you are beautiful.
This is a regular simultaneous post featured on Brand Flakes for Breakfast AND the SmartBiz SmartBlog. The posts are geared toward small business.
Sometimes branding isn't about your product or service. But about your customer. There's an installation in Philadelphia along the road, with larger than life letters spelling out the message "You are beautiful." What a cool way to make drivers feel wonderful everyday they drive by. This particular installation is an art project - but it's a great concept for marketers as well.
I used to have a friend who ran a parking garage. He added a simple whiteboard at the entrance to the garage, and scribbled a new and inspiring quote on the board, to greet worker-bees arriving each morning. Apparently the white board was a huge hit. Their customers talked about it all the time - and when he once stopped for a week, the garage was riddled with complaints. People appreciated the positive messaging.
So, the question is...what have you done to make your customers feel special about themselves? How could positive messaging be incorporated into your campaign, and make clients feel great in the process? Or even feel good about your advertising? And ultimately, your brand?
Labels: branding, outdoor, smartbiz
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:42 PM
0 comments
hiring in the internet age
This is a weekly simultaneous post featured on Brand Flakes for Breakfast AND the SmartBiz SmartBlog. The posts are geared toward small business.
We just completed a new hire at our firm, and we haven't even met the new employee yet.
There's a lot of press out there about the dangers of the internet as it relates to employees. "What if your employer finds your MySpace page?" But what about the employer side? As it turns out, using new internet tools for hiring employees can be amazingly productive. We just completed a new hire at our firm - and we haven't even met the candidate in person. We'll shake hands for the first time on his first day. Here's how the internet helped us find the perfect fit in a new employee:
The potential employee pool is now international. As a small business owner, it's a great feeling to get a resume from Iran. We're instantly international. By placing an ad online, you'll increased your potential market a thousand fold. In the old days, the local classifieds were your only tool. Maybe you'd spring for a more expensive ad in a bigger paper, like the New York Times. With ads online, you're reaching a worldwide audience in one fell swoop.
Results are immediate. In the old days, resumes (on paper) would begin to roll into the mailbox about five days after the first ad hit. Today, resumes begin hitting the inbox seconds after the ad is published. This has cut the timeline for screening potential candidates dramatically. For a recent position at our firm, we received hundreds of resumes from across the globe. And only two of them came in the mail.
Interviews. Not just for the boardroom anymore. Our first interview with Rob, our newest hire, didn't take place in my office. Or our boardroom. Or even our building. He was sitting at home in front of his computer, and I in front of my laptop. We used the popular iChat feature now standard on the new Mac products. Our first interview was done through a video chat window. When he became a finalist for the position, we interviewed Rob again, this time with a larger group of people on our side. But again with an iChat camera. Rob interviewed twice at our firm, and never left his house. I've even heard of firms using Second Life in the same way - but you lose the non-verbal part of the interview, which of course, is extremely important to the process.
Learn more. We hear of the horror stories of an employer finding pictures from a drunken frat party, on sensational news reports everyday. But photo collections can also be a fantastic way to learn more about a potential employee, or for the employee to learn about the company. It turns out that both Rob and our firm have Flickr photo sets. So before Rob ever sent his resume, he had a pretty good idea of what life was like as a member of our team. Because he's shared some of the high moments, through our photo collection. He's even seen our offices. At the same time, when we wanted to get to know Rob better, he shared his Flickr photo set. You learn a lot about a person (or a company) when looking through their photos.
Certainly, this isn't something that every employee would be comfortable with - but in our business, we work closely together. We know our co-workers better than some of our family members. Rob picked up on this, and was eager to share his photos. This was probably a key factor in his hiring decision - as it took away potential doubts about the unknown. "What if he's an axe murderer, that eats little children?" We're pretty sure that's not the case, after getting a picture of Rob's personal life. (Pretty sure, anyway.)
Save the details for email. When it was time to make an offer, we laid out all of the details in an email. No potential mis-understandings. Everything in black and white. Both parties knew exactly what was on the table. Email is awesome for detailing the nitty gritty specifications of money, benefits, and company policies. We made our offer to Rob via email. We didn't play phone tag for two days, but instead laid everything on the table, so that he could respond on his own schedule. (Turns out, he accepted the same day.)
So we're about to meet Rob for the first time in person. And yet, I feel like we already know him. Welcome to hiring in the internet age. Isn't it wonderful?
Labels: productivity, smartbiz, workplace
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:44 AM
1 comments
how a national apparel chain keeps it local
This is a weekly simultaneous post featured on Brand Flakes for Breakfast AND the SmartBiz SmartBlog. The posts are geared toward small business.
Just stumbled across the Urban Outfitters blog, and received a pleasant surprise that many national or regional brands could take a lesson from.
There are a few things that make this blog unique. Its design is interesting, and appropriate for their brand. It also scrolls sideways - allegedly the first ever side scrolling blog. Both great, but that's not what grabbed my attention.
Urban Outfitters is a national chain of lifestyle and apparel stores. They appeal to hipsters, and as their name suggests, urbanites. Their blog has done a tremendous job of appealing to this nationwide audience, and providing value. All while making a very local connection.
At a quick skim, readers can identify posts related to the store nearest to their neighborhood. Readers can learn about store promotions and events, sure - but also cultural events that are happening in the marketplace. Using tags, a visitor can quickly sort through the posts and view only events, art, music, etc. Urban Outfitters have become local 'cool hunters' for each of the markets where their stores are located. They're providing actual value to potential clients, having nothing to do with the consumer products they sell.
I just discovered an awesome package design art show in New York, that wasn't previously on my radar. I learned something about an event in my local market; something that I have interest in; and that I didn't previously know about. My reaction? I've added a clothing store's blog to my blogroll. And just like that, Urban Outfitters has become a part of my life.
Isn't that what branding is all about?
Labels: blogging, fashion, marketing, retail, smartbiz, youthmarketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:52 PM
1 comments
must see tv
This is a weekly simultaneous post featured on Brand Flakes for Breakfast AND the SmartBiz SmartBlog. The posts are geared toward small business.
Maybe you've read about how iTunes is changing the way 20 somethings watch TV. Perhaps your geek friend is telling you about Joost - television for your computer. And you've even wasted otherwise productive time watching YouTube videos while at work.
Television is morphing into a new form as we speak. The viewer has become the programming exec. The days of "appointment" television are over. Media distribution outlets are growing exponentially and are hungry for content to distribute. All this adds up to an unprecedented opportunity for brands.
This is a potential boon for small businesses. Television has traditionally been out of reach for brands on tighter marketing budgets. New TV opens the doors of the television world to brands that could never afford a TV buy on NBC prime time. Branding opportunities are no longer reserved for brands like Coke and American Idol.
YOU are the television producer of the future. YOU can advertise and sponsor programming. Because of the countless new distribution channels, your programming can reach new audiences, without an ad budget that exceeds your annual sales revenues.
There's an awesome opportunity on the table for brands who recognize it as such, and get in early to become leaders within their niche markets. What programming is your audience interested in? What holes could be filled?
You've always wanted to be on TV? Now's your chance.
Labels: smartbiz, social media, trends, tv, web2.0
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:07 AM
1 comments
honesty = good. secrets = bad.
This is a weekly simultaneous post featured on Brand Flakes for Breakfast AND the SmartBiz SmartBlog. The posts are geared toward small business.
Welcome to the transparent marketplace.
There's been a lot of blog flutter from former employees of organizations like Verizon and Cingular, and even Geek Squad about what goes on behind the scenes. Posts of this nature spread like wildfire, and can tarnish a brand's image overnight.
What an excellent example of the importance of honesty. That word is taken for granted, today. We've all read about transparency, and it's importance in the marketplace. Transparency today goes so much deeper than the financials shared in an annual report. Whether you realize it or not, your business is completely transparent.
Ten years ago, we started an open book policy in our firm. Countless executives laughed, and couldn't believe we'd share such information. But we've got nothing to hide from our employees. If we're having a bad month, they know about it. If we're having a great one, they know it too. Ten years later, we've kept employees longer than the majority of firms in our industry. Our employees act and think more like entrepreneurs, and make business decisions like they're invested. Because they are.
And for us, honesty doesn't stop with employees. A lot of firms in our business work hard to mystify the creative process, and hide things behind a black box. We prefer sharing and collaborating. We even invite clients to participate in every aspect of their projects, through a shared web-based project management system.
Think about every aspect of your business. Your policies, your best practices, your documentation. Outside of proprietary "product recipe" information - what would you be embarrassed about, if people from the outside looked in?
The right answer should be nothing. Look hard. The marketplace is now an open marketplace. You're not going to keep your secrets forever. So why keep them at all? Employees will move on, customers will leave - and there's a worldwide audience waiting to hear their stories. Keep it honest and open, and you'll eliminate any surprises, and ensure all of your stories are from fans.
Even in branding, honesty really is the best policy.
Labels: branding, smartbiz, workplace
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:12 AM
0 comments
mashups are the future
This is a weekly simultaneous post featured on Brand Flakes for Breakfast AND the SmartBiz SmartBlog. The posts are geared toward small business.
Have you seen the new weather channel interactive maps? Google earth maps combined with satellite weather maps. Awesome. Shouldn't be a surprise, really. Mashups have been taking root for a while now. They've gained mega popularity with music and video, where fans and dj's mix two songs together to make a new one, or mix video with new audio, to create something fresh.
New internet tools have made some really great things possible, too. The cool thing about these tools is that, unlike the old days, you don't have to build everything custom, from the ground up. Your users are already accustomed to some of these tools being integrated into their favorite sites (think embedded YouTube videos). They likely also appreciate cool "under the hood" tools, when they're used in the right way (think AJAX).
And yet, what's live today is only the beginning. Mashups are about to be pushed into the stratosphere. Yahoo recently introduced Yahoo Pipes. Pipes essentially makes combining data a cinch. Or a lot easier than it used to be. An interesting example would be New York Times thru Flickr, which feeds users photos from Flickr, based on the content currently featured on the front page of the New York Times. Pipes will allow developers to produce new mashups, in less time, and in new ways.
Why is this important to your business? This opens up some magnificent windows of opportunity for companies with the vision to see the potential. What if you could pull content from all across the internet, and mix it together with your own data? What if you could do this without breaking the bank? Imagine an entire world of content on your homepage. It's possible.
So, look around. What could you add to your site if the entire internet were available as your database? What would your customers like to see? What can you mashup?
Knock knock. The internet's at your front door.
Labels: creativeinspiration, smartbiz, technology, trends
posted by darryl ohrt @ 10:47 AM
0 comments
when rats attack
This is a weekly simultaneous post featured on Brand Flakes for Breakfast AND the SmartBiz SmartBlog. The posts are geared toward small business.
NBC New York broadcasts a story about rats at a Taco Bell in Greenwich Village. A few years ago, this would have been a local crisis for PR people in New York.
But now, it's instantly national, with blogs, YouTube, and everything else. Brands need to be ready to respond to these types of emergencies. Like it or not, they're going to happen. When you least expect them.
And, as Church of the Customer points out, your website needs to be flexible enough to accommodate a rapid response. A wicked cool flash only homepage may not be as flexible as you need.
It's a good idea to integrate adaptable promotional areas where html could quickly be swapped out - for a marketing promotion, for a new product announcement, for when the rats attack. Just a good design practice. This has less to do with Flash, although there are usually developers around that can handle an emergency html change, and more to do with design. The last thing you'll have time for when the rats arrive, is a complete redesign of your home page.
Taco Bell's site actually allows for this (click on the "Latest News" section.) Jet Blue also deserves high marks - they were able to quickly add a customer's bill of rights and embedded video of the CEO to the site.
So, what about your site? Are you ready for the rats?
Labels: branding, design, smartbiz, yummyfood
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:42 AM
0 comments
how a funky ice cream truck can change your business.
This is the first of what will be weekly simultaneous posts on Brand Flakes for Breakfast AND the SmartBiz SmartBlog. (Which sounds really smart.) The posts will be geared toward small business.
Designer Adam Ellis has reinvented the ice cream truck. In doing so, he's reinvented a street vending business. Boutique flavors, a chandelier on the inside, and a truck that customers can write on, this is the ice cream truck overhauled, inside and out. An awesomely unique truck begs to be explored, and clearly has something different to offer.
Adam's truck reminds adults of their childhood - but with a twist. Ice Cream trucks have pretty much disappeared from the suburban landscape. What Adam has done is taken a good idea that's expired - and reinvented the concept for a different time.
How does this relate to your business? You're probably looking at something within your environment that you take for granted. That blends into the background. That has long been forgotten, or no longer useful. Examine your business - your marketplace, and your environment, and ask, what could we reinvent? What could we do differently than anyone else in our business?
Perhaps it's something physical, like your lobby, your desks, your dress code or your trucks. But maybe it's a policy manual, an email program, or a project proposal. It most certainly is something beyond your standard advertising and branding collateral. Something that you, or your agency probably haven't even noticed.
And don't be limited to the real world. Many brands assume they're covered with a simple company website. The opportunities for reinvention are especially ripe with your interactive presence, and there's a host of new tools to help you make it happen. How can you use your Flickr page in a different way? Can you incorporate del.icio.us bookmarks into your brand plan? What have you YouTubed?
Being different allows you to capture the interest of potential customers, retain the love of your evangelists, and stand out in your marketplace. And sometimes it's as simple as reinventing the ordinary things right in front of you.
Here's to the ice cream trucks in your future.
Labels: branding, creativeinspiration, outdoor, smartbiz
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:55 AM
0 comments
| Darryl Ohrt |
| David Plain |
| Justus Johnson |
| Rob Biddiscombe |
| Matt Hunsberger |
| Steph Fuda |
| RJ Fenn |
| Sara Champion |
| ATOM Site Feed |
