Posted in Advertising, Branding, Companies, Humor, Marketing, The Good on October 31, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
Maybe you’ve seen them. The billboards with 3-D cows, scribbling the suggestion that we “Eat Mor Chickin”
Brilliant. And the cows parachuting onto the football field in the latest TV ad is pretty good, too. My five year old had all kinds of questions when he saw that!
From the standpoint of brand campaigns, Chick-fil-A seems [...]
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Companies, Marketing, The Good on October 30, 2006 | 1 Comment »
We mainline a lot of coffee here in the U.S., and with good reason. We’re not like those Old World tea drinkers, hoisting a presumptuous pinky in the air while sipping a weak-spined brew of putting-on-airs leaf extract. No sirree!! We want some hearty joe, preferably to go, to jump-start some serious red blood pumping [...]
Posted in Branding, Companies, Marketing, The Good on October 25, 2006 | 1 Comment »
For many years, I’ve had a bias toward Doubletree Hotels.
Why? Two reasons.
Masterful branding. And cookies.
If you’ve stayed at a Doubletree, you know that they have (very tasty!) fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies at the front desk when you check in. You can smell them. You can almost taste them as you sign for your room. [...]
Posted in Branding, Marketing, The Bad on October 21, 2006 | 2 Comments »
Seattle recently unveiled its most recent lame attempt at a slogan to promote itself.
It spent 16 months and 200K to come up with this theme. Some of us could have done better with 2 hours and a free venti latte from Starbucks.
The slogan that resulted from this misplaced investment? METRONATURAL.
Huhhh???
Yes, Seattle is a city. And, [...]
Posted in Branding, Companies, Marketing, The Good on October 17, 2006 | 2 Comments »
I can’t think of anyone that enjoys paying for insurance. It’s intangible (hopefully!). You’re trading x hundreds of dollars for….nothing you can hold in your hand.
But when you need it, you’re glad you paid. And when you deal with a company like Amica, you almost (almost!) don’t feel too bad writing the check.
Perhaps you’ve never [...]
Posted in The Bad on October 16, 2006 | 1 Comment »
Sure looks great…almost an offer you couldn’t refuse.
Lurking below the surface, however, are sharks circling in the fine print.
It’s an Advanta credit card offer. I got one of these a few weeks back, shared it (in near disbelief) with my wife, then threw it away. A move I regretted, since that was before launching this [...]
Posted in Branding, Marketing, Terminology on October 16, 2006 | 2 Comments »
What do I mean by___________?
In every discussion, it’s important to agree on use of words; or, if there is not agreement, to at least define terms.
Marketing, branding, positioning, identity, promotion….these terms all get thrown around, often without a clear understanding of what is being conveyed.
So, without pretending to be some kind of oracle, here is [...]
Posted in Branding, Companies, Marketing, The Bad on October 13, 2006 | 1 Comment »
Today, I was out on an appointment when I went past the HQ for Sanofi-Aventis, a client I’ve worked with in the pharma part of my work. When Sanofi bought Aventis a couple years back, they had a great opportunity for re-branding. And what tagline was rolled out? “Because Health Matters”
Sheeesh.
That’s a self-evident statement of [...]
Posted in Business, Marketing, Reviews on October 12, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
I should begin by saying that I am quite in sympathy with this book’s thesis, which can be boiled down (to oversimplify a bit) to one phrase: Do what you do best, and outsource the rest. In starting my own business, that is exactly what I am doing.
Bruce Judson, the author, brings out some great [...]
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Companies, Humor, Marketing, The Good, The Ugly on October 12, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
It’s annoying. Even aggravating. And way too effective.
Perhaps you’ve seen those cheesy “HeadOn” TV commercials. Produced at low cost, with very (shall we say) basic production values, these are still some of the most impactful commercials I’ve seen in years. All they do is repeat, three times, “HeadOn – Apply directly to the forehead” – [...]
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Companies, Marketing, The Ugly on October 11, 2006 | 2 Comments »
Question: Who would name their company something like BGLI-RWUH?
Answer: TIAA-CREF.
OK, maybe that’s a bit harsh. I’m sure there are historical reasons that led to this unfortunate corporate moniker. But please – history aside, can’t we come up with a name that is pronounceable? Why cling to a brand name that is the marketing equivalent of [...]
Posted in Branding, Marketing, The Good on October 11, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
If I’m ever visiting Southern Vermont, I want to stay at the Windham Hill Inn.
Why? Click here and find out.
Luscious photos. Beautiful web design. “Come hither” wording. Every thing to entice the senses. If computers could download scents, I’m sure this place would send delicious aromas out the keyboard!
And, to boot, a great name – [...]
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Companies, Marketing, The Bad on October 10, 2006 | 10 Comments »
I will start with a confession – I don’t actually know how many trucks UPS has in its fleet (let me know if you have some hard data!). But it’s a lot, and IMHO, it’s a disgracefully wasted branding and marketing resource.
How many times in a given week do you see one of the famous [...]
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