your ceo is the mayor of your brand
You'd think that this is obvious, and that your CEO is not only the leader of your company, but the most prominent brand ambassador. So why not position them as mayors?
I had the random chance to share a JetBlue flight yesterday with JetBlue CEO David Barger. It wasn't that I recognized him. Or was even looking for him.
He introduced himself to the entire flight, prior to takeoff. And greeted all of the passengers as they disembarked the plane. He could have easily enjoyed a quiet, anonymous flight. Sounds obvious, and like common sense? For many successful brands...yes. But plenty of others don't take advantage of this opportunity.
Why not have the CEO of your grocery store chain announce himself to the store on a Friday morning? Or the CEO of a gas station at the pumps on Saturday? Regular public encounters with the leader of the brand can go a long way in humanizing a company and helping to share a caring image of the brand.
I'm certain that plenty of passengers from yesterday's flight left JetBlue with a smile and maybe even mentioned the chance encounter to their friends. (Or tweeted it.)
Oh yeah - even better: it turns out the JetBlue CEO David Barger is a huge fan of Brand Flakes for Breakfast. You can tell by the way he politely agrees to tell you so. :)
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:53 AM
2 comments
Friday, February 26, 2010
what your brand can learn from gaga
Church of the Customer rounds up five key loyalty lessons that your brand could learn from the Gaga marketing and brand genius.
(Everyone could use just a little bit of Gaga.)
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:55 AM
0 comments
Friday, February 05, 2010
need a new name? there's an app for that.
We all know that every possible cool url is pretty much taken, so if you want to create a new brand or company, often the best tactic is to invent your own word.
The Brand Generator is a tool that makes up new words for you based on some basic direction that you supply. And it's an iPhone app, so you can generate names on the move. Because that's how you roll.
Not as fun as the pirate name generator, but maybe more useful.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:39 AM
2 comments
Monday, January 25, 2010
small actions that make permanent impressions
Here's an inspiring story about a little restaurant called the Loveless Cafe in Nashville, TN. The restaurant offered a simple, good deed to Steve Woodruff decades ago, and it's made such an impression that it's still being talked about (and blogged about) today. TWENTY EIGHT years later.
Think you can't include planned good deeds in your marketing plan? Or your brand is too big for little actions? Check out what Yahoo did.
What if 2% of your media spend were put to good deeds instead?
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:48 AM
1 comments
Thursday, January 14, 2010
a social network for brand lovers
Mybrandz is a new social network for...brand fans.
Join the network, declare your love for a brand, and if you can post content related to the brand that other people like, you have a shot at winning a real share of stock for that brand. Here's a video that sets up the concept.
Maybe this could be the new retirement plan for brand managers.
Labels: branding, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:46 AM
1 comments
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
swarmy seo = brand damage
Think you have nothing to lose by gaining results with search engine optimization? Some less than scrupulous SEO firms use swarmy tactics - which, as Ben Kunz points out, can actually end up damaging your brand, when readers come across it.
Ben points to the case of FinalFootwear, who it appears has someone placing spammy SEO links on their behalf across the blogosphere. Internet users are more savvy now - and see spammers for what they are - so when they see FinalFootwear spamming the comments in a blog they regularly read, it damages their brand. (Who wants to spend money with a known spammer?)
The sad thing is (we hope) that FinalFootwear is likely unaware of their spam generation. They probably hired a firm to optimize their search for them. Proof that you need to do research, work with reputable firms, and that your actions have real consequences on the internet. Tricking Google is a tricky business.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:41 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
how to be prom king on the internet
What can Versace teach you about marketing in the social media world? Read this excellent post about Versace style marketing in a Gap world.
Mary McKnight explains that "The popular kids never give tutorials on how to become popular. And they never go out and sit down at the loser nose pickers lunch table and make them their tribe."
Haha! So true, and there's some outstanding insight that follows about building your brands with celebrities/influencers and the evangelists. From @3dpapergraphics
Labels: branding, fashion, marketing, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:39 AM
0 comments
Monday, December 14, 2009
peeps go to washington
There's a Peeps store near Washington DC. An entire store. Devoted to Peeps. Let's hope that you can them pre-aged and slightly stale - at the point they taste the most delicious.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:14 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
branded versions of tweetdeck
TweetDeck is now apparently supporting themed skins for their super awesome magical Twitter browser. This is a cool opportunity for brands to extend themselves further into the lives of the tweeters who are ignoring their brands elsewhere.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:20 AM
1 comments
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
you need a chief culture officer
Grant McCracken will be giving a talk and signing copies of his new book Chief Culture Officer on Monday, at the Cooper Union in NYC.
We haven't read Grant's book yet, but we've met him, read his blog, and can attest that he's one of those really smart people that can put things into unique and interesting perspectives, unlike people with average sized brains.
(This is also a fantastic excuse to check out the new Cooper Union building.)
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:24 AM
1 comments
Monday, November 16, 2009
how to handle a brand criticism
Last month, Steven Colbert made some less than lovely remarks about Miracle Whip on his show. So Miracle Whip fought back. In a truly, totally creative, advertising inspired takeover of his show.
Watch the Miracle Whip setup above, and see a clip from Stephen Colbert's show on the Adweek blog. Brands who face criticism could give this a good look and some creative consideration the next time they're faced with a similar situation. Nicely done.
Labels: adindustry, branding, marketing, tv
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:06 AM
3 comments
Monday, October 26, 2009
is your signage true to your brand?
Here's some caffeinated inspiration from Brooklyn's Coffee Den, who's keeping it real with the most awesome street signs.
Does your signage reflect the personality of your brand?
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:48 AM
0 comments
Monday, October 19, 2009
you've got 48 hours. will you be ready?
Dirk over at Cow London points to a Financial Times piece that explains how your brand typically has about 48 hours to respond to a crisis and regain credibility. After that point, people generally won't visit your website to get your point of view.
Dirk references several recent incidents in London as proof in point, like the London Underground worker who was rude to a senior citizen (video above).
Here's yet another fantastic example of where having the tools in place now (Twitter, Facebook, blogs) can make a big difference when you really, really need them. The clock is ticking.
Labels: branding, london, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:47 AM
0 comments
Friday, October 16, 2009
the super branded future tent
Orange has been a part of the Glastonbury Music Festival before, and now they're using their mad R&D skills to help bring a better experience to festival goers.
They've invented the most excellent future tent that you've ever seen:
+ Solar power? Yep.
+ Charging station for your cell phone? Yep.
+ Wifi? Yep.
+ Ground heat amplification? Yep.
And get THIS - the tent can be set to glow in a distinctive color that you can initiate from your cell phone. Can't find your tent because you're in a drunken stupor? Activate your glow system, and see it from a mile away. This is the way camping should be. Thanks, Orange.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:31 AM
5 comments
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
letting fans run with your brand
The age of self publishing, brand fandom and yummy food have finally converged.
Cooking With All Things Trader Joe's, a book authored by a fan of the popular grocery store chain was self published, sold over 70,000 copies and inspired other books to follow on the Trader Joe's meme.
While it's not currently available at the store, its existence certainly adds to the brand's cult favored status. (And c'mon Trader Joe: putting this book in your stores could only work to sell more product!!)
Just another great example of a brand that's building so much love that fans can't keep it to themselves. Can your brand say the same? (And couldn't you really go for some of those Wasabi flavored crunchy snack things right now??)
Labels: branding, publishing, retail, yummyfood
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:48 AM
0 comments
Monday, September 21, 2009
big box stores of the dominican republic
When branding people go on vacation, the photos they take aren't always your typical vacation photos. If you can relate to that, then you'll love Ted Murphy's photo collection of the "big box" stores of the Dominican Republic.
Labels: branding, creativeinspiration, retail, travel
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:07 AM
3 comments
google has fun with a birthday greeting
A couple of weeks ago Google changed their home page logo (as they often do for select holidays and events) to the image above. The twitterverse was a buzz with what it could mean.
Ten days later, the UFO returns, and Google is tweeting coordinates to some place on earth. It turns out that the UFO and subsequent coded Google tweets were a salute to H.G. Wells' birthday, which was yesterday. Read the whole story on the Google blog.
Here's proof that no matter how large your brand, it's ok to step out of the norm every once in a while and have some fun.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:24 AM
1 comments
Thursday, September 17, 2009
it's man cereal
Being your lovable breakfast morning blog, how could we not report on the re-branding of Wheaties? They've revamped the product to become...Fuel.
Retail Design Diva points out its resemblance to Axe or Tag, the hot girl attraction spray that men love so much. And you do have to admit that amidst the cartoon kaleidoscope of the cereal aisle, this will stand out. Served best with a quarter gallon of gasoline.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:22 AM
4 comments
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
the journey of a lost backpack and southwest airlines
American Copywriter points to an excellent story from Peter Hartlaub, and how a lost backpack turned him into the biggest Southwest Airlines fan ever.
Long story short, his son lost his backpack on a flight without any identifying information on the bag other than his kid's name embroidered on the back. It turns out that Southwest Airlines not only came across the bag, but went way over the top to find its owner. They found a receipt in the bag, identified a customer name, cross referenced with their passenger list, and several steps later the backpack was back in the hands of Peter's kid.
A wonderous story that he'll tell over and over to at every opportunity. An investment in time from Southwest that's better than any television ad they could ever buy. What kind of extra juice are you giving your customers?
Labels: branding, customerservice, travel
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:40 AM
4 comments
Monday, September 14, 2009
all you ever tweet about is brands
This is Herd points to a new study from Penn State that reviewed a half a million tweets. (That's even more tweets than I read in a day.) They concluded that 20% of them were comprised of people 'asking and providing' product information.
(It's true. Look through your own timeline, and see how many brands you've named.)
More proof that when people are in need or feeling emotional about a brand, they're going to Twitter. Or that brands are so much a part of our lives that we can't remove them. Still think your brand doesn't need to be there?
Labels: branding, customerservice, social media, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:41 AM
0 comments
Thursday, September 03, 2009
time for a masters class in snapple caps
Snapple figures that you've already read and memorized the 672 "real facts" that they launched in the late 90's. So they're about to phase the old facts out, and teach us all new useless stuff.
The original concept according to Bryan Mazur, vp of marketing, was that people would take a gulp of Snapple, read the cap and then relay the bit of info to the person next to them. (Social networking!!)
Naturally, the new facts will be tweeted.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:28 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
chicken woman laughs at the colonel
Sadly, there's pretty much no such thing as copyright protection for a US brand in China. And so the Chinese chicken woman openly mocks the old Colonel, and sells her fried chicken under the name of “Ji'a'po”.
China's State Administration for Industry & Commerce in China told KFC that Ji'a'po isn't infringing on the chain's intellectual property. As the Retail Design Diva reports, this is just a typical day in China. Yikes.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:08 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
the limited lost their style guide
Blogger Chris Beesley is a fan of the Limited's design style. Elegant typography, clean design, nice presentation.
And on a recent trip to the mall with his wife, he found the sales flier featured above. Sloppy, poor typography and totally off what you'd consider appropriate to the Limited style guide.
Ever wonder if a style guide (or a single agency doing all of your stuff) has value? Here's proof.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:17 AM
1 comments
Thursday, August 20, 2009
who are you on the internet?
The Personas project by Aaron Zinman analyzes your name on the internet and creates a handy bar graph showing how your persona is represented online.
It's not entirely accurate - especially if you have a common name or only a little Google juice, and that's exactly the point. The project attempts to shed light on the importance of a digital history, and the mischaracterizations that could be caused by the inability to separate data from multiple owners of the same name. Genius.
From Maura McGreevy
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:25 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
that banzai pool is very little
What do you do if you buy a pool based on what you've been promised on the outer packaging, and then it's nothing like promised? Let your kids tell the story. And then write a blog post. Awesome.
Brands: the days of lying to your customers ended years ago. The internet knows the truth.
Labels: branding, package design, productdesign, viral
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:03 AM
0 comments
Thursday, August 06, 2009
if tandy sounds like candy, why go with "the shack"?
Radio Shack is rebranding as "the Shack."
I just hope the re-branding comes with retail facades that make the stores look like "shacks." They could take the Hollister storefronts, and beat them up a little. That would be cool.
UPDATE:
Tom Parrette sends us a great post about what a short name says about a brand.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:37 AM
1 comments
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
change versus consistency
This is a fun comparison of the Pepsi and Coke marks. Not entirely accurate, but pretty funny when put side by side.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:42 AM
6 comments
Friday, July 31, 2009
branding explained
Agency types love to throw around the term "brand" like it's some sort of deity, an all-knowing omnipotent solution to your marketing problem. But what exactly is a brand? A logo? A position in the mind? A guy in a black T-shirt scribbling on a whiteboard? A red-hot poker on a cow?
Dennis Hahn has created one of the best models for branding we've seen. His point is branding is not a start-to-finish process, where you need a clean slate and a cool mil to begin, but really a living ecosystem of parts that have to work together constantly. Like any engine, some brand parts may need a tune up. The model above shows you how to focus on each piece.
Also makes a cool board game. "Kids, you want to be Coke or Pepsi tonight?"
Labels: branding
posted by Ben Kunz @ 7:42 AM
0 comments
Friday, July 17, 2009
everyday brand decisions
(Cross-posting this from the Plaid tour blog - because I'm lazy, and I thought you might appreciate it.)
Sometimes the difference between brand awesomeness and brand ridiculousness are the simplest decisions.
While on tour, we're getting to experience both. When we hit Kanasas City, we'll get to stay in the luxurious Q Hotel and Spa (a PlaidNation sponsor), who could teach many hoteliers a lesson in brand awesomeness. And we're counting down the days until the Q.
But until then...we're learning brand and customer experience lessons the hard way:
On some random day somewhere, some person with Soooper 8 made a decision. Was it to spend fifty cents more and supply guests with towels that aren't made from sandpaper? Nope. Was it to put a respectable sign on the elevator? Nope.
This decision involved the experience that a guest might have in the bathroom. Not soaps. Not shampoo or other niceties. Somebody said "we can add your logo to this $2 faucet, if you want", and then a Soooper 8 employee replied "absolutely."
Here's proof that branding is more than your old logo on crappy equipment. It's little decisions that affect your customer's experience every day. Thanks, Soooper 8, but I really would have preferred the non-sandpaper bath towel.
Labels: branding, hospitality, plaidsummertour
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:30 AM
1 comments
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
stuff you can do with a sharpie
If you work in the creative industry, chances are there's always a Sharpie within an arm's reach. So we're appreciative of what you can do with the magic markers.
The Future of Ads has an outstanding post on how the new Sharpie site works to transform their brand from a product brand into a lifestyle brand, why the campaign works, and the pros and cons to such an approach. Beautious analysis. And the sweet work on Uncapped will have you drawing on everything you own.
Labels: branding, creativeinspiration, illustration
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:39 AM
4 comments
Friday, July 03, 2009
"i only bought a ford because of twitter."
Some people say trying to monetize Twitter is like trying to monetize the telephone (I tend to agree, mostly), but sometimes Twitter allows for stronger relationship and brand building. Seeing this tweet from Chris Lovett says it pretty succinctly.
And before you say "let's get our best intern on this," consider this post from Church of the Customer. Would you let an intern:
* Man your customer service line?
* Be your receptionist?
* Be your spokesperson to the Wall Street Journal?
* Be the main contact for your most talkative customers?
Is your presence on Twitter creating future tweets like the one from Chris Lovett? Could it?
Labels: automotive, branding, social media, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:37 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
teens love events
A new study by Fuse Marketing and University of Massachusetts Amherst shows that teens see event sponsorship as adding credibility to a brand. Even more interesting - according to this survey, teens still know what "radio" is. Hmmmm.
Labels: branding, marketing, youthmarketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:31 AM
0 comments
Friday, June 26, 2009
the story of a logo
Matchstic produced a gorgeous video about their exploration of a new logo for The Tabernacle. What a beautiful look into the process of identity design and an outstanding demonstration of the talent over at Matchstic. Pure awesomeness.
Labels: branding, creativeinspiration, design, identity, smallagency
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:14 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
confirmed: brandflakes is the best blog ever
There's a new chart in town, and we like it lots. Mostly because they put Brand Flakes For Breakfast as the #11 blog of all the blogs about branding. And the #6 blog based on unique visitors (!!) but you can visit the list to learn about lots of other really cool (but slightly less awesome) blogs around the industry and around the world.
Labels: blogging, branding, self promotion
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:21 AM
1 comments
Monday, June 22, 2009
syfy brings free wyfy to nyc
Broadcasting and Cable has a nice overview of the new brand launch for SyFy, The SciFi channel makeover.
The majority of their efforts will center in NYC, (SyFy City?) and include year-long free WyFy at Union Square and Times Square, an interactive Imagination Park at Rockefeller Center and a presenting sponsorship of the Museum of Modern Art's Tim Burton retrospective in November.
They had me at free wyfy. From Steve Lettieri.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:52 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
best wedding invite you've ever seen
Who says wedding invitations need to look like what everyone expects wedding invitations to look like? Wouldn't they be better if they represented the "brand essence" of the couple getting hooked? Wouldn't they be better still if they told the story of the relationship?
You have to click through and read the story of Jill and Matt, and see the most awesome wedding invitation that you've laid your eyes on. We need to meet this couple.
Labels: branding, copywriting, creativeinspiration, design
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:38 AM
1 comments
Thursday, June 11, 2009
how your sneaks got their names
(And guess what - Adidas doesn't stand for "all day i dream about soccer.")
The Wall Street Journal reports on how your favorite sneakers got their names. Because that's what you count on from the Wall Street Journal. Hard-hitting pop culture and fashion history.
Labels: branding, fashion, pop culture, productdesign
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:40 AM
2 comments
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
what your brand could learn from a hotel
The new ACE Hotel in NYC is like a textbook of brand awesomeness. NOTCOT has a really delicious pictorial that illustrates how ACE really, really, really understands the brand experience.
It's like they designed everything, and then walked through the entire place and examined every object, thinking "how could this be a part of the brand experience?"
If you are even remotely associated with anything branding, you have to check this out.
You could do the same with your brand. Have you really evaluated each and every single little thing that your client's see? Touch? Experience? How could they be more true to your brand?
(And yes, I would totally borrow one of those coat hangers.)
Labels: branding, design, hospitality, newyork, travel, typography
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:57 AM
0 comments
Friday, June 05, 2009
just a few reasons your brand should be using social media
Our friend CK gives you a boatload of reasons why you should be using social media. "Because everyone else is" isn't even on the list.
Use this list to create a killer PowerPoint presentation and impress your coworkers and your boss. You'll be the hit of the office. And then everyone will talk about you behind your back. And then they'll resent you after you get the big promotion. But it's ok, because you'll be able to lay them off. All of this is possible...with social media.
(photo has absolutely no relevance to this post, and is for your enjoyment only. Plaid employee RJ is really good with the margaritas, and he wanted you to know.)
Labels: branding, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:22 AM
0 comments
Thursday, June 04, 2009
let your employees be themselves
If you needed just one more thing to convince you that Zappos owns customer service like nobody else in the business, here's a fun story. A story about a boy named Timmy, who needs a watch. Cute.
Labels: branding, customerservice
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:05 AM
0 comments
Monday, June 01, 2009
facebook with your name on it
At some point this week, Facebook will begin to allow vanity urls. So you could finally put Facebook.com/YourBrandHere in your ads. This was something that was previously only available to brands with enough dough to pay megabucks, or to the personal friends of people inside Facebook.
Watch for the announcement some time this week, and then rush to get the url of your choice.
Labels: branding, facebook, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:46 AM
0 comments
Thursday, May 14, 2009
how to launch a brand to entrepreneurs.
WOW. This is how you do a brand launch. GotVMail just rebranded their service as Grasshopper (read about why here.)
Grasshopper provides an "advanced" phone number for entrepreneurs.
They needed to do three things: Identify their audience, create an inspiring message and then get that message out. They've scored on all three:
1. Audience: Entrepreneurs. Duh.
2. Message: They launched a campaign site. They've lead with a message inspiring entrepreneurs that they can do anything. Which of course ties wonderfully to the fact that they provide a service that helps entrepreneurs do anything.
3. Get the message out: Grasshopper sent 5000 chocolate covered grasshoppers to media. Yeah - real grasshoppers. Covered in chocolate. (Some people think they're delicious.) Look for a post later where Plaid employees give the grasshoppers a taste. Did it get our attention? You bet. This post is proof. And the subsequent grasshopper tasting, the tweeting about the grasshopper tasting and any posts that follow? Bonus.
Nice job, Grasshopper.
Labels: branding
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:12 AM
3 comments
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
what works on facebook
Appdata charts the most successful applications on Facebook.
News from the Herd has some interesting observations. First and foremost - the lack of any branded applications at the top of the leaderboard. Likely because most of the branded apps are intrusive, brand-in-your-face type applications that aren't providing real value to their users.
Herd suggests three routes to the creation of a successful application:
1. Produce addictive but simple to use games that don’t force ad messaging down users throats
2. Give them a way to organise their lives, and/ or:
3. Provide them with mildly competitive ‘social comparison’ tools vs their friends.
Here's what's cool: the rules haven't entirely changed. Things that provide value will always succeed over things that don't. What can your brand do to provide value to its fans, users and Facebook friends?
Labels: branding, facebook, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:39 AM
0 comments
Monday, May 04, 2009
when good logos get messy
Speaking of plane graphics...
Logo Design Love has put together a fantastic collage featuring all of the Virgin brands.
While the hand-written Virgin mark remains intact with each subsidiary, what they've added to it varies wildly. And when put together, feels pretty messy and inconsistent.
Yet Virgin doesn't come across as a sloppy, disheveled brand. As Logo Design Love says, "your logo is not your brand."
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:20 AM
0 comments
Friday, April 10, 2009
your business card is crap
Yes, this guy kisses himself in the mirror every morning, and then takes a picture. And he wrote the book on "A type" personalities. And, no, you probably don't want to hang with him - but oh boy, his advice on business cards is pretty good.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:20 AM
4 comments
Monday, March 30, 2009
betty crocker: faces of evil?
Advertising Is Good For You points to a post showing the story behind ten famous food logos.
It fun to see the history of the Morton Salt girl or Betty Crocker. I never realized how scary and uninspiring Mrs. Crocker was. With the exception of the 1965 Betty, I might hesitate accepting a cupcake from the others. Especially 1986 Betty. Pretty sure she's just a robot sent here from the future, to kill us.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:49 AM
0 comments
Monday, March 23, 2009
the right way to protect your brand
Pass this onto your PR firm, to your Brand Manager, to your legal team. Caleb Kramer writes about how awesomely Burger King handled the brand jacking of their brand on Twitter. While a company like Snickers does just the opposite and fails. Yummy.
Labels: branding, social media, trends, yummyfood
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:03 AM
0 comments
Friday, March 13, 2009
will you send this link to 100 friends, if i give to charity?
There's some real interesting discussion going on at Brian Morrissey's blog about the Tide promotion that took place earlier this week. A handful of agency type people were asked to come to the P&G offices, and in a true Jerry Lewis style tweetathon, reached out to their networks in an attempt to sell t-shirts. $6 from every $20 t-shirt went to a charity.
You can see all of the tweets, captured with the hashtag #pgdigital.
Sounds pretty cool? They raised about $40 - $50K for a charity. And people were talking about Tide. Not everyone thinks so. Some consider the tactic nice wrapping paper for pay-per-post. It is a little scary to think of our Twitter streams clogged with brands spamming for attention. And donations.
This clearly illustrates that the rules are still being written. That there's no "proven way to use social media" to market your brand - regardless of what the social media "experts" may tell you.
And the one thing that still wins EVERY TIME - is great content. Want to let the the social media masses spread the word? Don't wrap it in charity. Don't pay people to talk about it. Give them something awesome, that they want to share.
Labels: branding, marketing, nonprofit, social media, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:30 AM
0 comments
Thursday, March 12, 2009
meet saul colt.
Saul is one smart dude. And he's got a pretty cool business tip that is especially appropriate while we're in the middle of this depressacession. A tip that's so simple, and yet so powerful that it could have your customers loving you forever.
We suggest you find a way to work this into your brand plan, your life plan and general way of doing business. Just follow Saul's advice, and you can be spectacular, amazing and wonderful. It's easy.
Labels: branding, creativeinspiration, marketing, workplace
posted by darryl ohrt @ 6:48 AM
1 comments
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
it's good for you that big brands are getting social
There's a great post on Mashable about why it's cool for all of us that big brands are using social media. Read the list and you'll realize just how much business has changed - and will continue to change in the foreseeable future.
Transparency = quality product = stories = relationships = community. Nice.
Labels: branding, facebook, social media, trends, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:17 AM
0 comments
Thursday, March 05, 2009
how p&g rocks through tough times
BrandGymBlog points out how P&G is planning to rock the house during the depressacession. For those too lazy to click through, here's the hot three tips:
1. Cut costs, not corners.
2. Follow the money.
3. Steal share of voice to help steal share
Of course you'll have no idea what those bullets mean without reading the BrandGymBlog. So now you have to click through. Go ahead. We'll be right here. (Oh, and aren't the toilet paper bears cute??)
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:16 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
what's awesome about the economy tanking
Sure, you might lose your job. Your bank may fail. There won't be a car dealership left in your town. But there will be AWESOME retail shopping.
Retail Design Diva predicts that one of the good things to come from the down economy is that real estate will be cheaper. And successful brands will leverage that to make sure their locations are destinations. Plenty of room for fantastic design, awesome branding and whoah factor.
Two recent examples: the new Diesel, and Armani stores, both with new flagships on Fifth Ave. Screw retirement. Let's shop.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:42 AM
0 comments
Thursday, February 19, 2009
films using the internet for fun and profit
Some people in Hollywood are really starting to get it. There's a couple of new films that have totally harnessed the power of the internets to produce as much online entertainment as on the screen.
Coraline should be written as the new case study in blogger outreach and online promotion. If their blogger boxes weren't enough...there's the Bobinsky blog (Thanks, Liz!) And the Bobinsky calls your friends site. Or see your name in mice.
And there's the new Terminator movie. They've already launched the site for Skynet Research (thanks, Michael!) and the movie hasn't even finished shooting!
What's working:
+ Building buzz looong in advance of release
+ Multiple online properties (one microsite is no longer a healthy promotion)
+ Giving people the tools to use things in their own way
+ Specific promotions geared to the multiple audiences
How could you do the same with your brand?
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:55 AM
1 comments
Monday, February 02, 2009
alternatives to the superbowl logo
Now that it's all over, do you remember what the SuperBowl logo looked like? The NY Times explores some alternatives to Superbowl logo design. From John Nack.
Labels: branding, design, identity, sports marketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:08 AM
0 comments
Friday, January 30, 2009
friday flakes superbowl episode
Here's a special SuperBowl episode of Friday Flakes! Today's Friday Flakes is hosted by Justus, RJ and Darryl.
In this week's episode, we talk about:
+ A photoshoot at Plaid, for a profile at ConnCreatives
+ Plaid's snowday, earlier in the week
+ Sara defies death by eating peanut butter crackers
We chat about the "big game" coming up this weekend:
+ Who would win, if the game were based on brand essence?
+ How ridiculous of a team the Cardinals are, based on branding
+ Which ads we're stoked to see
We talk about how to watch the Superbowl:
+ With Twitter hashtags on Adrants
+ With your Twitter friends
+ Or with 3D glasses
Happy Superbowl from FridayFlakes!
Labels: branding, fridayflakes, plaid, sports marketing, superbowl
posted by darryl ohrt @ 11:37 AM
4 comments
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
when i was a kid, gi joes were dolls
OK, maybe they were action figures. But they weren't anything as kick ass as these posters for the new GI Joe Rise of the Cobra video game.
This is a total badass re-branding of GI Joe. Smart move, to capitalize on the brand recognition yet updated to today's gaming universe. Oh - and bonus - they've included badass female GI Joe's, too!
The Boy Scouts of America should hire the agency that did these, and rebrand themselves as adventure dudes.
Labels: branding, design, gaming, pointofpurchase, youthmarketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:36 AM
1 comments
Monday, January 26, 2009
time for a new pair of chucks
There's a great piece on PostAdvertising about branding and the power of Chuck Taylors, the iconic sneakers worn by the cool kids.
Maybe this is just an excuse to write about sneakers. Or maybe Richard Parker is onto something when it comes to brands representing individuals. Whatever it is, we're inspired to go get a new pair of Chucks.
Labels: ads, branding, fashion, pop culture
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:47 AM
0 comments
Thursday, January 22, 2009
brands that get it, on twitter
What?? Your boss hasn't allocated sixty katrillion dollars to a social media marketing campaign?? She doesn't believe that brands are using it? Mashable is here to save the day, with a profile of 40 brands that are rocking Twitter to the best of their ability.
They've profiled each of the brands, and had them answer a handful of questions...in 140 characters or less, of course. Send it to your boss, and then ask for a raise.
Labels: branding, social media, trends, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:39 AM
2 comments
Monday, January 19, 2009
jetblue gets sued.
Agency friend Bill Baker had a bad experience flying JetBlue. He was basically left stranded in Portland, Oregon. And so, he started a blog.
Long story short, Bill Baker decided to take JetBlue to court. He sued them in small claims court, to prove a point. And he won.
Airlines are one of the few industries that continue to treat customers like crap - and social media will not reflect nicely on this practice. It's time to put the policy manuals away and start running customer-centric businesses. Or we'll see you in court.
Labels: branding, social media, travel
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:40 AM
0 comments
