Branding and Brand Strategy for Growing Companies
Branding for Restless Companies and Driven Entrepreneurs
“In most people’s vocabularies, design means veneer. It’s interior decorating. It’s the fabric of the curtains and the sofa. But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design.” Steve Jobs This co-op is one of the largest consumer co-ops in the United States and based in Western Wisconsin. And the last thing …
It’s Apple’s annual World Wide Developers Conference. So when I heard a new language was being introduced, I had high hopes. I figured it was divine intervention. But those hopes were short-lived. It seems this year’s focus is on software, not hardware. Did This Apple Fall That Far from the Tree? Adam and Eve aside, …
Seth Godin on naming: “Innovation involves making something that hasn’t been made before, and one way to signal that you’re doing something new is to give it a new name. But often, the new name gets in the way of people experiencing what you have to offer.” The other night, a friend (a fellow music …
Dirty Harry didn’t build a “lucky brand.” Yet he instinctively gave us the most important question in branding. In one scene, Clint Eastwood’s iconic detective forces a split-second decision — not with a sales pitch, not with a tagline, but with a single question that cuts through everything: “Do I feel lucky?” That question has haunted …
“Our job is to wake up the consumers. If we become predictable, that’s not waking them up.” Phil Knight, Nike founder How much of an advantage would working at Nike give you in future endeavors? How much more insight to grow a brand? Or create the next great startup? Over a more-than-25 year career at …
Let me state this for the record: This selfie was not planned. Let me also state for the record: I do not smoke nor do I ride a motorbike. But I do do my own stunts. Comparing this to Ellen DeGeneres’ Oscar selfie (an inevitable comparison that many will make), my selfie has no Hollywood …
When they said, “See the guy in the back,” I wondered what the hell I had just gotten myself into…. A Little Coke Goes a Long Way Minding my own business, I was innocently walking down the street yesterday morning when I saw the above sign. I immediately popped out my iPhone and shot this …
At 1:59, Peggy Olson of Mad Men rewrote the game: “If you can’t tell the difference between which part’s the idea and which part’s the execution of the idea, you’re of no use to me.” While Mad Men, in its final season, is keeping fans on the edge of their seats, no character has seen …
Witness the emotional meltdown this guy experienced after witnessing this latest Slideshare presentation. The response on Slideshare and the Twitterverse to this newest post has been incredibly wild, going from “gross headline” to “best title of the year.” In just 24 hours, over 6,000 people gobbled up this newest presentation tweeting all variety of comments …
Some periods of life are better than others. As good as Hollywood makes teenage life look, those of us who survived it know that it’s hyped up much more than it actually is. So, in light of that, I created this new Slideshare presentation on branding from the viewpoint of someone who’s been there and …
Through bloodshot and bleary eyes, he muttered, “Whoa dude. This is g-o-o-d stuff…” I’ll explain. We’re Just a Rock ‘n Roll Brand Being a subscriber to Copyblogger, I look forward to the articles they publish which are often insightful and thought-provoking. I am (and have been) a fan of Demian Farnworth since before he became …
“My doctor told me I had to stop throwing intimate dinners for four unless there are three other people.” Orson Welles “Cookie cutters are for baking, not branding.” Yours truly Food’s About Passion. So is Branding. In the below video, I unveil how I took a small company in Napa Valley producing a “traditional product” …
The Oscars is a fascinating study in branding. It is highly viewed worldwide (somewhere between 42 million viewers and 1 billion viewers, depending on who you listen to). Highly criticized (put under the microscope like few annual TV events). And highly leveraged by brands everywhere (one report put the gift bag that each attendee receives …
Found those words on the Internet this morning. How w-i-d-e is the gap between hard-won expertise vs. the hype-driven tactic-du-jour we each read about each and every day? It’s often not fully appreciated until it’s too late with a lot of money lost. Man… the pain and “wisdom scars” some CEOs and entrepreneurs carry around …
At 40 seconds, you’ll never see this word the same way again. At 1:21, you’ll see a lodge like you’ve never seen one before (without ever seeing a picture of the lodge). At 1:45, you’ll watch a word say more in one second than an entire wing of the Library of Congress. And the last …
(This is the 9th installment in celebration of the power of words and language. To see the whole series, links are at the bottom of this article.) I stopped in my tracks. I. Couldn’t. Move. Of all places, it happened in my local health food store. I saw a package and, being an avid package …
Ever notice Facebook’s impossible-to-ignore (yet often reminiscent of snake oil) ads seen on the right-hand side of your news feed? You know, the ones that promote everything from weight loss to growing your hair to thinning your waist to finding the perfect mate to making tens of thousands every month without ever leaving your bed? …
Think of this as the Danny DeVito of blog posts (aka short but powerful). Friday of last week, Fast Company featured my newest Venn Diagrams of why we love certain brands (and why we hate others). If you haven’t read that article, this excerpt explains how it is meant to be used: Above we see …
* Per one report, during the Startup Awards, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) shared the statistic of approximately 80,000 business startups failing annually. The Currency of Branding and Brand Success “Is it necessary?” is a question often asked when managing and navigating brand success. When innovating or challenging the status quo, it’s important …
The audacity! The presumption of greatness! And it’s still the last day of 2013…. If you innovate, this new presentation is for you. If you do anything creative in business or life, this is for you. If you stray from the well-worn paths of predictable mediocrity, this is for you. A Blaze of Slideshare Glory …
Honestly, you as a client deserve better. Too many good companies waste money or worse — they fail — for an overlooked and absurdly simple reason. (And too many potentially great companies get stuck for a very stupid reason shown below.) The video below shows you why. Press play to learn: At 31 seconds, what …
2013 was the year of videos. From Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball to the viral “Girls Don’t Poop” PooPourri video (which has exceeded 20 million views), it’s the video that speaks loud and clear to today’s culture. Beyond the usual suspects you’ll find on YouTube’s annual Rewind, I compiled our own video highlights featuring: The 7 Videos …
(If you’re in a rush, just scroll down and watch the video below.) It’s that time of the year to give thanks and to give back. Who Is This For? Frankly it’s painful to see superior companies and their brands outperformed by inferior products and services that simply have better branding and marketing. Obviously if …
Words. Love them or hate them. They’re here to stay. This series started out about a year ago, from one video that inspired me intensely. Words to me are like ingredients in a recipe. In the hands of a master chef, ordinary food becomes a masterpiece of deliciousness than in the hands of someone less …
I ran into an amusing little checklist of the top social media channels. It was a handwritten checklist on a whiteboard. Brilliant. It nailed what each channel is known for and its use and value. You Better Nail This Before Social Media This inspired me to delve in a bit more for those who lose …
