Is the Work Ethic Dead?

If so, maybe that wouldn’t be a bad thing.
In the past, more/harder work was associated – somewhat accurately – with greater productivity. And there is no doubt that hard work brings rewards and results…to some degree. But should we any longer exalt the “work ethic”?
What’s the point of our work? Is it not results? Is [...]

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A Plug for Branding

Gavin Heaton has recently blogged (here and here) about the limits of the term/concept “engagement” when talking about brands and their customers.
He got me thinking. Like all branding/marketing types, I wrestle with words – how do you express that magical connection between brand and customer? Are words even adequate?
What came to my mind was an [...]

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“Customer-Focused Selling”

Last week, I was sitting in a conference workshop where the theme was a customer-focused selling program.
Now I’m all for customer focus in every aspect of business – from product design to branding to marketing to customer support and service. But something was sticking in my craw as I sat through this session (which had [...]

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The Value(?) of “Bad” Brands

We talk a lot about good branding. But some individuals and groups deliberately set out to create a “bad” brand. They position themselves in the market as occupying the “bad” end of the spectrum of human behavior.
Why? Because “bad” gets attention.
Little children learn this rapidly. Bad behavior, at the very least, gets attention. And certain [...]

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Customer-centric??

I saw this billboard in town and it made me laugh – in a “you’ve got to be kidding me” sort-of way. In fact, I couldn’t get it out of my mind until I took a photo and blog-blasted them.
These folks (I have mercifully cropped out the company responsible) are highlighting their customer service. Which, [...]

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Thinking Blogger…I Think

My blogging friend Becky Carroll over at Customers Rock! has been kind enough designate me as a “thinking blogger” award winner – that is, one of the bloggers that makes her think. And I really appreciate the mention, because Becky has the same effect on me!
This meme was launched by Ilker Yoldas to highlight blogs [...]

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Latest Small Business Branding Post

I recently had a post published on the Small Business Branding blog, my 10th post on that site thus far.
It is on the theme of Branding at a Trade Show – a theme fresh on my mind, having just returned from a conference with an exhibit hall last week.
All of my posts on the SBB [...]

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Brand Paul Potts

Like many around the world, I have been taken up by the wonderful, unfolding saga of Paul Potts, unassuming mobile phone salesman who suddenly burst on the scene like a supernova of singing ability on Britain’s Got Talent.
If you haven’t seen the sequence of videos from this stirring event, here they are, in order:
First Audition:
[...]

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Live! From Hollywood!

Hollywood, Florida, that is…
OK, I really have no intention of “live-blogging” the annual Society of Pharmaceutical and Biotech Trainers conference. But I woke up incredibly early this morning, mind instantly buzzing, and there was no way to get back to sleep. Plus, I decided to allow the hotel to rip me off for at least [...]

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Where’s StickyFigure?

I (probably) won’t be posting for much of this week, spending time doing face-to-face networking at the annual SPBT meeting in Hollywood, Florida. At a hotel right on the beach. With my bride gathering some rays while I do the conference thing.
Somebody’s got to do it!

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Coffee – What’s the Storyville?

The BrandingWire team recently did a collaborative posting on branding for coffee shops. I put a focus on mail-order/web-based growth strategies.
Some of us provided links to coffee suppliers we felt embodied effective strategies and tactics; there were some interesting approaches at these sites. And one of them – Storyville – sold me. I put in [...]

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Differentiate or Die

One of the most difficult places to rise above the “noise” level, and make a memorable impact, is on the conference exhibit hall. These places are a virtual Babel of company pitches, images, marketing materials, and all-too-brief interactions, typically with prospects who are rushing on to the next thing. How do you make your “signal” [...]

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Growing Coffee – a BrandingWire Challenge

This is a fictitious case study. The BrandingWire collaborative, a group of 12 branding bloggers, are all commenting together on this challenge (see the other posts at BrandingWire.com). Even if the case is fictitious, I’d be surprised if one or more coffee companies don’t glean some insight from it!
The BrandingWire team has been approached by [...]

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London’s Olympic Throw-up

Yet another example of branding efforts going off the rails. Here is the expensively designed logo for the 2012 Olympics in London, followed by the ridiculous commentary justifying its existence:

“This is the vision at the very heart of our brand,” said London 2012 organising committee chairman Seb Coe. [Wwwwhat??] “It will define the venues we [...]

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BrandingWire – A New Power Plant Coming On-line!

Along with 11 others, I have an exciting announcement for this morning’s post! We’ve been working on something behind the scenes, and now it’s time to take the wraps off!
Next Monday will be the official launch of BrandingWire, which will provide a monthly jolt of powerful branding creativity to the marketing community. Read on to [...]

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There’s Earthly Beauty, and Then There’s…

…this.

full image here.
From the ever-delightful Astronomy Picture of the Day.

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Brainstorming Wars!

I was scanning through new branding posts this morning, and in my RSS reader, as it turned out, these two new posts came up one after another. Quite a juxtaposition:
Death to Brainstorms!
Brainstorming for the naming process
I’m not getting in the middle of this one! In fact, I’m not even going to call a group meeting [...]

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