I love writing for Fast Company. My editor rocks and is an SEO genius. FC is a great venue because the readers are my public: entrepreneurs, rebels, movers, innovators, geniuses, dot-connectors and leaders who zig when others zag and avant-gartists™ (new made-up word) who can unleash the hidden gems that others overlook and miss. You can even subscribe to the RSS feed for those who prefer that mode.
So, I get to write things in my Fast Company blog column that wouldn’t surface in other, more obedient publications.
Gone Forever (Without the Treasure Map)
Recently, Fast Company changed and updated its interface which seems to now display only a certain number of posts, apparently eliminating some of the most memorable posts that my readers have loved, tweeted and enjoyed.
I say apparently because I found out where they are hiding. I discovered that these still exist, only if you know the titles to Google them.
So, in my effort to have these still be available to my readers and subscribers, I searched down and unearthed these gems with the links below for your reading pleasure. Frankly, they’re too good to not be available if you value good, usable information.
Here they are (in no particular order):
Fast Company Missing Post #1
COOKIE CUTTERS ARE FOR BAKING, NOT BRANDING
One of my favorite sound bites (no pun intended), this post covers how to avoid creating clichés in your branding.
It covers 12 ways to eliminate those dreaded brand solutions that sound like everyone else, diluting your brand’s distinction.
I expose 12 Ways to Avoid the Cookie Cutter Brand Syndrome in this article. Just to wet your appetite, here are 6 of them:
- The same old rules will get the same old results.
- Those who did change the world didn’t think they couldn’t.
- Life is like software. Upgrades are available.
- Rules enable one to follow. Knowledge enables one to lead.
- There is little worse a company can do to reduce its influence than have something that is different with a pitch that sounds the same as everyone else’s.
- If your brand is using clichés, you’re promoting your category, not your brand.
To see all 12 of them, click on the title above and strap yourself in. It’s a good read.
Fast Company Missing Post #2
THE $5 BILLION FRANCHISE (AND THE SECRETS IT LEFT BEHIND)
I started out this post with this line, “One of the longest and most successful franchises in Hollywood history has grossed an estimated $5,074,402,453 in the box office worldwide since it premiered on May 8, 1963.”
This, if you haven’t guessed, is the James Bond franchise. In this post, I unveil 11 Ways To Brand Like a Secret Agent. The goal: World domination for you and your brand.
The visuals alone in this post will leave you shaken and stirred.
Fast Company Missing Post #3
HOW THE QUEEN OF FACIALS REBRANDED, TRIPLED BUSINESS, AND LAUNCHED A SKINCARE LINE
Ever want to get a behind-the-scenes look at a rebrand? Here’s your chance to what increased their brand performance by 300%.
Joanna Vargas is New York’s renowned queen of natural facials serving celebrities, VIPs and business professionals. Fact is that Style.com has called her “the queen of the naturopathic facial” while Vogue, Allure, and endless lifestyle and beauty magazines and blogs have praised her magical touch.
Well, Joanna needed to up the quality of her brand presentation and this post shows you what was done and the results. A great read for any entrepreneur and wannabe Shark.
Fast Company Missing Post #4
THE KARDASHIAN BRAND: BOOM OR BUST
What if Kim really had a brand that didn’t try to be something more than what the brand is truly about? Shallow, one-dimensional sensuousness. That’s what this post tackled.
It shows a fully developed brand for KK and her curvaceous empire. It shows:
- The product name
- The logo for this new product
- The package design
- 2 advertisements (one of which that has the headline, “The first fragrance to whisper, ‘Excuse me, but my eyes are up here….’ “)
If you need a chuckle, this post was a matter of taking this brand (which makes zero sense why it’s successful in terms of generating sales) and poking fun at it, in visual form.
Fast Company Missing Post #5
This is a humorous but equally insightful post on how to write a manifesto on anything and, in this case, how to create a branding manifesto. What is a manifesto you ask?
Manifesto |ˌmanəˈfestō|
noun ( pl. -tos)
a public declaration of policy and aims, esp. one issued before an election by a political party or candidate.
ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Italian, from manifestare, from Latin, ‘make public,’ from manifestus ‘obvious’.
This will shed light on public speakers who seem to captivate their audiences and even some politicians whose rhetoric still has audiences glued to their seats. (Readers’ answers and comments will amuse you and you’re of course invited to participate.)
Enjoy These Before They’re Gone Forever
I have no idea how long these links will be live so all I can do is let you know they’re there today and may be gone tomorrow. So, check them out while they’re still around to help any reader who knows the secret to locating these treasures.
