This is the time of year that family, friends coworkers and clients alike gather to exchange the gift of cherished relationships and good wishes for a New Year. From the obligatory Christmas card and phone call to the newly added FaceBook posts and tweets this week, the requisite merriment and well-wishing is in full swing! At the office, co-workers will play “Secret Santa” to those they generally don’t speak to for the other 51 weeks of the year. And vendors by the bus load will show up in your waiting rooms and reception areas adorned with tins-upon-tins of popcorn and
More Marketing News →For those that know me, you certainly realize I have a “slight” passion for music. It scores my life (and some of yours… 😉 ) . It is ALWAYS on in my house, my office, my car, my headphones (when discretion is required) and in my heart. So when I sat in my office this morning thinking of what to write, I (of course) had my iTunes randomly playing tunes out of the thousands of choices. It shuffled from Moby and Gwen Stefani to Stevie Wonder to Stevie Vai to Ella Fitzgerald and on to Curt Cobain and Nirvana. Then
More Marketing News →Differentiation. It’s one of the keys to good branding. Branding and marketing professionals have been beating that drum since the dawn of communication. But being “Different” in simple separation from the competition isn’t enough. Differentiation needs to add value. Otherwise what good does it do for the consumer? Take for instance the recent “change” MillerCoors Brewing has made to their packaging. We’ve all seen the “Vortex Bottles” and the new big-mouth aluminum bottles. Sure that’s different, but the product is the same, watered down, tasteless swill. There hasn’t been any value proposition or improvement in the actual product. So unless
More Marketing News →How does your brand stand out in a crowded market? It’s not enough to tout “great customer service” or “our focus is on quality.” Those are feeble excuses for separating your company brand from the rest. It’s when you have a proven, quality product and recognizable trait to your brand that the differentiation will emerge. And most times it’s not something that your marketing department or even the CEO can define. In an article from William Lozito (@WilliamLozito on Twitter) he talks about the unexpected success Sweet N’ Low has had with their current “Think Pink” campaign. And while what
More Marketing News →Does your company have good character? I’m not talking about the people or “characters” within the company. While the people make up a very important part of it, I’m talking about the character of the company, itself. Good character, like TRUE branding, is based on a very specific set of criteria. For TRUE branding, we’ve determined that the brand must be True, Relevant, Unique and Engaging to have a strong, marketable brand foundation. But when it comes to character, there are six traits that form the strongest foundation: • Trustworthiness • Respect • Responsibility • Fairness • Caring • and
More Marketing News →I don’t mean to fire another shot at the marketing community in the U.K., but… What the heck are the marketers for the London 2012 Olympics committee smoking? VIDEO: (we’re sorry. the video could not be re-posted here. If you would like to watch the TELEGRAPH.UK news coverage of the mascots, please go to The Brand Chef Blog to watch.) Sorry about the auto play… (Notice the kids giving the Nazi salute to them? WTH?) To have such a prestigious organization adorn your city would be an honor to last a lifetime. But it seems like the folks marketing for
More Marketing News →
