Successful Brands Don't Just Happen, They're Built

What was the recipe for success that global companies used to get where they are today? When you go and buy a product that is globally known, do you ever stop to think that the company was once a small business operated by someone looking to make a difference, like you?

Will Your Brand Take Root This Spring? - Part 1

Just as it takes a combination of all the right elements to make a beautiful garden grow, it takes more than a great logo, or a great ad to grow a successful business. How do the best businesses do it? They use an integrated approach to their marketing, combining a great visual identity with a compelling message that gets delivered through a variety of channels. People are bombarded with hundreds to thousands of messages a day. It's just not reasonable to expect an ad that runs one time in one newspaper will be enough to get your prospects’ attention and rally them to action.

Can A Website Help Grow Your Brand? - Part 1

Now that you're familiar with the differences between marketing and advertising, and you have some understanding of the basic factors we apply when putting together an advertisement or an advertising plan (see that issue again or sign up so you don’t miss an issue), it's time to think about effectively leveraging your time, effort, and money. A website can help you do just that.

Why You Should Run Away From An Ad Agency That Talks About Branding (Before Your Wallet's Empty)

Why Branding is a disservice to the buying public. It's like having a lamp and hiding it under your bed. The light doesn't help you. The light doesn't help your family members and friends. What's better than branding?

Web Branding Matters -- Part Two

Brands grow in time. They appear overnight but they can die as fast if you fail to address at least four of the crucial aspects of the branding process:

Political Correctness is the Enemy of Brands

Political correctness is the enemy of great brands. It is, in fact, the enemy of great marketing. The finest brands and the best marketing are those that seem most transparent to the customer. When a consumer sees an advertisement, they should see the brand and not be aware of the message. When they see the brand, they should see themselves and not all of the product attributes.

Organic Naming -- Creating Company and Products Names with Deep Roots

How to create natural, intutive business and company names that resonate with your customers. In an age of artificial and coined naming, this naming strategy can often produce a memorable brand name that really works.

The Un-Branding of the New York Times

The New York Times was once the epitome of an advanced civilizations newspaper and yet today they have lost much of their luster. So many things have happened that have tarnished its once strong brand for truthful journalism. It seems the cheating that goes on in High School and college with plagiarism and cheating on tests has indeed permeated the journalistic ethics of the once great New York Times.

Branding - Defining Yourself

Careful branding, and subsequent strategizing and application, can result in increased sales, more customers and an ability to increase the value and, therefore, the pricing of your products. Successful branding compaigns combine relevancy, consistency and awareness.

Brand Loyalty...Construction or Destruction Through Service and Value

You have the chance to deliver value to your customers at every turn - use it or deminish your brand.

Important Aspects of Surety Bonds

In today’s unstable and unpredictable economic climate, surety bonds are extremely important for company owners who wish to ensure that the legal terms of their closed contracts and agreements are properly respected by all parties involved. The practice of establishing surety bonds dates back hundreds

XING

Xhanging a brand name requires a lot of energy. OpenBC, the networking company, has taken mayor this step to change their (brand) name. From now on, they are called XING.

The People are the Brand

While on the road delivering seminars, I stopped at a large restaurant chain for breakfast. Some of their employees were on break eating the competitor's food at a very centrally located table. EVERY guest that was entering, leaving, refilling a soda, or placing an order saw an employee of this restaurant eating out of a bag adorned with a competitor's logo. What kind of message does that send?

The Beckham's Brand Developement - Where next?

Beckham's brand development? Where can they go next?

Small Deals are the Steps to the Really BIG Deals - Here's how

Every level of income demands a new you. Every level of YOU demands a new you but you can't get there before you master the smaller YOU of your present financial level. Get it? Now get this! That month is going to go by anyway, whether you do something or not. So why wait, who knows when that BIG deal is going to come in?