm office white board: Top 20 Favorite Friday Night Wind-Downs A placid dip in the sensory deprivation tank Appointment with my masseur Brainstorming upcoming Top 20 board topics Watching 4 episodes of “24” back 2 back Pizza, wine, movie, couch Dining out Quiet room, good book A...
“The reactions I’ve experienced confirm that it is a part of my personal brand.” A Scent of Brand Patchouli is my signature fragrance, it’s been my personal aromatherapy since I was a teenager. Visceral, exotic…not sure I can explain the magic it plays on me when I wear it. Of all the...
Ad Impressions: Remote and User Controlled
More than 30 percent of households with a TV now have a DVR device Impressions Less Control At more than double the price tag, CBS has very few 30-second Super Bowl spots left while NBC is struggling to sell 2010 Winter Olympic ads. Yes, the Super Bowl has a prestigious reputation for...
Drew Schiller
The Psychology Of Verbal Mirroring Used By Top Sales Professionals
After my last post about the psychology of body language mirroring, my old high school friend Sidney commented that since most of his sales calls are over the phone, he uses a technique called verbal mirroring (or vocal mirroring). You use this technique to match the tone, intensity and jargon of...
The Sneaky (And Effective) Body Language Trick That Increases Sales
Update: You should also check out my video on the psychology of verbal mirroring. Hey, this is my first YouTube video, so be kind! If you have trouble loading the video, you can watch it here. I recorded this today because I literally just used this technique and I’m interested to...
Brand Ownership Yields Repeat Business, Referrals, and Tons of Goodwill
Almost a year ago I wrote an article detailing how my jeweler pays for his customer’s parking tickets and I compared his approach to the women’s clothing store across the street that rushed my wife out the door to feed the parking meter (effectively forcing her to drop the clothes...
Okay, I admit it: I’m writing this more for me than for you. But you might get something out of it anyway. We marketers are selfish, selfish beings. 99 times out of 100 we create new products and marketing campaigns because of what we want, rather than in response...
9 Surefire Ways To Break Open Your Creative Ice Jam
Just a few minutes ago, I had the answers to all the world’s problems. Now all I can think of is the Big Mac ingredients song. So what happened? Where did all my wonderful ideas go? Will I ever get them back? Fortunately I’ve dealt with this situation enough through the years...
Run Your Business Like Andy Warhol Created Art
“The reason I’m painting this way is that I want to be a machine and I feel that whatever I do and do machine-like is what I want to do.” – Andy Warhol Over the weekend I saw what’s left of the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum (it’s...
Dirk Singer's Blogs
Cowshed will be sharing simply awesome stuff - rocking with creativity - we want to share....
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Igor
“Boogie Board” and “Improv” debut, both named by Igor
We named a new consumer product company “Improv Electronics”. We also named Improv’s first product, “Boogie Board“, which went on sale last week. Via Gizmodo: If you thought a boogie board was a salt-water vessel that lets you skim the waves, think again. Improv Electronics’ Boogie Board is a pressure-sensitive tablet that...
The Igor-named “Aria” resort and casino opens its doors
Igor’s latest naming work, The MGM / Dubai World hotel and casino “Aria”, has its grand opening in Las Vegas today. This marks the fifth hotel thus far in Igor’s naming portfolio. Via The Las Vegas Sun: The centerpiece of CityCenter — the Aria Resort & Casino — will...
Richard Branson launches the Igor-named “gogo” in-flight WiFi service
Igor named the new in-flight wifi service gogo (case study here). Below, Richard Branson officially launches gogo service aboard Virgin America....
The Color of Money is…Changeable
One of the funniest aspects of alleged naming & branding firm Landor, is the ridiculous rationale they cite for the work they produce. Oftentimes they will, with capricious authority, justify a design based on what certain colors “mean” or “communicate”. These “reasons” become all the more comical when parroted...
Free company and product naming
Are your company or product name brainstorming attempts long on storm and short on brains? Igor has over 15,300 brains in stock, ready to help you name whatever needs naming — most have very low mileage, are hardly ever driven during the week, and are used only sparingly on weekends...
Chartis helps AIG hide in plain sight
The viable bit of warm and snuggly insurance company AIG has been spun-off and dubbed “Chartis”. A bad name? Well, yes. But that is just what they needed. Sometimes a terrible name is the perfect name. In today’s Insurance Journal, a so-called naming expert spouts off: According to AIG, Chartis...
Tom Asacker on unlocking hearts and minds
Customer stimulation is your only way forward
Each leaf, each blade of grass vies for attention. Even weeds carry tiny blossoms to astonish us. - Marianne Poloskey This month's short piece is a plea for organizations to vie for our attention and to astonish us with new......
Here are just a few of the tweets and email headlines, which have appeared in my very limited stream during the past 8 hours. There are many, many more where those came from, and I haven't even considered my RSS......
Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota and grandson of the company's founder, testified today in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform as lawmakers continue to examine Toyota's record recalls. During the proceedings Toyoda remarked: “My name is on......
According to the Wall Street Journal, a series of gambles put the energy company Constellation Energy Group's very existence in jeopardy. And it was their brush with bankruptcy that awakened their leader. Prior to the company's crisis, CEO Mayo A.......
I'll be participating in a free teleconference this Thursday, February 18 at 4PM ET (1 PM Pacific). If you're interested, here's a link to the description page: http://tinyurl.com/yfhk8au Note: You'll find the registration link at the top right hand side......
Steve Jobs once remarked, "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." I don't think that's true any longer. I think innovation distinguishes a survivor. If you haven't been watching, followers eventually become road kill in this fast-moving marketplace. The......
New Research on 2009 B2B Marketing Strategies
After perusing a topline report for “B-to-B Marketing in 2009: Trends in Strategy and Spending” by MarketingProfs/Forrester Research, I thought one chart important to share with my readers. It points to a significant increase in developing digital tactics due to more cost-efficiency and targeted reach. While communicating digitally is certainly...
One of the most subjective processes in launching a new company/product is choosing a name. One that encapsulates the brand promise, product portfolio, personality, values, etc. and accelerates the company/product to an increased state of value. Before proceeding down this often treacherous path, take a common-day example to heart. Think of...
Evolving Vernacular List for 2010
The below will be an evergrowing list over the next six months. Some may say these words/phrases have already become tired, I would suggest that they may take on new meanings or approach mainstream. I welcome comments and additions. “Now that the dust has settled.” An anti-recessionary message for economic growth in 2010. A...
While reading this month’s Inc. issue, I came across a very powerful visual that stood apart from all of the images of leisurely entrepreneurs seeming intelligent. The image looked like a mesh between a paperclip and a leveling tool. What pulled me in further was a quote by the CEO stating,...
10 Worst Innovation Mistakes In A Recession
A post in Business Week Online earlier this year, is worth reblogging. Bruce Nussbaum, is a seasoned writer who focuses on innovations in all areas - technology, service, design, communication, etc. His articulation of the 10 worst mistakes you can make in a recession are a perspective refreshment as we enter...
A.P.I.M.: A Practice in Meaning (aka KISS)
As someone heavily involved in B2B technology branding, I dream in acronyms. It seems that for every million in company revenue, 10-20 acronyms can be born. While I understand the short-hand exercise and quite honestly many would be writing all day to spell out each acronym, I also believe we...
The Brand Chef
There’s something I don’t understand. If you’re a freelancer or an independent businessperson, why would your Web site or your marketing collateral consistently refer to “We” and “Our” (as in OUR services include… and WE are located in…, etc.)? Is it a ploy to “sound” bigger than you are? Is...
Music is part of my personal brand. I’ve written about it before. But for the last six months I’ve created quite a significant illustration of that particular personal brand trait. As a little joke/hat-tip to my friend, Terry Starbucker, I started tweeting about what was rolling off of my iPod. Some...
Don’t Leave Your Customer Out In The Cold
For those of you that know me, locally, you’ve all probably heard (or even witnessed) the troubles I’ve been having with my 2004 Jeep Liberty. It seems like the winter of ‘09-’10 has taken a pretty good toll on my little SUV. And for the past 14 to 16 months,...
It was never my intention to make this a post on The Brand Chef. A sudden turn of events made me reconsider. A friend - no, really, a guy I’ve met a handful of times - died yesterday. While driving to see his mother in a rural area of Iowa, he...
Our pledge of allegiance mentions something about being “One Nation,” and being, “Indivisible,” right? Unfortunately, it’s been so long since I’ve heard it, I may have to check my facts on that. After watching the State of the Union address, I had to reflect on how, with ironic timing, President Obama’s...
Brandtelling
What’s the opposite of the “best” brand?
Image by Getty Images via Daylife While preparing to be a panelist for a discussion on marketing, I’ve been pondering two questions the organizer asked us to consider: What are examples of the best brands? What are examples of the worst brands? While these may appear to be opposites, I don’t think they are. See,...
What’s the impact of social media marketing?
Answer to my question: Um, HUGE!...
What can we learn from the Black Eyed Peas about Brandtelling and inspiration?
will.i.am via last.fm The Black Eyed Peas are sure to win a Grammy Award tonight — likely more than one. And no wonder. The Black Eyed Peas are Brandtellers! They know their audience, they know themselves and they know their brand story. They also know a thing or two about inspiration. According...
Can you write a killer case study?
Get this as a downloadable PDF! A case study is an opportunity to tell your story – in your customer’s voice. It’s not a sales letter or a data sheet – it’s much more. Avoid “salesy” language and your internal terminology. Industry jargon is fine, but spell out first references. Remember to...
How can you align marketing with the customer buying process?
Today’s post is contributed by Jeff “the demand generation guru” Ogden, president of Find New Customers. Jeff is a friend and collaborator (we worked together to co-author “Prospect-Driven Marketing“) who truly understands where the rubber hits the road for sales. – Arthur Germain I’m please to share this information on lead...
ICC/Decision Services
Customer Experience Synonymous with Operating Strategy
It is true that the customer experience has a lot to do with sales and marketing, but to limit it to these silos is to miss the larger point. Everyone in your organization is a touch point to the consumer....
Making the Promises Real in 2010
Many are seeing 2009 as a breakthrough year for efforts designed to raise the profile of the customer experience. There is growing evidence that the everlasting pledge to put the customer first actually got beyond lip service and into real and actionable tactics....
The big question seems to revolve around the customer experience. Is price the driving factor or is there value in truly great service?...
Social Marketing, The Perfect Storm
“The Recession Spurred Consumers to Adopt Social Technologies.” It’s not just the enabling technology that caused the movement. Hard financial times also drive people to connect to one another. High unemployment levels also contribute by giving people more time to connect. Motive, means and opportunity equals the perfect storm....
Customer Experience Stories of the Year
Today, we look at another one on retailcustomerexperience.com called the, “The 5 biggest retail customer experience stories of 2009.”...
Customer Service is the New Marketing
The coming year will be a good one for marketers to imprint upon their employees who interact with customers. Why? High unemployment levels will encourage employees to hold onto their jobs by being good at them. They will try harder....
Name Wire: The Product Naming Blog
Punch Ya Daddy Naming Continues to Live On
I'm not sure if this is good news or bad news, so I'll just put it out there: "Punch Ya Daddy" seasoning can keep its (ridiculous) name. I wrote about the seasoning war simmering between "Slap Ya Mama" and "Punch Ya Daddy" last year. The makers of "Slap...
A New Look for Can Do Canines™ to March into the Future
For the past few months, we at Strategic Name Development have been partnering with Hearing and Service Dogs of Minnesota (HSDM) to create a new, more all-encompassing name and logo for their steps into the future. HSDM is a non-profit organization located in New Hope, Minnesota, and for over...
Sony "Moves" Away From Arc Naming and Branding; Better Than "Giggle Stick"
Oops, well I'm only human. ...
The Unfortunate Saga of Risqué Domain Naming and Branding Continues with the Sale of Sex.com
The domain name Sex.com is ...
Movie Naming and Branding: Appealing to Oscar and the Boys
I was amused to see that Disney was changing the name of its new film, Rapunzel, to ...
Obama Naming and Branding Losing Luster
All politics aside, the Obama brand name is not helping some businesses. An article out today looks at the dozen or so Michigan ...
Brand Mix
Six of the Best: All video edition
It's a all-video edition this week to celebrate the fact that Logorama won an Oscar for best animated short.1) Logorama by Francois Alaux and Herve de Crecy Klik hier om het video filmpje te bekijkenFrom the website:...
Sears selling Craftsman tools at Ace stores: How screwed up is that?
Photo: Craftsman Tools by tedmurphy (Flickr)A couple of years ago, Edward Lampert, Chairman of Sears Holdings, signaled his intention to sell Sears' proprietary brands such as Diehard, Craftsman and Kenmore through other retail outlets. Now Sears has announced a series of deals bringing his plan to life:DieHard: Accessories will be...
The Credit Suisse report on 27 Great Brands of Tomorrow (11mb pdf!) starts off with a strong argument for the power of brand investing: An underappreciated investment thesis. There are few true competitive advantages in modern industry: scale, proprietary technology, monopolies, and network externalities come to mind. We believe...
Six of the best: Foursquare hit or miss edition
Photo: foursquare blackboards @ Southside Coffee in Brooklyn! by dpstyles™ on FlickrIs Foursquare going to be this year's Twitter? I have some resistance to trying the latest thing just for the fun of it and I signed up. Should you too? And, if you are a marketer, should you...
For those who haven't seen it yet, here's the latest from OK Go:Per OkGo on YouTube: "The official video for the recorded version of "This Too Shall Pass" off of the album "Of the Blue Colour of the Sky". The video was filmed in a two story warehouse, in the...
Celebrity ad contradictions: Julia, Jeff and Jon
This is something I noticed while I was under the influence of watching Lost. This trio of ads all seemed to express celebrity contradictions of some kind or another. I'll leave it up to you to see if this post makes any more sense than Lost does.1) Julia Louis-Dreyfus for...
BrandDigital | BrandSimple: The Blog
Wall Street finally recognizes how valuable a brand can be
It’s long been recognized by those of us who help build brands that no matter how much research we undertake, and no matter how much proof we offer, Wall Street just won’t listen to the fact that brand value is a genuine competitive advantage. That is, until just recently. While...
A brand that’s different without being relevant won’t make any difference to consumers
How many minutes of advertising were there per hour of Olympics coverage? An article in the Times confirmed for watchers of the events that they weren’t t imagining things. The ads were as plentiful as the questions to Julia Mancusco regarding her feelings about Lindsay Vonn. For what’s worth, as...
No more advice needed for Tiger’s brand repair, but Toyota’s another story
There is no shortage of opinion on how Tiger handled his mea culpa and what he can do to restore his brand’s image. As for Toyota, the other brand in the news these days up against public demand for answers to less than stellar behavior, there is still some room...
The athletes don’t play it safe at game time and neither should brands
The biggest upset in this year’s Super Bowl wasn’t that the Saints beat the Colts, although that was pretty exciting. It was that most of the commercials were less than wonderful. Like everyone in the marketing business, I watched the game expecting to be bowled over by the ads, or...
Leading brands are quick studies when it comes to the “double-click mentality”
The toaster wasn’t toasting fast enough. No, it wasn’t broken. I was having a “double-click mentality” moment. You know, those moments during an ordinary day when the ordinary stuff we do seems to take too much time as a result of our being behavior modified by the instant gratification of...
The best digital tools are those with obvious advantages
The special effects are dazzling and the audience overwhelmed with sight, sound, and sensation. No, it’s not the award-winning film, “Avatar” I’m referring to, but the latest and greatest devices and apps presented at the recent Consumer Electronics Show. While many of these whiz-bag digital wonders are truly wonderfully welcome...