17 12, 2013

Fine print you won’t believe & a $3500 fine

By |2019-04-22T17:42:13-04:00December 17th, 2013|Branding, Entrepreneurship, Personal Development|

Fine print- brand killers
Tiny, fine print has a bad name and in most cases it should. When a company or brand communicates something important, pertaining to policy, it should be transparent and upfront. Instead, many companies hide important details in very small print knowing that 98% of people won’t ever read it. This is no better than whispering, “your pants are on fire” to a deaf person. It’s just not cool. Here’s the story. Three years ago, a Utah couple had a bad experience with an online retailer called Kleargear.com. After the transaction, they posted a negative review on a consumer-venting site called ripoffreport.com. They cited that the purchased item was never shipped and after numerous attempts, could not even get a customer service person to help them.

21 11, 2013

Still wearing that light blue leisure suit?

By |2019-04-22T17:42:13-04:00November 21st, 2013|Branding, Entrepreneurship, Inspiration, Personal Development|

lbls
Imagine this guy showing up at your office for a job interview. It’s likely your judgment filter would kick in in less than 30 seconds, and you will conclude the applicant is severely out of touch and may have been living in a cave for the last 30 years. Not a good first impression. This week I was working with a trade association that has engaged me to speak to 5 of their chapters in 2014 on branding. During our negotiations, I mentioned to my contact that the trade association’s current logo needed a facelift. In addition to the logo mark being too busy, a major part of the design was the state of Florida. Lose the “So last decade” logos. Yikes! Someone call the brand police, Using the state as art is passé, just like a blue leisure. The light blue leisure suit is a great metaphor for branding that is outdated and reflects a tired or should be retired elements.

5 11, 2013

Speaking, stories and snowballs.

By |2019-04-22T17:42:13-04:00November 5th, 2013|Branding, Entrepreneurship, Inspiration, Personal Development|

Speaking, stories and snowballs
A couple of weeks ago, I seduced many of you into opening my blog only to find out that I’ve not read Fifty Shades of Gray yet but did read Magic of Impromptu Speaking, by Andrill Sedniev, while taking some time off of work. I promised a review on the book, so here goes. The book caught my attention as its subtitle states: Create a speech that can be remembered for years in under 30 seconds. The fact is, I and gazillions of other book buyers gravitate to titles that promise fast and almost immediate results. A good formula to remember when you are writing product copy or selling a book. So was he telling the truth or committing a marketing sin and telling a big white lie? It’s a gray area. Maybe not fifty shades but at least three. The book is excellent, filled with wisdom that can be applied to formal speeches and varied other opportunities of attention, like when doing a media interview, interviewing for a job or taking a stance in a board meeting. All good stuff for building a brand.

29 10, 2013

Halloween, Buckeyes and 8 great brand building ideas

By |2019-04-22T17:42:13-04:00October 29th, 2013|Branding, Entrepreneurship, Inspiration, Personal Development|

Branding experiences
This past weekend, I traveled to Columbus, Ohio, to attend the Ohio State University versus Penn State football game. I had a fabulous time and picked up some great brand building ideas that can apply to many businesses.

Here’s the recap on my adventure and eight branding building ideas. 1) Southwest Airline’s identity is in transition. Brands change. The quirky, casual carrier has evolved. Their frequent flyer program still works and is one of the best for rewarding loyalty. My plane ticket was free. Their once low-cost pricing strategy is just a memory and bags fly free soon may be too. Their uniforms have also evolved. The khaki shorts and t-shirts are in the closet and a more formal garb is being sported, maybe to align better with the more upscale pricing. The seats are getting smaller and the people are getting fatter.

24 09, 2013

Tangibility is back in vogue. Strut some today.

By |2019-04-22T17:42:13-04:00September 24th, 2013|Branding, Entrepreneurship|

Tangible is back, brand better
We live and breathe technology. Smart phones, dumb text messages, notebooks, PDFs, videos, virtual meetings, cloud computing and all the "apps for that". All this stuff has certainly added convenience to our lives, however, its also created a society of gadget addicts. And Heaven forbid, there is no Internet connection for 10 minutes! Someone call 911 and order me a respirator. IT withdrawals are worse than needing a crack fix. Technology has had a profound impact on how we function and communicate. This new world order has also zapped the tangible factor in many business connections. The days of touch, hold in your hand marketing and ink on your fingers are gone. We are now a digital domicile. A planet of wifi, plugs, chargers and adapters.

16 09, 2013

Worse than lice.

By |2019-04-22T17:42:13-04:00September 16th, 2013|Branding, Entrepreneurship|

shutterstock_41930971
They put you to sleep, it’s a poor reflection on a good brand, and its just a down- right bad presentation, but they are still spreading around the globe. I experienced one just the other day. The saddest part of this story, these presenters were not first-time entrepreneurs committing a branding crime or a recent graduate new to the business world. These were executives from a large company, with resources, who should have known better.

28 06, 2013

Paula Deen’s brand, Southern charm now burnt toast

By |2019-04-22T17:42:14-04:00June 28th, 2013|Branding, Entrepreneurship, Inspiration|

Paula Deen's branding meltdown
There is no amount of butter that can help Paula Deen’s brand get out of this tight jam. The past few weeks have not been pretty for Ms. Paula, the Southern belle, sweet potato, comfort food celeb. After being deposed in a lawsuit where a former employee alleged a culture of racism and sexual harassment, Paula under oath, admitted using the “N” word and I’m not referring to “Non-Fat.” Her million-dollar empire went from deep-fried and happy to “where have all my sponsors gone?” Wal-Mart, Target, Smithfield Foods, Caesars Entertainment, The Food Network, Home Depot and even the drug maker Novo Nordisk all opted-out after the news broke. Doing something bad is never good, but this situation went from bad, to insanely stupid, self-inflicted, career-ruining awful.

10 04, 2013

3 Fast revelations. How less can get you more.

By |2019-04-22T17:42:14-04:00April 10th, 2013|Entrepreneurship, Productivity|

Less is more. 3 productivity tips
Condensed soup, perfume and now skimmed news, all pack an intense punch of value in a smaller space than their fuller counterparts. In a world with seemingly less time and so much more to consume I've identified three tighter, smaller and concise was of getting three important things done in my world. 1) Read theSkimm.com. This daily feed of the top 3-4 news stories keep you informed even when your day does not allow any news reading, TV watching or much dialogue with your well-informed friends.

This Is A Custom Widget

This Sliding Bar can be switched on or off in theme options, and can take any widget you throw at it or even fill it with your custom HTML Code. Its perfect for grabbing the attention of your viewers. Choose between 1, 2, 3 or 4 columns, set the background color, widget divider color, activate transparency, a top border or fully disable it on desktop and mobile.

This Is A Custom Widget

This Sliding Bar can be switched on or off in theme options, and can take any widget you throw at it or even fill it with your custom HTML Code. Its perfect for grabbing the attention of your viewers. Choose between 1, 2, 3 or 4 columns, set the background color, widget divider color, activate transparency, a top border or fully disable it on desktop and mobile.