Branding and Brand Strategy for Growing Companies
Branding for Restless Companies and Driven Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs, CEOs and startups that are obsessed, overstressed and overworked already know that sleeping is one of the most important (yet overlooked) things we do. While we do everything possible to gain enough energy for the upcoming day with coffee, soft drinks and one-shot bottles of energy, it’s just not that simple. There’s this daily …
The iPhone has redefined how so many of us record the world, capture our experiences and document special moments. I am no exception. My 13,000+ photos and videos on my iPhone confirm my alibi. But it was this past weekend that inspired me while at an annual family event. There were horses there. And I was …
Steve Jobs was the master presenter who helped to steer, promote, sustain and build the most valuable company on the planet. He was an unusual mix of vision, passion, a restless pursuit of excellence and street smarts that spoke to each of us and who spoke like one of us. Yet, there’s a problem that is …
Must-have brands. Ooh, just the the thought of having one. Enough to make a grown CEO cry. Must-have brands. A Short History. Old Spice. Oreo. GEICO. Each of these brands is a household name, the goal and hope of nearly every company or its CEO. So how the heck does a brand achieve this highly …
Star Trek fans, entrepreneurs, innovators and others daring to explore new and unchartered universes. We intercepted the video message found below. But before you view it, here is some vital information to understand: Why do some brands do something no consumer should encounter if these companies are going to boldly go where no brand’s gone before? If you’ve ever …
They ignore all the brand rules of retail: Sell nothing online. Encourage touching and interacting with products. A lot. (Even scheduling visits to try out their showers in their stores.) Include no technical information for brands and products. Give away free cappuccinos and beverages, and They’re doubling their revenue each year, exceeding $225 million in …
“How do you create a killer brand that stands out and attracts a legion of loyal fans and new customers?” “Is there a secret formula?” I am asked this quite a lot. I am asked this by startups, hundred-year-old brands, CEOs, writers for today’s leading business publications, entrepreneurs and visionaries who are ready to disrupt …
Entrepreneurs. I love them. Who are entrepreneurs? Oprah Winfrey. Steve Jobs. Walt Disney. Mark Zuckerberg. Jeff Bezos. Elon Musk. JK Rowling. Thomas Edison… to name a few. My entrepreneurial clients span the spectrum from global multi-millionaires, serial entrepreneurs and well-funded startups to global brands, local brands and even cities. Servicing this wide range of clientele, I’ve seen …
Growing up in NYC, I remember seeing him on TV getting interviewed, shooting verbal challenges that were equal parts poetry, smack talk, performance art, humor and a laser-sharp wit. Muhammad Ali was bigger than life. As a teenager, it was his use of words that left an impression on me: they were as lethal a …
In this 3rd episode of the David and Ted Talks video series, social marketing strategist Ted Rubin discusses with David the nemesis every brand needs to overcome, a vital detail every brand needs to know and overcome. The Meaning of Life Outside of the Boardroom In this newest episode: David and Ted speak of a land before …
What do Arby’s, Go Daddy, Virgin Airways, and James Corden know that the rest of us need to learn? Learn from this newest episode of David and Ted Talk about…. Does Humor Belong in Your Brand? Recently, I sat and spoke with the as-candid-as-they-come social media strategist Ted Rubin about humor in branding. And what we had …
I recently sat down with Ted Rubin, brilliant social marketing strategist, to discuss a campaign by Chipotle. Following the recent string of health scares, Chipotle’s consumer confidence (as well as shareholder confidence) has sent the brand’s stock value dropping like a hot tamale, from mid-$700-per-share high to a mid-$400 a share, all within the last 12 months. When …
Customers judge your brand in a split-second. Yours and the other 3,000+ media messages they receive each and every day. This new post will show you what they look for when they’re deciding whether to choose your brand or a competitor’s. When you send a vanilla message for your brand, you’re telling a customer you …
“The key is to set realistic customer expectations, and then not to just meet them, but to exceed them — preferably in unexpected and helpful ways.” Richard Branson It’s an overlooked problem: “We (the company) know what we’re talking about and the customer will ask us if they have any questions or confusions.” (And if …
We’ll get to the Legos in a second. But first…. In the past 2 weeks, Forbes wrote an article about ingenuity in business entitled The Single Trait That Can Build (Or Kill) Your Brand featuring my video R.O.I. (Return On Ingenuity) which has to date gotten over 106,000 views within 6 weeks of going live on …
Over 800 million views. 3.9 million subscribers. All in 12 months. And all from someone we didn’t know. In one of the most cutthroat slots on TV: late night. (After all, Jimmy Fallon had already mastered turning his late night show into a YouTube social media powerhouse.) So, how did James Corden go from “Who …
Tea and coffee. They are the two primary contenders for hot beverage consumption with loyal (and often obsessed) fans on both sides. Coffee lovers and espresso enthusiasts on one side. Green and black tea lovers on the other. So how does a brand convey an authentic tea offering when one is known as a purveyor of fine …
“If you’re not stubborn, you’ll give up on experiments too soon. And if you’re not flexible, you’ll pound your head against the wall and you won’t see a different solution to a problem you’re trying to solve.” ― Jeff Bezos “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” ― Albert Einstein “Every success story …
The Business Card — Your “First Business Proposal” “In the same way that I tend to make up my mind about people within thirty seconds of meeting them, I also make up my mind about whether a business proposal excites me within about thirty seconds of looking at it.” Richard Branson Let’s Start At The Beginning Letterpress …
A few weeks ago, I shared photos of our new office. It’s an ideal space to: brainstorm, create new brands, and develop new ways to break through the deafening noise in today’s marketplaces. So I imagined, what might it be like to take our new offices to a whole new level? A Double Shot of Self …
Any brand can increase traffic. The true challenge is attracting the right public. “Ours is not a volume-based business, it is a quality-based business” states Lisa Cullen of Montecito Landscape. After all, Montecito is amongst the top ten most expensive zip codes in America with a median home value north of $3 million. Lisa shares, …
Entrepreneurs, innovators and artists rule the world. Yet few people even know the actual definition for the word: Entrepreneur: A person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk. [Random House Unabridged Dictionary] To me, that’s the definition of living. Of being relevant professional and as a brand. Of …
We know them as “branding devils.” They show up: at the water cooler, at meetings, at brainstorming sessions, at moments of inspiration, at conferences devoted to “breaking free of the chains of habitual mediocrity”… But these predictable devils only number 4 (as common offenders) and are the subject of this special One Minute Wednesday. Given …
After 6 months of diligent work, we have a new message, a brand new video, that is another collaboration between myself and the brilliant motion graphics artist Saar Oz. This new video really is the follow-up to the What is Branding and the Exceeding Expectations: What Smart Brands Know videos. There were so many challenges we encountered to …
Known as “The People’s Shark,” Daymond John is one of the most admired Sharks from the TV show Shark Tank. Before becoming a household name associated with the hit show, Daymond created the fashion empire FUBU (For Us By Us) from his humble beginnings in Queens in New York, turning an initial investment of just …
