The power of a ubiquitous commanding brand is undeniable. It gets our attention. We find them irresistible. Large companies invest millions into building and protecting their brand. But in the “everything you do sends a message” department, the higher you climb the bigger the potential fall. 24/7 Wall St. published a list of top ten name brands that have appear to have lost over $100 billion, (yes that’s a “b” not a typo) since the beginning of the year. The selection criteria was based on evaluations from top branding companies: Interbrand... [Read more]
SUPER BOWL ADS 955 words - a little over 4 minutes to read How do you measure the success of Super Bowl Ads? Some measure by a laugh-o-meter. Others go for big graphics. I would put forth that success is based not on cheap laughs or expensive art, but what the viewers remembered about the brand itself days after viewing the commercial. Last week, I dissected the Super Bowl ads with students from Dallas Christian College, where I was a guest lecturer. Here are the 10 top ads we chose, and why. Best Storytelling Human minds zero in on stories. We love them, remember them,... [Read more]
LEVERAGING THE BASICS 409 words - a little over 2 minutes to read Recently, I blogged about the Marketing Mix. Now let’s talk about the first category in the mix: The Basics. Remember that this category includes those attributes so fundamental that people often forget that they really are marketing ingredients: your company’s name, business cards, stationery, payment methods you accept and more. Chefs will tell you that the “boring” steps of the recipe are often the most important: choosing the best cut of beef is more important to the meal than the fancy tomato... [Read more]
EFFECTIVE LOGOS, PART 1 841 words - Less than 4½ minutes to read Nike swoosh. The Double Arches. BMW’s propeller. At there best, logos are stop signs, allowing your clients to find your product among the throngs and your prospects to distinguish your brand from others on a visceral level. At their worst, logos can be…well, like London 2012 Olympic symbol: jarring, difficult to understand and irrelevant to the message. Effective logos have several characteristics in common. Part 1 focuses on the conceptual principles of logo design. Part 2 will focus on the technical... [Read more]
WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME TO MARKET? 1256 Words – Less than 4½ minutes to read BOOM OR BUST? Yesterday, CNN reported the Feds were still concerned the US economy was overheating; this morning NPR news quoted an economic pundit “fearing” an economic downturn, and multiple media outlets were reporting on Cisco’s better-than-expected earnings and bullish 12 month forecast as a positive indicator that the technology sector is healthy and growing. So what are we to make of all this? How do you react to economy changes both real and forecasted? The news caused me to pause... [Read more]
