QuickTwist
Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell
What do you think of this video? Is sarcasm an effective branding tool?
Archive for September, 2009
Remember to Be Mindful
I wear a small black string on my right wrist.
some one asked me recently what it’s for.
“It’s to remind me to be mindful.” I replied.
“Mindful of what?” they countered.
(Pause from me)
“Mindful of being mindful I guess…”
Somewhat perplexed my friend walked a way.
My yoga teacher summed it up better.
While focusing on our breathing she encouraged us to center ourselves and tune out the outside world.
To focus on our intentions whether they be peace, connectedness, joy etc.
For me this is being mindful.
Sometimes I look at the string on my wrist and it reminds me of my commitment to losing weight and getting healthier.
So I put the unopened candy back in the jar or reach for the yogurt instead of the chips.
Sometimes I look at the string and I become more mindful of professional goals and I refocus on the things that are most important to take care of to reach them.
Sometimes in a moment of stress (whether work or family related) the black string reminds me that “this too shall pass” and to be mindful of all the blessings and good I have in my life.
What’s all this have to do with branding?
How to Lose a Pitch in 5 Minutes or Less
Pitching is like blind dating.
Within the first five minutes (or less) the person seated across from you has sized you up and made one of three decisions:
#1. Lightning bolt, jack pot, soul mate alert
Note: This is very rare except in beer commercials and Meg Ryan movies.
#2. I see potential, let’s keep talking and maybe meet again
#3. Total turn off… “Waiter, check please!”
How can you avoid being in the all too common, but completely undesirable third category?
Some tips for making it past the “blind date” test:
Engage in some foreplay
Ideally this first meeting should not be your first contact. Try for a short pre-meeting or phone call at the very least before you show up in your Saturday night best.
Think about dating.
Would you ever launch right into “let’s meet for dinner” before at least having a quick IM, email exchange, or perhaps phone conversation?
How to Be a Better Brand Planner
“Think like a CFO.”
That was my response when I was asked by Ben Malbon of BBH Labs during Tuesday’s Jay Chiat awards panel on innovation:
“How can planners raise the bar?” .
My response was directed at planners but I think it might be useful to anyone involved in brand building.
Many agencies talk a good game about striving to understand their client’s business.
But I often hear this question phrased as you have to think about “what’s keeping the CMO up at night?”
Well with all due respect to CMO’s, I don’t think it’s their beauty rest that counts the most.
I think a more relevant question, especially now, is “what’s keeping the CFO up?” Or perhaps the head of operations, or sales.
Advertising Week 2009- Sept 21-25
Advertising week #adwk 2009 is off to a strong start.
I saw some interesting speakers today.
Jezz Frampton, CEO of Interbrand introduced a panel moderated by Business Week on the Best Global Brands-”building brand credibility and building trust in a recession”.
It featured heads of marketing from Cisco, Microsoft, Audi and KFC.
Some interesting tidbits:
Audi CMO said that “optimism” was the biggest challenge today in the car industry
KFC CMO stressed how happy they were that they had launched grilled chicken despite the recession. It wasn’t planned this way, but it was too late to cancel the launch and it actually made a big splash and surpassed expectations. Perhaps consumers were looking for something new, healthier, and cheap in these challenging times.
Does Bad Behavior = Bad Brands?
Wow, between the shenanigans of Kanye and Serena this has been quite a week!
Has their bad behavior done permanent damage to their brands?
Or is it just part of who they are?
Both of these celebrities have built personal brands that are purposely outside of the lines (no foot fault pun intended here).
But have they gone too far?
I think so.
It’s one thing to cultivate a rebel image by expressing yourself through your art (whether it’s music or tennis).
It’s quite another thing to attack the innocent bystander.
