After 9-year-old Hannah Robinson addressed the CEO of McDonald’s Corp., Don Thompson, asking, “Mr. Thompson, don’t you want kids to be healthy so they can live a long and happy life?” Thompson responded by talking about his children and their experiences eating McDonalds, according to an ABC news article. In this case, he chose to express appreciation for her interest in fruits and vegetables, adding that he also likes to cook a lot of vegetables at home.

What can businesses learn from McDonald’s approach?

Despite the mixed opinions about McDonald’s menu options, what is important from a transparency standpoint is that Thompson allowed some room for criticism. In turn, what this says about one of the most internationally recognized brands is that a receptive and honest conversation is key. People want to be heard.

Taking disclosure to the next level

In the past, McDonald’s has been heavily criticized for how it markets its brand to consumers. Some notable points in the 2003 Pelman v. McDonald’s Corp. case include grievances about the “super size” option, unfair marketing to children and poorly explained nutrition facts that mislead consumers.

Since then, McDonald’s has taken note and acted. McDonald’s Canada has a completely candid online question and answer site (http://yourquestions.mcdonalds.ca) that sets a precedent for transparency in business. Here, customers are encouraged to ask any conceivable question about McDonald’s food. In return, they receive real answers from actual people. Some questions include: “How is it that a McDonald’s burger does not rot?” or “How does McDonald’s make nuggets?”

Another way McDonald’s has stayed on point with its consumers is by staying in tune with feedback from social media sites. McDonald’s Director of Social Media, Rick Wion, heads the team that listens to consumers through social media channels. McDonald’s continually evolves its marketing approaches based on consumer input learned though social media.

The corporation’s take on transparency doesn’t stop there. Last year, McDonald’s Canada released a video showing customers exactly how they enhance food in product photos for advertisements. Tricks like strategically placing pickles on a burger, injecting condiments with a syringe and photo retouching were revealed. To date, the YouTube video has over 8 million hits. This type of authentic information is what customers crave.

The ultimate lesson McDonald’s brand offers is invaluable: Businesses have a much better chance to come out on top when they choose to communicate directly and openly with customers.

Unfortunately, when most heard the name and weren’t able to spell it correctly after three tries, they dismissed us as another start-up that would soon go bust. “En-Vest-Net” did not sound like a Fidelity or Goldman Sachs. And no matter how much I tried to explain the vision, I rarely found someone willing to turn over a book of business to a relatively unknown player.

How Making Magic Works

Then the tides of fate turned. A visionary board member within the Financial Planners Association heard about what we were doing. He agreed to speak with Forbes about us. And, a few weeks later, Forbes named Envestnet “Best of the Web for Financial Advisors!”

My prior calls attempting to get advisors to understand the name, much less spell it, were suddenly winning eager listeners. What financial advisor worth his fees would turn down an opportunity to have a customized version of the financial advisory platform that Forbes had just named “best of the Web for Financial Advisors”?

The doors continued to open for three years following the Forbes recognition, and Envestnet overcame its awkward name and became not just the best but the most subscribed to wealth management platform for financial advisors on the Web. The Forbes “Best of the Web” recognition is still noted as a key milestone on the Web site of Envestnet, which grew from $140 billion in assets at the end of 2011 to $368 billion at the end of 2012. Its money managers consistently outperform the market, and it now ranks fourth in revenue flows behind the giant firms such as Wells Fargo, UBS, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America. Had it not been for the Forbes article, it’s possible that Envestnet would have met the fate of most start-ups.

The experience with Forbes at Envestnet led me to change my career path. While investments go up and down and can create a very volatile existence for someone who cares deeply about satisfying clients every day, a positive word or favorable placement can change the trajectory of a life or a business.

You might say there’s a little bit of magic in what PR practitioners do, spreading good stories like the Forbes “Best of the Web” recognition. Fortunately, the magic is easier to replicate than one might think.

A STORY STRUCTURE THAT ENGAGES MAGICALLY

The story I just shared is true, and it likely resonated with you because it follows a time-tested model that engages readers and compels people to action. Similar to how Envestnet was positioned with Forbes, you can position the experience you provide your clients so that they are entertained and see the value you’re delivering without feeling as if they’re being sold.

For more than 100 years, participants in Dale Carnegie courses around the globe have used a similar—nearly magical—story format to convey their life experiences in a way that engages listeners, builds their confidence, and wins business. The reason the structure works is that your audience lives the experience with you in full color so the experience becomes interesting and memorable to them as well. Three elements are required:

(1) You need to start with a specific incident. Place the reader in your shoes by conveying the exact events as they were occurring. Use language that is as specific as possible, painting the picture so the reader is living the scene with you. The more colorful you can be, the better.

(2) Explain what happened so that the reader understands the results they can achieve.

(3) Conclude with an action that the audience can take and the benefit they will receive from taking that action.

In my recounting of the Forbes “Best of the Web” recognition, I didn’t start with, “Envestnet was named best of the Web.” I started with my dilemma so the readers connected with me emotionally—living my frustration. Ideally, you should be able to think of an experience you have any day, and recount it with detail to generate 2-3 magical stories a week. Think of the “a-ha” you experienced at that last client kickoff or the extra attention your spouse paid to you at dinner that reignited the romance. There are magical stories everywhere we look, and we simply need to break them down into bite-size chunks as I did here.

Last piece of advice: keep it under 90 seconds and practice before you deliver it. The tighter the better. Take a Dale Carnegie course if you’re feeling rusty. The enthusiasm your listeners sense behind your delivery should accelerate your call to action. Remind them again of the benefit you experienced—the “carrot”—and they will begin to follow!

Recently I read an article about Coca-Cola’s new can that can be split in half so consumers can “share happiness.” Over the years, Coca-Cola has had big campaigns, all focused around its brand promise of fun, freedom and refreshment. Most don’t realize that Coca-Cola is the reason we think of Santa Claus as a jolly old man wearing a red outfit with rosy cheeks. He was jolly because he was drinking Coca-Cola. But those were all just campaigns. Coca-Cola’s latest campaign is “Share Happiness.” Its Happiness Truck was a nice promotional initiative to bring that idea to life, but it wasn’t completely focused on experiencing the product. Splitting the can in half, however, is the most literal delivery of its promise through the product itself. It’s so simple, but so brilliant.

Brands face this challenge: commit to delivering on a promise or commit to fighting relative sameness. In a previous post, I wrote that most companies compete in a world of relative sameness. This is as true in the consumer world as it is in the B2B world, which is why the promise your brand makes to its customers is so critical to success. It needs to be differentiated and it needs to be believable. But even more so, it can’t be delivered solely through an interesting campaign. Coke vs. Pepsi is an age old debate. Pepsi just launched its new campaign, “Live for Now,” with its Pepsi Pulse site and a new commercial from Beyonce. Coca-Cola split their can in half!

Coca-Cola has demonstrated how the entire experience of the brand can, and should, deliver on its promise. This is especially important in the B2B space, as the experience goes far beyond just the product itself. Clearly, people need to know and believe that a product or service is going to deliver what it promises. But purchasing that product or service often requires consultation before the sale and training and support after it. From the initial contact with a customer to the sale itself to delivery, installation and support, the entire organization plays a role. But they don’t always think about it that way.

I always go back to IBM. They seem to continually get it right. Their entire business was structured around “eBusiness” in the 90s and early 2000s and “Smarter Planet” now. Back in 2008, their CEO outlined an agenda for building a “Smarter Planet.” And now everything they do supports that.

First and foremost, management needs to believe in the promise, and understand why it’s important to the growth of their business. Each functional area within an organization then needs to understand their role in delivering the promise – from research & development to manufacturing to quality and regulatory to sales, distribution, technical support, customer service and so on. Everyone should understand what is required of them on a day-to-day basis and why it’s important.

When developed properly, a brand promise will not only help differentiate today, it will also provide the guidepost to the future. Providing focus for new features and releases, new delivery and/or service offerings, and new markets to go after. Otherwise, your brand will face a future of relative sameness.

It’s fairly simple: Make a promise. And make sure everyone is committed to delivering it. It’s as simple as splitting a can in half, right?

Storytelling in its simplest form is a connection of cause and effect. Narrative helps us make sense of the world around us. In fact, our conversations are dominated by stories; researcher Jeremy Hsu found 65% of our conversations are made up of personal stories and gossip.

The power of storytelling is something so many businesses fail to realise in marketing their brand and products. When information is communicated in story form, studies show people better relate and remember it. Stories have the ability to spark emotions, whether it’s happiness, empathy, trust or anger. When listening to them not only are the language-processing parts of our brain activated, experiential parts of our brain come alive too. Stories about food activate our sensory cortex, motion stories activate the motor cortex – fundamentally our brains are more engaged when listening to stories.

Brand storytelling isn’t new; companies have used advertising to evoke emotions through storytelling for years. However the landscape has changed, the digital revolution spurred new platforms, channels and devices through which to share and tell stories, opening up greater opportunities, but simultaneously greater challenges.

How do you cut through the noise, get your stories heard and resonate with the consumer? Here are my top tips for the art of storytelling in business:

1. Uncover your stories

This question is a common one: “What does our company have to say on social media, in a case study, in a newsletter etc. and why will anyone care?” And one that we are regularly asked by clients.

Firstly, everyone has stories. It’s the day-to-day things that you take for granted, which provide great content. From your customers’ stories, events you’re attending, an exciting project you’re working on, to a new product or service you’ve introduced, stories can be found everywhere.

And why will people care? By drawing on real life examples and telling stories through characters your audience will resonate with, the stories will be ones people want to hear.

2. Get your company values across

What is your brand and company about? Do you pride yourself on excellent customer service? Are you innovative, quirky, fun or you just really believe that your products or services are great? Define what makes your company great, work out how you are least like the competition and tell that story.

3. Make them colourful

The basic principles of storytelling apply: have a beginning, middle and end. In the beginning set up your story; who, what, why, where, when; in the middle present a conflict or dilemma, followed by a solution that ends in a happy-ever-after.

Above all, a good story is one that provokes an emotional reaction. Make the listener share the pains your customers were experiencing, illustrate how your product or service will make their life less stressful, lovelier, more luxurious, and get this across through your story. Remember it’s all about them not you. You need to understand your target market and audience and engage with them as you would in real life; appeal to people’s lifestyles, problems, interests and needs.

4. Use the appropriate format

Whilst content is king, how you make this content consumable is the crux of the marketing challenge. Your stories need to be not only relevant and engaging, they must be easily digestible – whatever format they take.

A story that’s right for Facebook isn’t necessarily the content of a customer case study. Remember stories don’t have to be words; pictures, videos, infographics, polyvores, can be fantastic ways of sharing a brand story and engaging the consumer. And how are you going to deliver them? Straight to someone’s inbox, via social media, or in a whitepaper perhaps.

Consider the shareability of the content too. Consumers don’t go sharing the technical spec of your product or listing your business services to their friends. Instead they tell the stories of the benefits; the impact your product or service has on real lives. Make your stories easy to share across multiple channels and good stories will speak for themselves.

Whatever the format, it is important to use experts who have the different skillsets required for each platform, including the ability to make the content consumable and shareable, and the knowledge of the media to get your stories across.

5. Leave people wanting more

Your stories need to give people a reason to come back. If you provide a service you don’t want to give away all your tricks before a potential client is engaged, but equally you need to give enough to hook them.

Consider teasers, “watch this space,” “see the sneak preview,” “like this page to find out more”. And remember when people come back for more they need to find more stories. You may have one really good customer case study but unless there are others, it’s not believable. Meaningful, consistent content across multiple channels, will give people a reason to return again and again.

In today’s fast-paced, multi-media and increasingly social marketing environment, stories have become an essential part of crafting valuable engagement with consumers. So what are you waiting for, tell us your story.

Now is as good a time as any to help your friends out by branding their career. Make sure they’re on the right track, so they can begin to build their own personal brand.

Here are five personal branding secrets to share with your friends:

1. Everything you do is part of your brand.

Your personal brand exists, whether you do anything about it or not. It is composed of everything you do and say. By accepting its existence, you can then decide to build it up to represent your capabilities in the professional world. Throughout your career, you need to be aware of how people see you. What you post on social media, how you behave both in and outside of work, all of these things matter. Consider how these things can help or hurt your brand. Behave professionally and you will be remembered as a professional.

2. There are many branding platforms online.

Your personal brand is shaped online by the social networking platforms you use. Think about your personal website, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or wherever else you visit regularly. Make a list of the ones you think are most beneficial to you, and share these with your friends. If you are on similar career paths, these might be perfect options for your friends, as well. If you are in very different fields, think about how they can use these platforms to benefit them.

3. Consistency strengthens your brand.

If there are two key concepts one must know about personal brands, it is to be professional and be consistent. Be consistent in how you define yourself, the profile photos you publish, and the way you write your name. Carry the same consistency both on and offline. Help your friends be constant professionals. Consistency makes the people in your network (including potential employers) remember you.

4. There are many ways to network successfully.

To someone who is unfamiliar with the concept of networking, it can seem overwhelming. Help out your friend by telling them about the most successful networking experiences you’ve had. Did you connect with someone on LinkedIn and set up an interview? Did you attend a networking event and meet someone who hooked you up with one of their colleagues? Whatever it was, hearing real success stories can help others down the right path when they start networking for themselves.

5. Monitor your brand.

Once you decide the components of your brand, you are never truly finished cultivating it. You need to update it regularly and monitor how you are perceived. There are lots of sites, like Google Alerts, to help you do this. How do you monitor your personal brand? Help your friends set up ways to monitor their brand like you.

You want your friends to have successful careers, just like you, so helping them out with something like their personal brands is an easy way to do it. Plus, since you are closely associated with your friends, helping them with their brands can only benefit your own.

What other personal branding secrets would you share with your friends?

Author:

Heather R. Huhman is a career expert, experienced hiring manager, and founder & president of Come Recommended, a content marketing and digital PR consultancy for job search and human resources technologies. She is also the instructor of Find Me A Job: How To Score A Job Before Your Friends, author of Lies, Damned Lies & Internships (2011) and #ENTRYLEVELtweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle (2010), and writes career and recruiting advice for numerous outlets.

Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater 

Consider what is still working for you. Your logo might be working, for instance, but the colour might not. Starbucks is an excellent example of honing in on the most significant aspects of your brand. You may wish to hold focus groups to find out what the most recognisable aspects of your logo are and which have the most positive connotations.

Or does your brand need a total overhaul? 

If you’re totally reinventing your image, products or tone, you may need to both re-design your logo and branding, but also to advertise it in an eye-catching way. Consider McDonald’s. In the 2000s, it got hit big-time over its status as the world’s biggest fast food provider and the health implications that created. McDonald’s realised it would need an image change, and so its new branding responded to peoples’ concerns about health, creating a whole new line of products and advertising that de-emphasised the golden arches, and threw the spotlight on its new range of salads.

In Chicago, for example, thousands of heads of lettuce were planted on a billboard to spell out the words “Fresh Salads”, in a campaign that generated buzz on the internet as well as on the streets.

Is a rebrand really needed?

It’s worth remembering that rebranding can sometimes take just as long as creating a brand from scratch, especially when a large number of stakeholders are actively involved. Recently, Yell paid several top-level branding consultants to come up with a new name. They spent five months weighing up 60 different names, before settling on “hibu” – a name which Yell chief executive, Mike Pocock, declared as “just a word” with no real meaning!

There have also been many cases where a rebrand has been met with customer backlash, such as the Gap’s logo rebrand in 2010.

Speak to a branding agency

If a complete brand overhaul is needed, then it’s often wise to leave it to the experts. A branding agency will be able to distill the elements of your existing brand image and decide what should stay and what should go. They should aim to create the visual identity that best reflects your brands beliefs and implement it across a range of media, from your website to business cards and marketing collateral. Taking the time to research and test your market’s responses to your new design will be key to a successful rebranding.

1. Consistency, consistency, consistency

Most business leaders agree that building a brand from the outset will help you get a head-start on your competition. Ensuring consistency across your messages enforces the idea of professionalism and cements the identity of your company with your customers. Try to be consistent in all you do and remember that in creating the look and feel of your brand you are trying to make a positive connection with your customers.

2. Simplicity and focus

Take the time to think about what your business is trying to do and what you want it to stand for. Write these objectives down first. When you think about your logo, your strap-line, your colour scheme and your advertising messages, ask yourself if your choices are conveying these ideals and goals to your audience – this will help you create your unique identity. Revisit these objectives each time you send out a new message to your customers, so that you stay consistent with them and keeping building on the connection that made them your customers in the first place.

3. Your logo or not your logo?

Your logo is important but building a strong brand means communicating your identity and your values. You can have a great website, the best logo or super stationery but if you don’t get your message across to your potential customers in a way that they can connect with these things will not matter. Create some core messages that really convey the key selling points of your business and let you logo and strap-line sit elegantly and reassuringly in the background.

4. Internal communication as well as external communication

Make sure you impart these goals and values to others working in or for your business. Give them the tools to ‘spread the word’ the way you want it spread. This makes everyone in your organisation aware of what you’re trying to achieve. It retains the focus on your key messages and makes consistency the natural way within your company. Ultimately this means less confusion and more direction on the inside of your organisation and your customers will receive a clearer, more powerful, message on the outside of your company

5. Where to start?

Start with your goals. Keep these in mind as you create your logo and your strap-line. Choose your fonts and a colour scheme. Write them down, use them consistently and communicate them to others who are working for you. Use them in your stationery, on your website or blog, use them in your Facebook header and across all your other social networks. Use your key messages on your social networks, your blog and in your advertising. Keep it simple, keep it clear, keep it consistent.

Now you are communicating your business message to your potential customers with purpose, with a definite style and in a consistent manner

– Hey presto, you’re building a brand!

This article originally appeared on pritchard-marketing.net and has been republished with permission.

The problem with this initial definition was, in seeking to make the many parties who had participated in the definition exercise happy, and to appear unconditionally inclusive they ended up with a kind of give-me-ambiguity-or-give-me-something-else definition.

After a while, seeing the first definition was a little out of whack, the group reconvened to see if they could get a definition that was, well, in whack. They corrected the first definition by presenting a second based upon a behavior-centric view of engagement, i.e., something positive actually happening to the brand, and all were reasonably content.

But then organizational memory kicked in. Memory may be a way of holding on to what you love, but for marketers it’s mostly a way of holding on to what they know best. And oftentimes the brand ended up getting lost in the shuffle. Or, more accurately, got lost in the outreach.

Yes, yes, brands need to employ outreach of all kinds – conversations, experiences, advertising – on all touch points and platforms, traditional and digital, possible and imagined. That outreach requires an engagement too, although most of the time that kind of “engagement” involves counting: of time-spent, or awareness, or tweets, or visits. Not useless, but not true measures of engagement with the brand either. Engagement with the method being used to try to get the consumer to engage with the brand, yes. Real brand engagement, not so much.

Why? Because getting attention and even awareness for a brand in no way leads de facto to engagement with the brand to a positive end. Engagement with the brand – real emotional engagement with the brand – should be the ultimate objective, since it’s the point where the consumers “see” the brand as better meeting the expectations they hold for the Ideal in the category where the brand competes. When they do that, they behave positively toward the brand, the real bottom line, because real emotional engagement correlates very, very, very highly with positive consumer behavior, sales, and profitability.

At any rate, it’s a complex paradigm, but a necessary one to apply if success was part of your brand strategy brief. And it’s not unsolvable. If you’d like more insight into this validated approach, we are presenting at the Insight Innovation Exchange NA, in Philadelphia at the Marriott Downtown, on June 18th at the session dealing with “Radical Reinvention: The Bleeding Edge of Insight Generation.” For those of you unable to attend, we invite you to reach out to Leigh Benatar for a copy of our presentation, “The New Brand Relationship,” at leighb@brandkeys.com

Exclusive Music Deal

News late yesterday broke about a deal between Jay-Z and Samsung to benefit Samsung Galaxy owners. As Catherine Shu writes on TechCrunch, “Samsung is giving away one million copies of “Magna Carta Holy Grail” to owners of its flagship smartphone 72 hours” in advance. So that means those with Galaxy phones or the Galaxy Note get to listen to a very popular artist’s album well in advance of the rest of the public.

For me, this looks like a creative, effective, and interesting way to bring mutually positive attention to both Jay-Z’s brand and music as well as Samsung. With the internet, “We don’t have any rules; everybody is trying to figure it out … We need to write the new rules,” as Jay-Z was quoted in Brian Anthony Hernandez’s Mashable article on the news.

As simple as it sounds, Jay-Z has a point. Part of successful branding and marketing online means doing things differently. This is a deal very different from ones I’ve seen and it takes advantage of the internet and mobile users to spread awareness about it. Plus, the fact that it’s a rather different partnership brings press to the story (look, here I am writing about it!).

Better for Samsung?

While this deal is certainly good for Jay-Z – Samsung bought a million copies of the album before its release at $5 a pop – I still think Samsung is getting more out of the deal. Jay-Z is a hugely popular artist. But more importantly, he is a symbol and a brand that represents being hip, connected, modern, and in touch with the younger generation.

Samsung has now linked that brand to its own and the exposure it will receive is certainly worth the $5 million price tag. No one can fault Samsung recently for its marketing decisions, after all; as an AP article on the deal states, “Samsung … has been steadily chipping away at Apple’s share of the market with its Galaxy phones.” As long as they continue to push their prized product and also create a strong brand behind it, I think they’ll continue to chip away at Apple.

What Partnerships Could Work for You?

It’s doubtful your business or agency has $5 million in cash sitting around ready to buy the next one million albums from a top music star. But, this example of smart partnerships from Samsung should get you thinking about possibilities and unique partnerships that could work for your brand or even just one of your products.

There are no rules when it comes to creativity, and keeping both your eyes and your mind open can lead to marketing ideas that could bring lots of press and ultimately lots of business. As more and more people get connected online, especially on mobile, we really should keep Jay-Z’s words in mind. We do need to write our own rules to stand out in today’s market.

What do you think of the Samsung Jay-Z deal? Will it benefit both parties or is it just a silly marketing ploy?

The burden of a brand revivalist is to rewrite the memories and reputation, erasing negative connotations and associations by reinforcing good brand qualities and rolling out new, impressive features. Following are typical strategies to reviving any brand.

Get a Second Opinion on Your Brandable Skills

Brands often fail due to the mismatch of skills of between brand and entrepreneur. Whether you are the original brand owner or the adoptive owner of a purchased and lagging brand, begin the reinvention by refocusing your identity. Get feedback from peers, former bosses, clients, professors and other evaluators about what your strengths are as well as your weaknesses. This can be done in individual interviews, emailed surveys or, preferably, in an all-day brand development conference. Be honest about how other professionals perceive your personality highlights and deficits.

Rather than forcing yourself to live up to a brand and, by extension, an impossible identity, tailor the new brand to fit who you are and your valuable traits. Let it be a distinct, custom brand that only you can present because it conforms to your experience, talents and skills. In this way, the new brand identity is unique, memorable and in harmony with your identity.

There are situations, of course, when you need to completely change fields and markets; in those cases, you might need to undergo training for new skills but these should not be so beyond your natural aptitude that you feel ill-prepared as the executive behind the brand.

Create a Legend

Once you have your identity, immortalize it. Every reinvention needs a good narrative. This story must be truthful and it should narrate the crash and fall of your previous life, career or business in such a way that it emphasizes character and the values of your new brand. The general public loves a back story and can relate to underdog entrepreneurs who struggle to get back on top.

Once polished, this story can be disseminated through brand literature, advertisements, word-of-mouth and social media. Have a short-hand, pithy version of the story that can be used to influence your brand elements; the image in the logo, the colors, the slogan should all pay homage to the themes and motifs in the legend. Do not make the narrative too personal; the goal is tell the tale of how a brand, not your ego, got reborn.

Modify and Expand the Brand

Dead brands typically have a dearth of public interest, profit and innovation, generally because they failed to grow. They stayed unchanged while competitors in their midst evolved with the times. Upon revival, zero in on nostalgic aspects and the few remaining selling points of the brand.

These features can attract brand loyalists and be used as a foundation that keeps the brand recognizable so that the public gets a sense of the business as the same but vastly improved. The improvements come from modifications, such as an expanded product or service line, a new building or atmosphere, a new style of marketing or a new community and social media presence. All alterations should present the brand as fresh, in-style and contemporary.

Stage a Major Reintroduction

Once you’ve designed your elements, retooled your identity, salvaged the remaining positive brand features and expanded the offerings, now is the time to capture the interest of the public. The reintroduction campaign should be designed to impact offline and online audiences, local and remote audiences. Activities can include the unveiling of a new website, blog and social profiles, special promotions and marketing campaigns, viral videos or memes, contests and old-fashioned live events in multiple locations.

Launching by partnering with related businesses to roll out bundled services or products has also been an effective reintroduction practice. Furthermore, if a formerly dead brand still has a warehouse of stock, interest in the brand can be revived months before the re-launch by selling these items as limited, commemorative pieces and collectibles.

Taking a photo of Christmas tree (Photo credit: Takashi(aes256))

For today’s young adults (those aged 18-30), access to technology is seen alongside education as a critical component to progress and opportunity. A recent survey of 12,000 young adults across 27 countries for Telefónica found that this group believed that not only are they at the cutting edge of technology, but that this gives them a competitive edge.

For all brands it is increasingly important to understand how this group of connected consumers behaves, and how to engage them. Here is our summary of four key themes brands should learn from this research:

1. You need to design for smartphone

Globally, 76% of young adults say that they own a smartphone with the highest penetration in Asia (83%). In all markets, this is higher than desktop or tablet ownership; it is higher than laptop penetration in all markets but the US and Central & Eastern Europe. Brands need to be designing smartphone-first experiences for smartphone-first audiences.

2. Technology removes language barriers

Just as the spread of literature, music, film and TV helped to remove (or lower) cultural barriers, technology removes language barriers. In each market studied, over 84% of young adults think that technology has removed language barriers to communication and meeting people – in Central & Eastern Europe this is as high as 94%. In an increasingly connected world information and ideas can flow more easily between people and brands need to consider these lower linguistic barriers to any communication.

3. They want to understand technology even more

Whilst their use of technology is strong, these young adults want to understand even more about technology and see that as a key to their own success. In each market, it was seen as the most important area of study (ahead of economics or foreign languages). This reflects an understanding that technology is not about understanding current devices and how they can help us, but the process of technology and the role it plays. For brands this will challenge their own relationships with new employees, who will enter the job market with an increasing understanding of and need to adopt new technologies in their work.

4. Technology has created a new ‘excluded’

Finally, these young adults believe that technology has widened the gap between rich and poor, with only those in Latin America thinking that it has made the gap smaller. Technology – education and devices – is seen as critical to success and so a lack of access to these is seen as a hindrance. Brands need be aware that whilst for many (if not most) of young adults there is an increasing role for and reliance on technology, there will continue to be an excluded group that they need to engage with too.

In this instance, the person watching septuagenarians waving their tushies would be a Rolling Stones fan.

And while I was watching the mad, brilliant Mick belt out the soundtrack of my adventurous youth, I realized this is not just the greatest rock and roll band in the world; this may be one of the greatest marketing organizations in the world.

At the age of 50, here is a brand at the top of its game, despite no new product releases, no mergers and acquisitions, only one best-selling executive biography and aging assets that can’t be replaced. Here is what we can learn from The Stones:

Invest In Your Product
I would imagine that rock stars age faster than the rest of us, and can measure their journeys in something more like dog years than people years. So having an intact group after fifty years is more about good luck than good planning. That said, it’s not enough to show up, you have to play. And this band can still play. Mick can still sing and swagger and ooze charisma all over the place, and the whole band has a fitness level that puts even their younger fans to shame. The lesson: good brands keep investing in their products, even as their products age and even when the end game is pretty much certain (though you never know with Keith).

Don’t Let Your Brand Party with Just Anybody
We’ve talked in this space before about the need to keep tabs on your brand and, more specifically, who its hanging about with after hours. The Stones don’t let just anyone open for them, and if there’s nobody good enough, they don’t have an opener. The look and feel of the entire show is tighter than Mickey Rourke’s last face lift, and you wont find any of those flimsy concert shirts here. No siree, that tongue and those lips are silk screened on quality tees with just as much brand authentication as a certain hockey team’s merchandise. They can probably thank Marianne Faithful for that bit of wisdom. The lesson: You’re only as good as the last-mile people your customers interact with. That includes your social media team, concert program designers and the guy who sells your over-priced coffee mug.

Deliver All the Time, Every Time
If you show up at a Stones concert an hour after the start time on the ticket, you will be, well, an hour late. Unlike so many other, less tenured rock bands, this one chooses not to sneer at its fans and waste their time by showing up hours late and rather too many drinks into the evening.

They also manage not to barf on stage, lip sync, fall over or scream racist insults at their fans. They play their tried and true hits, even when they’re trying to flog a new album, because they understand that brand equity has as much to do with meeting expectations as it does with having something new to say. Like all great brands, they recognize that one failure to deliver has a greater impact than countless flawless executions. The lesson: marketers need to spend time on the minute details of the delivery; it’s far too important to leave to engineers or logistics people.

Keep it Classy
Whatever Keith may be swigging from that red Solo cup seems not to be hampering his performance. It’s also rare to read any nasty rumours about the imminent break up of the band, violent arguments amongst its members or silly shopping accidents by their children. Doubtless, these things happen — all brands have giant spiders in their closets. The Rolling Stones may even need an airport hangar to keep their spiders safely stored. But they understand the incredible value of keeping those spiders hidden away. The lesson: put extra padlocks on the spider vault and treat the people with the keys incredibly well.

We First has helped many organizations — from Global 500 companies to nonprofits — to effectively pursue “the art of inspiring customers to champion your brand.” The funny thing about Fortune 100 companies and associations is that they are not so different: they are both groups of people connected around shared values or a common purpose.

You can listen to the full interview, but here are the key points relevant to anyone in any industry looking to better tell their company’s story in ways that build their business:

Why should you think about business “We First”? I was inspired to explore a new “We First” line of thinking after reading a speech that Bill Gates gave to the World Economic Forum in January 2008. At the time, Gates was both the world’s richest man and its greatest philanthropist, an irony that intrigued me in light of his message. He described a new logic for why companies should accept responsibility for developing solutions that address the many crises that plague our planet, especially in the developing world, where poverty often precludes sufficient profit to merit corporate participation. At the heart of his appeal was the undeniable logic that brands cannot survive in societies that fail and so by supporting our communities, we also ensure our own well being.

Should you build your business around yourself as a “personality” or “celebrity” or focus on your community? Traditional media, like television, rewarded the celebrity brand (think Martha Stewart). But now something has happened for the first time in human history: media is in the hands of citizens and consumers. Social media has given everyone a voice and the barriers to becoming a thought leader are very low. So as I’ve personally experienced in my journey from leaving the global ad agency world, to starting out on my own, to building the We First team, it’s incredibly important to build your brand around meaningful values that are much bigger than just one person. By aligning around shared values and a common purpose, you can inspire your customer community to share your brands with others and build your business and social impact together.

How do you effectively encourage your community to share your message? If you only talk about yourself you will never unlock the power of social media. Social technology is all about community, and if you build your work around values and a new vision for the world, you can act the chief celebrant of your community that in turn supports your message. So it’s no longer about driving a personal or company monologue – social media is about creating a dialogue and finding those who are inspired to come along with you because you all serve a shared vision. It’s this ability to inspire your community to effectively act as an extension of your marketing that you start to truly benefit from the power of social media.

How have you used social media to grow the message of We First? Blogging has been a very important tool for defining the brand. Many people do not understand their purpose- they know what they do, but they don’t know why they do it. Or they can’t articulate that purpose in a way that is meaningful to their customer community and the world. The phrase, “You can’t read the label from inside the jar” sums it up perfectly. But when you start to externalize yourself, through blogging and videos and speeches, you start to connect the dots and force yourself to clearly define the concepts and values that will make you different and successful in the marketplace.

Another underused tool is video. It’s so powerful and innately shareable. Two days before the book launch of We First, a team of very generous colleagues helped me to create our short-animated vision video at little cost, simply because the creators were so behind the message of We First. We had 38,000 views in the first 48 hours and that sharing dynamic was a concrete and authentic demonstration of people rallying behind a message that reflects values they care about. The support and passion that video engendered was really inspiring and was a key part in rallying members to our We First community over the long term.

What are best practices when trying to leverage many types of media to push out your message? It’s no longer a question of what content to create and share on your own. Now it’s a question of what content you and your members can create together to celebrate the success of the community. For example, you may ask members to create short videos about key learning experiences that they can share on Facebook, Twitter, or Vine; this creates a valuable peer-to-peer discussion. But remember: once you start a dialogue with your members on multiple channels, you need to maintain it, and that takes dedicated resources and a content calendar.

How can executive-level social media engagement help leverage a brand? Isn’t it fascinating that CEOs like Michael Dell, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, and Tony Hsieh tweet? Why do they do that? The most important reason is that it serves as a permission slip for the entire organization to act as a social brand. It’s not about an obsession with technology, but rather, staying in contact with your community.

As for how CEOs get started, they first have to accept that they must now share control of their brand story with their customer community. You can start slowly by sharing company news, press releases, or talking about the core values or vision of the company — safe stuff. Once you start that conversation, you can invite members to share their thoughts, and you’ll be astounded by how excited they are to have a voice that is heard.

Taken together, these various points all drive at the same message – in the social business marketplace the most effective way to build your brand is to genuinely serve your community through the content and engagement you create. If you demonstrate true concern and actions for their well being, they will take you and your business much further than you could ever do on your own.

It means you’ve used an idea that is too obvious, and too overused….And it’s something which probably lots of your competitors have done.

You’re better than them – you deserve a company logo that stands out.

It can be hard to protect against clichéd ideas, especially if you need a logo to use as soon as possible. But if you follow these 11 tips I promise that you’ll end up with a logo that does your company justice.

1.  Spend time getting inspired

The easiest way to protect against cliché is to start with an original idea. Easier said than done? Check out our article for places to get inspiration for your logo (including some rather unusual ones you may not have thought of).

2. Write a good quality brief

Give your designer as much information as possible and maximise the number of ideas that they can draw upon. This is about your designer understanding the unique qualities of your company – so make it as clear and detailed as you can.

3. Use a professional logo designer

A professional logo designer makes it their job to think creatively about how to interpret your ideas and your brief in a custom and original way. While their hands are tied by the specifications and ideas that you provide they are skilled in bringing out that spark which makes you, you. Plus, if you want advice on additional ideas and directions you’ll be in the hands of an expert.

4. Get a wide variety of concepts designed

The more concepts you get, the more alternative interpretations of your brief and your ideas that you’ll get.

5. Be critical of your ideas and your designs

Look at your ideas and your designs with scrutiny. Try and put yourself in the shoes of your customers and see your company as a stranger would – do they get the right impression?

6. Think carefully about colour

Colour is an important decision in logo design. Don’t make the decision lightly. See what your competitors do and consider using a different colour so that you stand out – but make sure the psychology and associations are still right. Take a look at our INFOGRAPHIC on the impact of colours on your logo to learn more.

7. Have meaning behind your icon

Don’t have an icon for the sake of it. A successful logo icon has meaning behind it, and one of the easiest way to fall into cliché is to use an obvious icon that has no real thought behind it.

8. Try a different style

All the same elements of a logo in a different style make a very different logo. Don’t be afraid of trying more than one style to see how it looks and whether it fits you.

9. If you’re going to have a character, be sure to give them life

If you want to have a character in your logo make sure that they are fully developed. A successful character is unique, original and has a real spark of personality immediately evident. Tell your designer a bit about them to help them draw this out.

10. Display more than one basic emotion

The more nuanced a feeling you want to get out of your logo the better. If you just want your logo to be happy, or sophisticated, or luxurious then you are more likely to end up going down a clichéd design path. 3 or more feelings and you are starting to really narrow down on your uniqueness.

11. Ask for opinions

Ask your colleagues, friends and family for opinions throughout the process. Do they think your ideas are original? That the design accurately portrays your company values? Is it effective at communicating your message?

And remember – even if you start with a slightly clichéd idea doesn’t mean you’ll end up with a clichéd logo. It’s all about the execution, the revisions and imbuing your logo with significance. Why did your mind spring to that idea? Can you develop it?…Now we’re getting somewhere!

Enjoy creating your logos everyone! They’re going to blow your competition away!

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One important legal topic that it is vital to have a good beginner’s grasp on is Copyright and Intellectual Property.

So here (broken into easy-to-digest knowledge nibbles) are the 7 important things business owners need to know about copyright and logos.

1 – Knowing what Copyright is

Copyright is a legal concept that deals with the right to copy original intellectual work. If you are the holder of a logo Copyright then you are able to take legal action against someone who has infringed or plagiarised your logo design.

2 – Copyright doesn’t protect ideas – it protects the expression of ideas

Copyright can’t protect an idea because an idea doesn’t exist as an original intellectual work until it has been expressed and recorded.

What does this mean in terms of protecting your logo? It means that the execution is everything. Two logos with a company name and a spanner icon next to them (while potentially being based on the same idea) are still likely to have many aspects that make them different (font used, or the style or placement of the spanner).

3 – You need unique designs to claim copyright for a logo (why you need a professional logo designer)

You can’t claim copyright for a logo that has been created on a free logo maker. This is because they are made using templates so the expression of the idea is not original. This is why you need a professional logo designer to execute your logo design – their original, creative interpretation of your ideas (custom designed from scratch) will be guaranteed to be uniquely expressed.

4 – Be careful with characters if they are inspired by something famous

Characters are protected by copyright, so you have to be careful if you want to draw upon a figure from literature or film in your logo. You can still use the same basic idea or inspiration, but you have to make sure that the character is drawn (expressed) in a genuinely unique way. If you aren’t sure, don’t risk it – get advice from a lawyer.

The best course of action is to start with an original character idea.

5 – Taglines/Slogans might be protected by Copyright

An effective tagline or slogan is usually very short – the most simplified statement of what you do or what you stand for. However, such a simplified ideas which is only 2, 3, or 4 words long will be almost impossible to protect under Copyright as you can’t prove that the expression is unique.

However, if it is a phrase long enough, and complex enough then it might be protected (but it is unlikely to be a good tagline). But if you want to protect a slogan you are probably better off protecting it under trademark (see below).

6 – Your company name isn’t protected by Copyright

Copyright doesn’t protect names in their own right, but your trading name will be automatically protected by ‘Passing-off’ legislation which is designed to stop a person or organisation from poaching trade from a more established company.

7 – Protect your brand’s identity with a Trademark

A trademark is a legal concept which protects the identifying traits of a brand. It can include a name, word, slogan, design, symbol, or anything unique to the identity of the company (or company products). Registered trademarks can be identified by the abbreviation ‘TM’ or the ® symbol (N.B. it is illegal to use this symbol or state that a trademark is registered before it has been officially registered)

How do I actually go about copyrighting my logo, or getting it trademarked?

Copyright
You don’t need to do anything to copyright your logo! You automatically get copyright protection when you create (or own the rights to) something original. For more details see here.

Trademark

Trademark registration lasts 10 years and is valid in the country of registration. You’ll need to check that your brand qualifies as a trademark, and find out if anything similar already exists. You can then apply to register your trademark. (We’ve written all about places to get information on that here)

For an overview see here.

We aren’t legal experts

We are a design agency and not legal experts. If you have any questions about copyright or trademarks contact your solicitor who will be able to advise you.

Building a brand isn’t easy. From the moment your business is conceived, you must consider how you want to be perceived, who your target audience will be, and how you’ll reach them. Your brand is the ambassador for your products and services. Customers should learn everything they need to know by your logo, slogan, and social media interaction. Your reputation then comes after, once people have a chance to sample what you offer. That word of mouth also goes into building your brand.

If you’re lucky, you’ll pull in loyal customers who are happy to spread the word. Your employees will be the best you could possibly hope for. And your bottom line will be well into the black. However, even when everything is going well, you may be aware that your brand—your identity—still doesn’t mesh with your services or your company culture. When this happens, you may be tempted to leave things just as they are rather than mess with success. Just remember that this incongruity will continue to eat at you, and eventually, your customers will notice that something’s not quite right.

So how can you make changes to your company’s face without leaving it completely unrecognizable? There are ways, so never fear. We’ve got some tips to make changes that will leave you feeling more comfortable with your brand.

Get the Whole Truth

Your first task is to determine whom you can trust to tell it just like it is. Believe it or not, you’ll want to include your detractors in this list. After all, aren’t they just looking for a reason to tell you what they think? You need people who aren’t afraid to sugarcoat the facts, and your closest friends and business associates may be tempted to hold back.

Start with the most visible aspects of your company and begin tearing them down. Discuss the colors and how they represent the services you offer. Decide if your logo is too edgy for your buttoned-down business or too tame for your wild and crazy services. The same goes for your slogan. These are the first things your customers will see, and they really need to tell everyone what you’re all about.

Remember, however, that your brand isn’t just your colors and logo. You’ll need to attack from all angles, including your customer service policies, the tone of your web copy, the message you send through social media, the environment of your store—whether online or brick and mortar—and the staff you employ. If you’re not entirely aware of the many aspects of your current brand, branding giant RiechesBaird has a handy brand strategy wheel to help you identify the many parts.

When you discover the issues with your branding strategy, devise changes that will allow you to keep the majority of your previous decisions. For instance, the colors could change without requiring a full design project on the logo. You might find an edgier way to word your slogan without changing the message completely. The trick is to be recognizable even after you’ve made the switch, or you’ll confuse your customers.

Keep It Under Wraps

While making your changes, make sure to keep them close to vest until you’re ready for the full unveiling. Nothing makes rebranding harder than having to rebrand yet again if you don’t get it right the first time. If you make changes publicly where your customers can see them before you’re ready to present your new face to the world, you’ll only create confusion.

Spread the Word

It’s exciting to hit upon new ideas, but you should gather your team together and put together a comprehensive plan for unveiling your new brand. Your new image includes so much more than your colors and website design. The words you use to present your new image should jive with the new brand, too. You can cover this with your web copy, press releases, social media, and blogs. If you can’t keep your message consistent with your business brand, all the changes you’ve made will be for nothing.

Get everything ready together, from your logo and slogan to your website design to your social media strategy. Make sure everything is in line, double check your plans, do a dry run of the presentation, and then do it all again. It’s imperative that your transition from one face to a new one is as seamless as possible.

When you’re sure you’ve got it right, it’s go time. This is where all your hard work should pay off. If you’ve followed the tips outlined here, there’s no reason your customers should be confused by your new image. Your social media content, press releases, blog, and web copy should answer any questions they may have about your reasons for the change.

Damage Control

No matter how well you plan, many of your customers could still be alarmed by your changes. Be ready to reassure your most loyal supporters that you’re not going anywhere. The rumors could include speculation about changes in management, mergers between multiple companies, or even last-ditch efforts to save a business. With an excellent damage control plan in place, you can glide smoothly over the bumps into your new, improved, and successful brand image.

And that’s how it’s done.

Image credit: freedigitalphotos.net/Stuart Miles

Windows 8: Less Talking, More Doing

This 32-second spot throws a lot of punches at the ol’ iPad, from Siri’s flaws to general functionality and price. Microsoft doesn’t even stop there, but throws in a parody of Apple’s iPad mini commercial from last fall. Just for good measure, right?

Too much? Or just enough? In a way, it seems as though this brand-building tactic was developed in Apple’s Get a Mac campaign. For Windows to – albeit rather loosely – cop it is a bit blatant. Then again, why not?

Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone

The Nokia Lumia, though a Windows phone, takes an outsider’s approach in this ridiculous one minute-long spot. Though this ad is satire, it contains a good amount of truth, from the congregation raising its phones as one to the deep division between iPhone and Galaxy users.

Though Nokia does highlight the (dare I say) silliness of the iPhone/Galaxy wars, Nokia is at the same time a bit naïve to think that its own phone will suddenly swoop in and wipe out the controversy. It’s doubtful that too many iPhone users will be switching over to the Nokia Lumia 920. Also, the Galaxy users that Nokia does win over probably don’t have any attachment to their current phone.

How does spending factor in?

According to a Forbes article from this past August, Apple spent $933 million on advertising in 2012 – a year in which they earned $108.249 billion in sales. In that same year, Microsoft spent $1.6 billion on advertising, but saw only $74.3 billion in revenue. (“Only” being just a term of comparison here. I’d be happy to see “only” $74.3 billion in revenue.)

What’s your take on Apple and Microsoft’s marketing strategies? Does the hard-hitting, razor-sharp competitive edge each one of these brands tries to capture help or hurt their images?

• Content Marketing
• Social Media Marketing
• Email Marketing
• Online Video Marketing

There are, of course, many influencing factors behind the success of all these online promotion tools. However, one of the most important elements to keep in mind is the consistent and positive process of creating an identity, building a relevant image, and maintaining the impression. In short, businesses should particularly focus on launching and improving their Personal Branding online.

Incidentally, Personal Branding imposes certain challenges on businesses with focus on online lead generation and making money online. As one would expect, standing out in a cluttered web environment amongst tough competitors is possible when an online business presents itself in a truly attractive and distinct manner.

This means that Personal Branding must be unique, appealing, valuable, and interesting enough to grab the attention of the target audience as well as convert them into loyal customers in the future. In order to overcome the challenges associated with achieving such a detailed and unparalleled Personal Branding quality, every business owner must pay attention to becoming an Online Authority.

As the name implies, a business which is recognized as an Online Authority is one that depicts leadership qualities on certain topics or its own line of business. As much as this capability leads to impressive online lead generation, it takes a lot of patience and efforts for a business to become known as a leader in a specific area. However, if an online business utilizes Personal Branding as a strategic means towards becoming an Online Authority, it can acquire a trustworthy and leading image among the target audience within a shorter span of time than usual. Here is a list of tips which are known to have a positive impact on a company’s ability to become an Online Authority:

Be the Hospitable Host

Being a common terminology used for web based seminars, hosting Webinars on topics related to your areas of specialization is a great way to portray your business as an Online Authority. Naturally, it takes a great deal of knowledge for any business to develop and share audio and video presentations on a topic to educate the target audience.

Don’t Be Embarrassed to Share Your Struggles

When a business is expressive about the challenges it faced during its journey towards becoming an Online Authority, it basically becomes an additionally persuasive source for the target audience. To put it another way, tell your prospects that you were not an expert at the time you started your business or entered the online world. In fact, you struggled through the early years to learn valuable lessons, completed the journey to success at full throttle, and evolved into a professional, seasoned, expert in your line of work. As a result of an honest approach to Personal Branding, your prospects will find it easy to view you as an Online Authority.

Be the Master of a Few Trades, Not Jack of All

Business professionals are expected to widen their online presence on multiple sources for a better impact on and reach to the target audience. Since more sources of online presence is a profitable option mainly for online lead generation, it should not be mistaken as creating Content Marketing efforts on a wide range of topics and themes. On the contrary, becoming an Online Authority requires businesses to acquire and spread knowledge on fewer subjects with full proficiency. What makes this option important and relevant is that it adds greater value for the readers and prospects rather than offering simple, mundane information on a large number of topics.

Inspire with a Reverse Effect, Not a Repel Effect

It is a misconception among most entrepreneurs, managers, or Internet Marketing professionals that they can easily influence their target audience to believe and follow their created content. On the basis of this idea, these business professionals end up sharing content which uses a tone that seems nearly forceful for the readers. As a result, the target audience is rather repelled by the content.

The best practices of several existing Online Authority businesses serve as an effective benchmark for aspiring professionals. These successful authorities often exhibit non-influencing features and tone in their content which remarkably result in inspiring people to follow their online, Content Marketing activity. In other words, an Online Authority should use a reverse effect to inspire people without using apparent and emphatic techniques to influence them. One of the best ways to become a free-hearted Online Authority is to continue offering valuable content without making forceful calls to action.

Easy and Meaningful Words Can Beat Big Words

Keep away from trivial talk using big words, because the results of doing so are far from impressing the target audience to build a bond with your business. The key to touch the heart of your prospects is to offer them content which adds value to their lives. But, this should be done in a simple manner and language. Put simply, a business that becomes an Online Authority is naturally recognized as a wise source of certain information. However, this reputation is not always a result of complicated topics or language. In fact, easy and meaningful language which offers useful information always wins against content that is less valuable and difficult to understand at the same time.

All these tips, that are likely to lead your business to becoming an Online Authority, offer the inevitable benefits of increase in online leads, converted customers, and profitability. This is only because an authoritative unparalleled Personal Branding leads you to be a symbol of reliability, trust, and quality. These are all important elements which motivate the target audience to move forward and make business transactions with you. All you have to do is to wisely use Content Marketing as the main tool to build and promote your Personal Brand online.

An individual’s success is directly related to their ability to influence others, because having good presentation skills captures the interest of the audience and eventually transforms their view to your point of view. The skill to speak effectively is crucial to building a brand and to the success of the business. If you are someone who is very knowledgeable about your field of work and you have the ability to share that knowledge effectively, people will look to you as an expert in that field. This in turn, will help you in your word of mouth marketing strategy for the brand because people will not only rely on your products, they’ll also look for advice and recommendations.

But not everyone has the gift of gab. In fact, a lot of people dread speaking or presenting in public. This doesn’t mean that this skill can’t be learned. With this in mind, here are some of the tips that will get you comfortable when speaking in public so you have a positive impact on others.

Public speaking tips

Your presentation skills are greatly influenced by the efforts you put into preparation. Start with choosing the right clothes to wear. Dressing is very important in creating an impression to the audience. Aim for a decent and professional look; it makes you more comfortable and confident, aspects that will be reflected to the audience who will focus more on what you have to say rather than your clothes and appearance. Prepare visual aids, handouts, posters, and other helpful material to aid your oral presentation. Not everyone in your audience will concentrate for the full length of the presentation, so these aids come in handy to pique their attention.

Prepare a speech beforehand. Thoughts are scrambled and words are hard to put together if you choose to do things on the fly. A readily prepared speech gives you pointers to base the presentation on, and also conveys an organized flow of thought and ideas. Don’t forget to practice it, too!

Have a clear message. It is essential that you know the purpose and objectives of the message. [tweet this]

Be clear and concise in your delivery. Again, the audience will likely shift their attention to something else if you start rambling on about a particular highlight. Keep it at most three points per topic, to keep from burdening the audience with too much information. Further explanations to particular topics can be supplemented by printed handouts and booklets.

Deliver your message effectively. It is very important to know how to express your message to your audience. Avoid using words or phrases that are unfamiliar with your audience, or that may be deemed as technical/jargon. Be conscious of the tone of your voice as it will set the mood. It helps to share stories, quotes, and anecdotes that your audience can identify with. Doing this increases the engagement levels with the audience, and makes them more receptive to the presentation. At the end, interact with them by asking questions or feedback about what you have just presented.

Public speaking, though not easy at first, is a very important tool to keep in your word of mouth marketing arsenal. It provides you with a clear path to the audience’s mind, so you have to be on your A-game before, during, and after the presentation. Keep these tips in mind and you’re sure to pull off a great public presentation.

Author:

Maria Elena Duron, is managing editor of the Personal Branding Blog, CEO (chief engagement officer) of buzz2bucks– a word of mouth marketing firm, and a professional speaker and trainer on developing social networks that work. She provides workshops, webinars, seminars and direct services that help create conversation, connection, credibility, community and commerce around your brand. Maria Duron is founder and moderator of #brandchat - a weekly Twitter chat focused on every aspect of branding that is recognized by Mashable as one the 15 Essential Twitter Chats for Social Media Marketers.

Looking Great

As an online business owner, you probably don’t see yourself as a designer and certainly not as an artist. You’re in business to do business, period. This is without question a strong dogma to have if you are shooting for success for your business. But there is the element of the look of one’s business to consider, too, and how to ensure that look can assist you in making your business work that much more successfully.

The principle today is the same as it was pre-Internet: you need to represent yourself graphically so that the outside world will take notice of your business in order to become interested in purchasing its goods and services. There’s been no theoretical change from then until now; but where the principle does get altered today is the rigmarole of current digital applications that are out there to do the task of giving a business a unique look and ultimately executing a great corporate identity development.

When it comes to thinking graphically for your web site design and other related graphic business needs, you have to be sharp, considerate, and decisive. Your business represents you, and so you need just the right graphic content to get the public interested in your business: no matter how crazy the applications might be, you have to be specific in picking the right look for your business to be used for practical purposes.

Taste Over Tenacity

Going back to the previously mentioned notion of how many design programs there are today for the digital business world, it’s safe to say that there are a ton, and they are all for specific purposes. For example, you can now do your own custom photography services right from your laptop and then fool around with web site graphics on top of the images. It’s pretty amazing.

For an online business owner, the very least that needs to be done is to sit down, figure out what graphic programs are necessary, and then do some research to find the right one. While you may be limited in your creative ability, it’s worth getting your hands on the programs to understand how they work and even messing around with them to see just what you can do yourself. Adobe seems to carry the most popular products, with many graphic functions built into a single program.

What’s even more important to learn while accessing these programs is how to think graphically when using them. There is a tendency for some online business owners to go for the whole enchilada—they use every function these programs offer, and then find some way to squeeze them all into their graphic content. That’s a mammoth task and usually produces the most visually unappealing results possible. Whenever you are doing graphic-based business tasks, be it a border for your newsletter and catalogue design or testing out logo design and development through a palette-type graphic program, you are advised to exercise refined taste at all times. No matter what the tech pros are doing these days with web site design services or graphic renderings that seem to the viewer’s eyes to jump out of the screen, it’s often best to use minimal colours, patterns, and images. A little taste will create its own tenacity in the business world later.

Making Over

The challenging thing about all of the graphic material for businesses today is that it’s akin to the fashion world. It changes constantly, from trend to trend. This means that, like it or not, you are often going to have to redo your online material to bring it up to modern tastes for consumer appeal. It can be tough, and you might see yourself as lacking the skills to do this. But don’t worry; just keep contact information handy for good web site design services or consultants who can act as your backup and help ensure you are on top of the current trends for online appearance. So, you might have to worry about “fashion,” but that can make you fashionably successful in the end.

To get more help on all your SEO, web site design, and web traffic needs, e-mail Numero Uno Web Solutions Inc. at info@numerounoweb.com.

Talk about a social media strategy gone terribly wrong.

Taylor Chapman, who works for an SEO company called Power Sales Team, as a “video spokesperson,” didn’t learn the first rule of social media.  That rule is: social media is a fast-moving train with no brakes.  Once you post something on your Facebook page, it can quickly go viral – especially when it involves drama!  You can’t take it back.  You can’t stop the train from rolling along and picking up speed.

What Ms. Chapman also didn’t learn was that the thing you spent years building up can be torn down in just a matter of minutes.   To say that Ms. Chapman’s personal brand is destroyed is an understatement; it’s been beaten into tiny little pieces with a sledgehammer.   But, can she fix this?  Can Ms. Chapman successfully rebuild her brand?

Yes, Taylor Chapman can rebuild her brand.  Ask BP.  They did it!

What Taylor Chapman should know is that people are fickle and most of us have an extremely short-term memory.   With a solid public relations and social media strategy, Ms. Chapman can take advantage of the fact that most people won’t remember this situation in a couple of years.    The very tools Ms.  Chapman used to destroy her reputation – social media and video – can also be used to rebuild it.

My suggested re-branding strategy for Ms. Chapman:

1.  Go back to the Dunkin’ Donuts store and film a video of herself apologizing to the employees

2.  Post that video on Facebook (she would have to open a new account, of course)

3.  Film a video of herself making a public statement about how inappropriate her behavior was.  She needs to throw herself at the mercy of the entire web population

4.  Do interviews with podcasters and bloggers, emphasizing that she understands her behavior was rude, racist and unacceptable

5.   Get a job working in retail and blog about the rude customers she has to deal with every day.  This will help show that she finally understands what it’s like to be on the other side.

Notice how I mention nothing in this strategy that suggests she explain why she did what she did.  All of my suggestions are meant to position her as someone who has accepted her faults and wants to do whatever she can to make things right.  People don’t like excuses; we like solutions.

For a very long time, potential employers will Google Ms. Chapman and find this horrific Dunkin’ Donuts issue.  She has a snowball’s chance in hell of getting any job that has her dealing with live human beings.  A carefully executed social media and public relations strategy can help her rebuild her personal brand and show potential employers that she’s a changed person.

I wish her luck.

You just cant say that! One of the hardest subject matters for us to honestly address with clients is the appearance of their corporate logo. For many business owners their logo is like a child and they’re understandably protective of it and find it nearly impossible to see the reality that their logo just might be well, ugly…

“Yes sir, your logo looks great….the 1995 SWOOP and the cool outer glow effect from Photoshop1.2 are awesome! The font rocks….Times Roman right? Yes, I know everyone tells you it’s great…and kudos to your cousin’s son who came up with the concept…”

No, those thoughts never run through my head while listening to a client’s hundred and one reasons why their logo rocks. Never crosses my mind : )

Actual “Slice of Life” Example:

Recently we re-branded the Scott-Long Construction logo which had been the same for 50 years. It was a good logo, but was growing out of date. We were able to maintain the personality of the logo, while bringing a modern fresh look and feel that went well with the rebranding of the new site, brochures, signs etc. BUT it was not an easy process. It took time and vision. After many rounds of revisions we finally had a logo we all loved. There was much internal resistance and the project nearly got canned, but a year later the good folks at Scott-Long will tell you how dramatic the change in their brand has affected the perception of their organization.

You can see their new logo live here http://www.scottlong.com

Why you SHOULD do it.

If you read this far, your logo probably does need work, and your subconscious knows it (we aren’t saying it’s ugly!) …but here are the real reasons to take the time to keep your logo fresh:

• It shows your care about your brand and are on top of the times, which tells your customers how you will treat their respective interests in your business.
• Older logos will not “match” with new media such as web redesigns, email and landing pages, blogs, etc.
• It creates rejuvenation in your brand image and amongst your customers.
• It increases morale internally.
• Every big brand you can imagine has done it, numerous times.

Take a look at this brilliant article that shows the EVOLUTION of major brands. It’s a walk down memory lane and you can easily see that if some of these companies had stuck with their original or even the 2nd or 3rd version of their logo the brands would look like a teenager today wearing parachute pants and members only jackets (well that fad will probably return soon). Here’s the article.

Let’s try to make some lemonade out of this:

• People are cynical. Especially of things they find on the internet. A product with overwhelmingly positive views could easily become suspected of paying people to write faked, gleaming words of praise. This also means that people can generally see through obviously exaggerated reviews – good or bad.
• Even so, according to this study, positive reviews hold more sway than negative ones, especially when the positive was read first.
• Consider negative reviews a chance to show how helpful and receptive the company is, and to establish a personal relationship with the consumer. Personally, after having a bad experience with a company fixed and made up tenfold, I’m much more likely to go out and recommend it to my friends than if I had an average-to-good experience.
• Responding is super easy if the brand has a well-established presence in social media, in order to facilitate conversation between brand and customer. This is a great way to turn a negative experience into a brand advocate.
• Many review websites, such as Yelp and Google+ Local, have noticed issues of people writing fake reviews and now have programs to filter out what they consider paid reviews. Of course, their algorithms aren’t perfect, but they claim that accidentally deleting real reviews is better than leaving fake ones.
• And finally, perhaps the customer is right. Take it as some constructive criticism and look at how to change the brand in order to suit the customer.

One last thing – there’s a bonus for small companies. Research shows that small companies are slightly more likely than large corporations to receive high ratings. But no matter what kind of reviews a brand gets, there is definitely at least one wrong way to react: à la Amy’s Baking Company.

One of the companies that has done an amazing job at this lately has been Sears. Of course we all known of local Sears in our areas and in our favorite malls, but until recently they really didn’t have the online reach and shopping experience that they should have.

Over the past couple of years they have really done an amazing job at catching up with the times and getting more tech savvy. You will even notice in some of their stores that all of the workers in the appliances and electronics area are now required to walk around with iPads to answer questions and fill orders. Very tech savvy indeed!

As for online marketing, they have also done an amazing job in this area as well.

Take the time to search for any Sears name or appliance they sell and there is a good chance that you will find them right at the top of the search results, as seen in the screenshot below.

Also, Sears has been taking Facebook by storm, and not just with their own Fan Page which currently boasts over 2 million fans. Just recently I was searching for new appliances for my home through Google and then I started to see Facebook Ads appear on the right side of the page for the same appliances I was looking for and yes… they were a Sears ad! Very impressive again Sears!

As you can see, there are plenty of ways to grow your existing local and retail based business, but when it comes to transitioning them to the internet there are right and wrong ways for doing this. Kudos to Sears for dramatically expanding their reach and paving the way for our favorite “real world” businesses to make the leap to being more internet based.

Who Makes Barcodes?

Barcode numbers are assigned to products by a non-profit organization. Those numbers are then given to a firm hired by the company to create the associated barcode. The UPC code is important for stores because it allows them to re-price products without going around and tagging each item. Now there are several new firms around the world that are making vanity barcodes as an alternative to the traditional barcodes. This emphasis on graphic design represents a revolution in the highly standardized barcode industry.

Who’s Using Vanity Barcodes?

Vanity barcodes are mostly used by smaller companies, but even the marketing giant Nestle has been testing the waters of the vanity barcode. Larger companies are hesitant to change their barcodes, since a poorly designed barcode can prevent a product from scanning properly. For big brands, that could mean huge slow downs for stores. With smaller companies, there is less concern, and barcodes can be field tested before they are applied more widely to products.

Some brands you might recognize that are using vanity barcodes include Bear Naked granola, whose barcode features a growing stalk of wheat, and Skinny Cow desserts, whose new vanity barcodes are shaped like a cow’s spot. Yael Miller’s vanity barcode company has designed barcodes that look like beer mugs, cameras, the state of California, and more. In today’s market where options abound and consumers have an array of products to choose from, any clever marker that helps your brand or product stand out is worth considering.

The vanity barcode is also sometimes just that – vanity. Some Duane Reader pharmacies have added New York themed barcodes to their store brand items, but those barcodes are not meant to be scanned. These barcodes are simply a fun design element that customers can enjoy.

You Can Have Your Own!

Hopping on the vanity barcode trend, there are now also vanity QR codes. You can get your own QR code with your text embedded in it, such as your name. This is an easy way for small companies to create a graphic link on their advertisements. Or, if you’ve always wanted to see your name in code, you can create your own!

Will your business be tempted to use or create vanity barcodes? Have you seen them on products you buy?