Tag: brand

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Stayin’ Alive: 4 Tips to Keep your Brand Voice Active

Posted on by Red Slice

The amount of available media today is explosive. These platforms can greatly benefit a brand, or send marketers searching for a positive response. To keep your brand active and influential in this new media age, understanding the goal is your first step. Guest writer Elliot Martinez, a freelance tech writer, offers you 4 basic essentials to give your brand a fighting chance.

Segment Your Target Market

Consistent brand messages tailored to a specific demographic yield the most success. Once you define your target market, it is important to dissect it. Targeting segmentations of your audience will likely help your brand connect more and lead to consumer loyalty. One branding giant doing this successfully is Toyota. The auto maker has focused on the family segment with commercials driving an emotional appeal; the vehicles are shown being passed down from generations and keeping Toyota in the family.

Brands with a persistent message earn a loyal following. The brands I love have reached me through all the other market noise. This is a scary commitment for many brands, but a risk worth taking if you are in it for the long run. Really understanding your audience in each piece of branding will help you take more chances and receive a more genuine response. Do you know who your target market really is? Who are you talking to? Ask yourself these questions every time to help your brand be heard.

What’s the Message?

This is the most important aspect for any brand. With all the different forms of communication available today, your brand message can easily be misinterpreted. You must be able to convey the same, identifiable message whether it is through a 30-second TV spot, a Facebook ad, or 140 characters. There is no shortage of social media platforms to share your message, and your brand must understand what works best for the message you’re trying to send.

Nike is a master at keeping the message consistent throughout. Their message is captured by the “Just Do It” slogan, which is perfectly tailored to fit both their audience and the brand’s personality. The Nike swoosh logo is also consistently a part of each and every campaign. Alternatively, some brands, like Geico, have not heavily implemented social media campaigns, nor do they have one unifying brand representative (Gecko, Caveman, Kash, etc.), yet still remain successful today. Keep in mind that this is not the case for every brand.

If your brand is struggling to stay relevant, breathe some life into it by altering your message or coming up with an interactive campaign to get your consumers involved. Find which media platforms work best for you and stay persistent. Provide clever brand tips and responses to your consumers. Create clear objectives for each month or quarter and work to accomplish these. Using tools like HootSuite or Google Analytics will help you gauge your brand voice while you are tracking your efforts in ROI.

How Do You Follow Up?

Marketing never sleeps. The Internet keeps conversations going, for the good and the bad. Make sure your brand is active in the conversation post-message and not just watching the action take place. Having quick counter points or supplemental media is huge for consumers. Give consumers a call to action. Brands like Doritos have done a great job in keeping consumers active; from online voting campaigns to partnerships with Taco Bell, there is a constant brand presence. These efforts help consumers feel involved and keep your brand above the rest.

Just Keep Swimming…

Now it is time to take a look at your brand. your brand. Ask, is your brand connecting with its audience, or are you missing on the message? (Tweet this!) The brand environment is more competitive today than ever before. Never be afraid to take a chance with your brand but be aware of your activity and consumer responses.

 Photo credit: Marcus Povey on Flickr

About the Author:

Elliot Martinez is a Business graduate of the University of South Florida. He is currently working towards his graduate degree and covering all tech topics as a freelance writer.

Now it’s your turn: Is your brand active and current – or still stuck in the 70’s wearing bell-bottoms (wait, those are in style again, right?)? In what ways to keep things fresh and energized? Share your tips (and your brand) in the Comments below!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

10 ways to boost your brand with LinkedIn

Posted on by Red Slice

I’m excited to share this guest blog post from my friend and frequent collaborator, Sandy Jones-Kaminski of Bella Domain Media. As I’ve mentioned before, Sandy’s a “social media life saver” and is especially adept at leveraging LinkedIn for marketing and business development. Here’s an awesome post from her full of some of her own secret sauce for generating leads and boosting her own brand on LinkedIn. Enjoy!

Recently, after speaking at an event where 80% of the room admitted that they were hardly leveraging LinkedIn at all, I thought I’d share the 10 things I do on LinkedIn each and every week as inspiration for others to do more on this powerful professional networking platform.

Yes! You can hire Sandy Jones-Kaminski to show you how to REALLY leverage LinkedIn. If you start doing even just a few of these things, I bet you’ll see some new (and welcome) outreach or activity.

  1. Update the status on your profile with either news about a connection or an upcoming speaking engagement I have.
  2. Share something worthy that a connection has posted.
  3. Review your main stream and Like or Comment on things your network has shared.
  4. Review who’s looking at your profile and see if there is anyone you want to connect with on the list. (BTW, don’t bother with the upgrade. I had it through a prior job and didn’t real see any real value in it as long as you check it every few days, which I do.)
  5. Share an industry-relevant article, post or maybe a new service offering on your company page. Don’t have a Company Page? Create one!
  6. Endorse what you’re comfortable endorsing for direct connections. (Does anyone really endorse people they couldn’t vouch for during a reference request?)
  7. Research people or companies you’re interested in or are targeting for future work or collaborations.
  8. Follow some new (to you on LinkedIn) thought leaders or Company pages and Comment, Like or Share that content.
  9. Check out what’s happening within some of the groups where you’re most active. (Comment and Like where appropriate.)
  10. Grow your network by sending personalized Invitations to Connect to the new people you meet (or like) each week.

BTW, you can hire Sandy to show you how to REALLY leverage LinkedIn. Click HERE for details.

Not ready just yet? Click this link to get more tips from this networking maven!

Now it’s your turn: What do you think of LinkedIn as a business and brand booster? What do you do on LinkedIn on a regular basis? Please feel free to add your weekly To Dos on LinkedIn in the Comments below, so others can learn from you too!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Which wine would your brand be? (Feel free to sample a lot just to be sure)

Posted on by Red Slice

If your brand were a vegetable, what would it be?

I know, sometimes brand strategy questions can seem esoteric and ridiculous. I mean, really, what the heck does asparagus tell me about how I can make smarter marketing decisions and attract more customers, sales and word of mouth?

But creating a brand analogy for ourselves can often help us make smarter decisions for our business. (Tweet!)

The only 2 questions on which I really ever probe clients in this vein are “If your brand were a person, place or fictional character, what would it be and why?” and “You are the (BLANK) of your industry” which usually ends up being something car-related. For example, we’re the “Porsche of our industry: fast, sexy and super expensive” or “We’re the Jetta of our industry: Fun, reliable, approachable and not too flashy.”

These exercises can really help you make sense of how your brand “stacks up” in a potential customer’s mind. As I talk about in my book, Branding Basics, you want to be intentional about where people slot you in their mental file drawers. Creating such analogies can help you wrap your head around determining the right tone, visual style and even brand voice for your efforts.

So here’s a fun Slice of Adventure for you today:

Given my love for all things wine, think about “Which wine would your brand be and why?”

Is your brand a peppery, spicy Zinfandel? Are you a crisp, clean Sauvignon Blanc? A bold Cabernet Sauvignon that can take on any hearty dish or complex meat with ease? A more exotic, quirky and harder to find varietal: a gentler yet berry-filled Carménère? Or perhaps a complex, eclectic blend such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape?

Maybe your brand is a rustic and traditional Chianti. Or an effervescent, bubbly, and high-style Champagne!

And don’t forget winemaker brands, either: Are you a mass market Mondavi or Yellowtail or a more affluent Silver Oak? Perhaps you’re even an exclusive, rare, luxury Chateau Lafite.

If you have a good grasp on who you are in relation to your competition, you can make much smarter decisions about content, voice, pricing and visual style so you attract the right people with the right message at the right time.

Creating a “brand analogy” helps you walk, talk and look exactly how you want (Tweet this!)

So now it’s your turn: think about your brand voice, personality, style, target audience and price point and tell us in the Comments below, which wine are you?

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

5 clever ways to position yourself as a (real) expert

Posted on by Red Slice

Guru. Master. Legend.

Wouldn’t those be nice words to hear after someone introduces you?

Maybe. Personal branding is all the rage these days. But most of us don’t have to be THE leading voice on a certain topic, but a unique, thoughtful and useful voice that is part of the conversation.

I say: Beware the lone guru.

There are so many “personal brands” out there, claiming to be expert in this, or someone who can teach you the secrets of that, or the end-all, be-all source for (INSERT TOPIC HERE).

How nice for them.

The ones who claim to be experts in helping you establish yourself as an expert make me giggle the most. I mean, you should at least have some experience or competency in your chosen field before you expect that article in Fast Company. Experts are not invented, they are cultivated. What are your special skills, talents, experiences that can form a solid, authentic foundation for you to then learn even more and become a valid expert?

My vocation of choice is as a storytelling expert: small business brand strategy, marketing, messaging. Do I know all there is to know about these topics? Hell to the no. I am one of MANY brand strategists and experts. And that’s totally cool with me.

It’s not about offering people one authoritative voice to follow, one cult to join, one Kool-Aid flavor to drink. (Tweet!) There are so many talented brand strategists out there – seeming competitors – whom I admire, follow, learn from and even cite.

No one built up their knowledge and competency on their own. They learned it from somewhere, from someone.

But if you want brand awareness for yourself or your company, if you want to get press + customers + love + speaking gigs + influence, it is a good idea to establish yourself as part of that expert tribe, as someone with a valuable perspective and keen insight into this area.  So instead of getting frustrated every time you see one of these vocal, self-promotional, personal brand “experts” instead of pouting, why not follow some simple tips to join the conversation?

Here are 5 tips on how to establish yourself as an expert

(and no, I’m not claiming to be an expert in expertise – these are just tips I’ve used that have opened up new opportunities for me to help brands + businesses). All of these assume you already have a true level of education, knowledge or experience in your chosen area:

Keep soaking up knowledge:

That’s right. Think you know all there is to know about your topic? You’re done before you even start. Read the best-selling authors out there, attend conferences, read blogs and newsletters. Find out how others are approaching this area, stay up-to-date on trends, and pick and choose which bits of wisdom resonate – or don’t (see Tip #2) – with how you view this topic area. Keep a list of 5-10 sources to follow regularly so you don’t get overwhelmed.

Present a point of view:

It’s not enough to go out there and agree with every expert you read or follow in your space. Often, if you can present a valid, contrarian point of view, people find that much more interesting – and the press may bite. I have often used contributed articles (see Tip #3) and blog posts to say why I thought a certain expert got it wrong, and put my own unique spin and experience on the situation. Being willing to challenge the status quo – for real reasons, not just to be a pain in the neck – displays confidence and authority that people will notice. For some great advice about presenting value-drive content that rabid fans will adore, check out this Jay Baer blog post.

Write & pitch contributed articles/stories:

Not every piece of content you write should be about selling your products or services. People don’t pay to subscribe to news feeds or publications to get commercials. But can you convince Entrepreneur.com that you’re the perfect person to comment on 5 ways companies are actually making money from better SEO? Can you convince Katie Couric that 5 overlooked stressors are making women and mothers ill? Can you persuade TechCrunch to accept your premise that Big Data is changing the way companies roll out new products and features? Think about the macro trends and theories rather than just your own offerings and offer a thought leadership point of view that benefits everyone. Sidenote: Offering guest blog posts to robust online communities like Biznik or BizHive or influential blogs is also very effective.

Speak in public:

Nothing impacts your street cred more than presenting to group as the…you guessed it…guest expert! Have you contacted your local Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Administration or chapter of a national association? Pitch yourself as a speaker on your topic of interest (no sales pitches, please – except they may allow you to have one slide at the end to promote your book, service or special offer). Start building your buzz locally first and then you can start to point to those successes when applying to national event and conferences. Nervous about presenting? Hire a speaking coach, media + presentation coach, or other developmental coach to squash those fears and help you get your message out there. Some great resources for creating an online speaking profile and finding gigs are SpeakerMatch and eSpeakers.

Blog:

Cue the groans. But I’m telling you, blogging is one of the single best – and free – ways to share your philosophy and highlight your expertise on an on-going basis. You don’t need permission or acceptance like you do for scoring a media article or on-camera interview. Think of your blog as YOUR media outlet where you can say whatever the heck you like, Wrote a contributed article about the new rules of workplace etiquette and no publications bit? Fine, post it on your blog. See a juicy new trend in your space that you’re dying to comment on? You can post it tomorrow. The other added benefit of blogging regularly is that you become search engine friendly around these topics, and the more content you have online, the better to establish your expertise when people are searching for info on those topics. Want proof of the power? I often receive both media and sales leads from blog posts that I’ve written 3 or 4 years ago. Need help on where to start and what to write about – or even just how to work with your blog? Take a session with this woman now or check out Problogger for fabulous tips.

What actions have worked for you in establishing your expert status? Which experts do you admire and follow? Share your thoughts and get some link love back to your (expert) site!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Your social media lifesavers: 6 people you need to know

Posted on by Red Slice

Social media. Do those words alone cause a panic attack and drowning sensation? How the heck can one human being possibly keep up with the constant onslaught of blogging, tweeting, posting, Pinning, connecting when you have a freaking business to run?

If you’re like most people, you’re doing one of three things:

1. You’ve doubled-down on a few networks and use them all the time
2. You’re killing yourself trying to be in 50 places at once – and not seeing any ROI
3. You’ve opted out completely because it all just gives you a headache

Building your brand awareness online is vital in today’s marketplace. Why? One, customers expect you to be available online in some way, shape or form (I’m still reeling from a woman with no website because “I don’t want the wrong people finding me. I get enough business through referrals.” Um. Okay. How long will that last?) In fact, I’m dubious of any business these days who doesn’t have any real-time online presence. Makes me think they are fly-by-night.

Two, you need to prove you are relevant and current. That you keep up with trends. And three, there’s just good old fashioned lead generation. You can find and connect with partners and potential clients or customers more easily and cost-effectively if you blog or play in social media.

If you’re trying to keep your head above water when it comes to social media, then grab a lifeline from these 6 people you absolutely need to know to make your life easier.

Sarah Von Bargen: Sarah is a brilliant copywriter and master blogger. We partner on many of my SLICE sessions and part of what she delivers is practical advice on your content marketing strategy. Read her small business blog (or her very fun personal blog which gets over 11,000 readers a day!) and consider one of her sessions to get your blog working for you, not against you. She’ll even share ideas for how to promote your posts effectively in other channels to get more readers. Check out this recent post on avoiding social media overwhelm. Brilliant.  Follow her: @yesandyes

Amy Schmittauer: I’m loving the fresh, practical advice this “Savvy Sexy Social” gal is dishing up, especially when it comes to using video effectively. Sign up for her weekly videos where she gives you entertaining and practical advice on all things social media, whether it’s Google +, Twitter or her sweet spot, creating videos. Amy makes everything seem doable and easy and doesn’t overcomplicate. Love that. Check out this recent post on how to make cheap awesome videos. Follow her: @savvysexysocial

Amy Porterfield: This social media strategist is the queen of cracking the Facebook nut, and she’s charming, approachable and knowledgeable to boot. I took one of her digital programs and, while normally a skeptic . I got so much value out of it, I couldn’t believe she didn’t  charge more. She comments on many other social media channels, but Facebook seems to be her sweet spot. Check out her extremely useful Resources page if you’ve ever wondered, “Is there an online solution that will help me do x?” Follow her: @amyporterfield

Sandy Jones-Kaminski: Sandy is a networking queen who – literally – wrote the book on it. She has mastered how to use social media  – and LinkedIn in particular – not just for effective networking but for more sales, more business opportunities and more leads. I’ve seen her literally work on someone’s LinkedIn profile and that person received two fresh leads the next day. No joke. She offers everything from workshops, to consulting to spot-audits of your profile. Follow her: @sandyjk

Karen Rosenzweig: Karen is a personal friend and a social media colleague, who specializes in restaurants, food businesses and hospitality – but she consults with any solopreneur or small biz to assess, create and/or manage their social channels more effectively for more customers, more sales and more buzz. I actually consulted with Karen when my book, Branding Basics, was published and she helped me use Twitter effectively to reach the right influencers and build buzz for the book when I had no clue how to use what is now my favorite channel. She also does group trainings. Follow her @karenrosenzweig

Tracy Warren: Tracy’s specialty is handling the day-to-day social media efforts of the business, acting as a ghost writer/marketer.  She offers coaching and page creation – as well as ongoing management (hurrah!) for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Biznik.  Her focus is primarily on small businesses, solopreneurs and other organizations who just want someone to take things over and get it done, including non-profits, events, and even brick and mortar businesses.  What I love about her blog is her clear, easy, uncomplicated advice for your social media efforts. Follow her @readysetgrow

Photo credit: Pipistrula on Flickr

Now it’s your turn! Which social media gurus make your life easier with practical help and advice (not just theory)? Please post your suggestions and a link in the Comments below. And also, let us know your greatest tip for managing social media overwhelm.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Dream of launching a magazine? How Stacey Anderson flipped her model and went for it

Posted on by Red Slice

With constant proclamations that “print media is dead” I’m still not sure how critics are missing the racks of magazines everywhere you look – and that more are being launched all the time. In fact, according to Crain’s NY Business, 2012 saw 195 new print titles launched, compared to 181 in 2011. And only 74 titles folded in 2012, compared to 142 the year prior. Personally, I love the feel of a glossy print magazine in my hands, even if though I’m also a Kindle user. Sometimes it’s nice to read and still be disconnected.

Stacey Anderson, publisher of Getting Organized Magazine felt the same way. A professional organizer for years, she took her experience in working with clients and expanded that into the magazine to allow readers from around the world to get and stay organized. Stacey says, “We are the real life magazine for real life people offering to help you regain your sanity by offering concentrated content so as not to further overwhelm your already jam packed life.”

I’ve been a fan of Stacey’s for a while and today, she’s sharing how busy people like you can get more organized and why she listened to her audience’s needs and took this gutsy gamble – which seems to be paying off in spades. (Tweet and Share!)

RS: Stacey, what is your overall philosophy on staying organized? Any high-level tips?

SA: That is the million dollar question isn’t it?!  The real key to getting and staying organized is to keep it simple.  We tend to think organizing is a very complex, hard, overwhelming, time consuming task.  When, really, if you follow a few simple concepts you can stay on track.  Here are a few:

  1. Do it now, not later: Later never comes.  Put it away, do the task, but do it now.
  2. Don’t over complicate things: Organize one small spot at a time, or time yourself for 15-30 minutes each day to stay on top of things.
  3. Just start! Do something, anything, one thing but start the process.  The fear, procrastination and stress make organizing much harder than it really is.

RS: OK, I’m pretty tidy, but  if I don’t have something right in front of me, I forget about it – so you can imagine what my desk looks like! Drives me nuts. Any tips for keeping your workspace uncluttered if your memory is not so good?

SA: It really isn’t your memory that it is bad, it is your system.  You don’t trust your system or it has failed you in the past so you think leaving things out will avoid the problem- when actually it makes it worse!  The real key is to clean out your old stuff- be tough, and create a good, labeled, specific system in which you know you will be able to find things.  The real goal of organizing is not to make things look pretty but to be able to find things when you need them.

RS: You’ve launched this new magazine, Getting Organized, as part of your marketing efforts. What’s the scoop and how does this augment your consulting and speaking?

SA: There used to be an organizing magazine on the market several years ago and when it went out of business I kept hearing people say how much they missed it and wanted one.  I thought, well who better to tackle that challenge than me?  I had been successfully running my organizing business for about 5 years, had self-published a book, been booked at several great events as a speaker and been interviewed in the media.  I took all of that business experience, along with my organizing knowledge, and parlayed it into the magazine.  It is a huge challenge to shift gears like that but I like a challenge and I have always wanted to be able to reach more people with my organizing tips.

For more organizational tips and advice to save your sanity, follow Stacey on Twitter or like her on Facebook.

Your turn: What one tip can you share that works for organizing your desk, files, business or home? Please share in the Comments below!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Sales page and email copy that works – minus the sleaze. A chat with Felicia Spahr

Posted on by Red Slice

“How do I sell my stuff without sounding sleazy?’

This seems to be the question du jour. But c’mon everyone: relax. Before you think you need to turn to a life of ill repute with clients who go by number instead of by name, get schooled by Felicia Spahr.  In another joyous perk due to both the work I do now and social media, Fel and I crossed paths and I’m mesmerized by her writing prowess. Felicia is a pro copywriter, teacher, and lover of people. Dedicated to discovery and the power of words, she is on a mission to shake the world with tectonic-plate-shifting communication.

We sat down to talk about killer messaging, sales page copy magic and how to write emails that get noticed.

RS: You’re kind of a sales page genius. What are 3 tips readers can implement right now to improve messaging on their sales pages?

FS: Tip #1: For the love of god, stay away from trying to sound clever. Why? Clever is confusing. Simple language that your right people can understand and grasp onto is what sells.

Tip #2: As my boy Einstein said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.” What does that translate to for you? Spend most of your time understanding the needs, wants, and problems of your customers before you go writing a sales page. Once you have enough information and can sense patterns and recurring problems (related to your service or product), the sales page will pretty much write itself.

Tip #3: You are a HUMAN, not a selling machine, right? J A big part of why we feel kooky and weird about selling ourselves (let alone writing sales pages) is because we associate selling with car salesman, in-your-face headlines, B.S., and cheap promises.

Selling is one of the most beautiful things you can do. When you’re writing your sales page, let your people know that you truly understand them—which translates to your ‘why’. Your why has gotta be in there or you’ve just got bullet points of deliverables and a lackadaisical emotional connection. Simon Sinek’s TED talk, ‘Start With Why’, is a great way to spend 18 minutes of your time drilling that idea into your beautiful head and adopting that mindset for life.

RS: What is your best tip for sending email to a busy big shot you don’t know – if you would like a book testimonial, interview or simply to say “You are my hero”? 

FS: The very simple trick is this: Make it 99% about them—mention only a VERY small-sized lick about who you are. The biggest mistake I see people making is: “Hi, I’m Joe, and I’ve been featured here, here, and here and I’ve worked with x, x, and x, and you should be impressed! Read on to find out more about what I want from you.” 

Instead, here are some examples of questions (that work) to use that are customizable, riff-able, and personality-injectable:

For an interview: The information about [topic they love] you talk about would be an invaluable resource for my readers because [specific reason—what might your readers need help with?]. Would you mind if I interviewed you and asked you [#] questions on [very specific topic]? 

For a book testimonial: After reading [x, x, and x—show that you care about them and their work] about you, it seems like this topic is one you enjoy immensely. Do you think reading my book would be useful for you, and if it is, would you mind endorsing it? 

For ‘You’re my hero’: Be extremely specific about what resonates with you about them, and then you can swoop in with your question with something like this:

I thought I might ask you a question that you could provide a unique perspective on [Insert why you’re thinking about this—and why them.]

The question I wanted to ask is: Your delight-inducing question here.

RS: What brand messaging mistakes on small business websites drive you up a wall? How can we avoid them?

FS: Copying other people’s words. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked at sites and have seen the exact same, inexplicable wording (especially in the life coach space: create the life of your dreams!) that really doesn’t mean anything. Same goes for ‘creative business’. What. Does. That. MEAN.

Think about your differentiating value factor—your unique perspective. You have one! Let’s be honest—the concepts of our ideas are not original. It’s how you spin it, position it, and package it. And you don’t have to be a sharp, clever, or witty wordsmith to express it—just very specific. Remember, you’re a person. Talk to me like I’m your really good friend or mentor whose opinion you take seriously.

And remember: No one can mess with your messaging if no one else can say it like you. (Tweet this!)

2017 UPDATE: Unfortunately, Fel is no longer doing copywriting projects but this advice is still golden! You can find out about what she’s up to now here. 

Got a burning copywriting or promo plan messaging question? Please share it in the Comments below and Felicia and I will gladly answer!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

3 reasons why you should care about your brand strategy

Posted on by Red Slice

I was so proud to see that a past Red Slice client, Talent Technology, recently officially rebranded the entire company as Talemetry, which was the brand we created initially for their successful flagship software product.

This project was a textbook case for why methodically working on the brand strategy first leads to super successful outcomes. Instead of simply coming in to slap a name and logo on a new product, the first step was a brand strategy session to articulate the company’s overall vision, target customers, and messaging before we brought this down to what that meant for the flagship product. This careful thinking made the product launch and company rebrand so successful that they finally pulled the trigger on adopting Talemetry as their overall corporate identity.

When we embarked on that project, the client knew that “re-branding” was not merely about the visual. It was about how they walked and talked as well: messaging, product development, customer experience. The whole kit and caboodle. And their savvy paid off in a big way.

So I thought this week, we’d all take a step back. Enjoy this video I did for MySourceTV – it’s a refresher course on what “brand” really means and the 3 big reasons (or the 3 C’s as I like to call them) why thinking through and articulating your brand strategy absolutely matters to your success.

What is Brand and Why Should You Care?

When you think about brand in this way, you realize there are many different ways to refresh and reboot your brand that have nothing to do with overhauling a website or spending thousands on new logos and materials. (Tweet!)

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Lights, Camera, Action! 10 posts on marketing lessons from your favorite movies

Posted on by Red Slice

We all love a good movie. When the perfect plot, setting, dialogue and characters combine with just the right mix of drama, humor and conflict, alchemy takes place and the film magically never leaves you.

There’s a lot we can learn about business and marketing if we study films themselves, as well as the promotional buzz that often accompanies them. Whether you see a big studio blockbuster with publicity tie-ins and product placement, or witness the genius of a quiet groundswell that builds for a beautiful indie film, you can learn a lot if you study and apply many of the same principles to your own business. I often get great ideas from innovative efforts that filmmakers make to get people to notice and talk about their art.

You must agree because one of my most popular posts has been the 4 business lessons you can learn from James Bond in Skyfall. 

In honor of my impeding sabbatical to take a summer acting program with San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theatre, enjoy this link round up of ten blog posts that  show us what movies can teach us about marketing and business.

  1. Inc.com, Learning Business from the Big Screen
  2. Entrepreneur.com, 4 Business Lessons from Quentin Tarantino Movies by Lindsay LaVine
  3. BusinessZone, 10 Great Movies and the Business Lessons They Teach Us by Lucie Mitchell
  4. Eloqua, Modern Marketing Lessons From The Godfather  by Amanda Batista
  5. Marketo, 5 Marketing Lessons from Spinal Tap by Jason Miller
  6. David Amerland, Four Marketing Lessons Taught by Skyfall
  7. Trendslide, 5 Marketing Lessons From The Dark Knight Rises by Jeffrey Vocell
  8. Sparksheet, Marketing Lessons from The Hunger Games  by Amanda DiSilvestro
  9. Covalent Marketing, Marketing Lessons from 2013 Oscar Nominees by Debbie Rosenfeld
  10. Likeable Media, Marketing Lessons From The Year’s Top Films by Jenna Lebel

Which of your favorite movie/business metaphors would you like to see? Which movies have taught you a bit about the world of marketing, promotion and business? Please share in the Comments!

 

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Is your brand a “bad boy?” 3 signs you might be breaking hearts

Posted on by Red Slice

You know the type. They knock you off your feet and you’re hooked. They come on all strong with promises of love. And yet, the reality of dating these bad boys (or gals, for that matter) falls so short of your dreams. They are always late. They never call when they say they will. And they continue to betray your trust and hurt you – but when they do, they always apologize in some grand style that you can’t help but falling for their charms once again. Stuck in this cycle, you begin to wonder if maybe it’s just easier to accept this unhealthy relationship because you’re tired, it’s comfortable and you just don’t want to be alone.

But did your mama ever warn you about those bad boy brands?

Oh, they exist. You know they do. And based on the last few years of bad experiences with United Airlines, an airline I used to adore, I’ve come to realize how easy it is to wake up one day and realize you’re in bed with a bad brand….and you know you’re going to come back again.

Here are 3 signs you are in a relationship with a bad brand. Or worse, that your business, organization or project is doing this to your poor customers:

 

  • You’re a smooth talker and sharp dresser – but you break your promises: United makes some pretty great ads and videos touting their renewed commitment to serving their customers. Each flight, you are forced to watch smiling, happy real-life employees talk about their job as more of a calling in caring for you like a mother hen. The CEO, with his silver-fox haircut and dazzling smiles reinforces how much United has improved in customer service over the years. Yes, they talk a good game, but after that screen goes dark, you are back to surly gate agents, chaotic ticket counters and a complete lack of respect of information. Good-hearted brands walk their talk. Recently, I witnessed a ticket counter worker refuse to help a poor non-English speaking passenger during a chaotic cancellation fiasco at SFO. She waved him away and barked quick and incoherent orders at him that even I, a native English speaker, couldn’t understand. It bordered on racism. And the other night, we had a horrendous experience with delayed flights at Orange County airport, where they kept making us go back and forth between gates, confused 2 SF-bound flights,  and had no clear information – and then the gate agents had the nerve to get snitty when people who had gone beyond the bounds of patience got anxious and frustrated. Like a bad boy, they made us feel like it was our fault. As if we had no right to be upset.
  • You make the grand gestures – but you keep breaking hearts: After my delayed flight fiasco last week, the crew and in-flight team finally apologized over and over again (“Baby, I’m so sorry. I swear I’ll never do it again!”). We received follow up emails routing us to a special website for our feedback and also offering some sort of compensation. Yes, I took them up on their offer for 3,000 bonus miles. But if this kind of behavior were not par for the course with them, I might be more willing to talk about how delightful was this gesture. Instead, I know they are just slapping a Band-Aid on the problems and that they tried to buy my loyalty and silence rather than earn it. Make-up gestures only work when they are rarely needed, not when they are the rule. Nice try, but too little too late.
  • You pretend you’re listening – but you’re not: Tweet @united if you ever get a chance. I’m not sure how they run their social media, but the first time I ever did this, I got a reply that was so obviously automated, it was laughable. It didn’t even address my original Tweet topic. Fast forward to sharing my fiasco last week and…..radio silence. Not even the automated garbage this time. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Do the same thing with airlines like Jet Blue or Virgin America and real people with real personalities are there to serve, responding right away to see what they can do. And they actually DO SOMETHING. Don’t bother playing the social media game if you have bots replying to people’s issues. It takes more than opening a Twitter account to say you’re engaged effectively in social media. How do big brands with the kind of resources that United has still not get this?

I always had a special place in my heart for United, as they were my first airline loyalty program. When I was a consultant for a Big 6 firm right out of college, I traveled with them every single week and got to enjoy the status perks that came along with that. Plus, I live in San Francisco, which is one of their hubs. But that brand love has been eroded by their bad behavior over the last ten years to the point that I don’t believe a word their CEO says. Sure, heroic acts of kindness from individual workers over the years has helped keep me “on the hook” and that is why I just can’t seem to say goodbye – plus being in a hub city, I’m often forced to fly with them.

But is that really the brand you want? One in which your customers are just “hanging on” and settling for the abuse until a better option comes along?

Now it’s your turn! What “bad boy” brands have you experienced? What do you do to ensure your brand doesn’t turn into a bad boy itself? Please share in the Comments!