Helping good people build great brands.
There’s been a lot written about the “Power of YES” – the belief that life is best experienced through an attitude of affirmation. And I agree with that, in most instances. But I’m an equally firm believer in the Power of NO.
The Power of NO is really a matter of focus. Stephen Covey crystallized the concept for me when I first read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People nearly 20 years ago. Mr. Covey wrote: Continue reading “The Power of NO”
At two different coffee meetings, I ask two designers to tell me who their ideal client is. Both answer confidently.
Andy tells me this: “I can do it all – logos, print, graphic design, web – and in all kinds of industries.”
Beth tells me this: “I excel at serving clients who either need to build a visual identity from the ground up or completely overhaul an existing one, and then apply it across multiple media. My expertise is particularly deep in B2B. And my minimum for an integrated project is $20,000.” Continue reading “Who’s Your Ideal Client?”
It’s safe to say I’m a pretentious, annoying beer snob craft beer aficionado. I keep several varieties on hand at all times – just in case someone stops by! – and I regularly experiment with different breweries and styles.
So it’s not unusual that I recently found myself in the smallish (but well-curated) beer aisle of my local Whole Foods. On this day, they were featuring the Four in Hand Winter Brew. The two side panels of the six-pack looked like this:
Huh. All that real estate, and not a word about what the beer tastes like. Or even what style it is. Is it a brown ale? A porter? Roasty? Malty? Spicy? Sweet? I removed a bottle from the carton, hoping to find a clue, but there was no information there either. Continue reading “Bad Packaging Design: Lessons From the Beer Aisle”
If you own a TV, it’s hard to miss Geico ads. A billion dollars in annual spending will do that for you.
We all know the Cockney-accented lizard and the indignant cavemen. Both campaigns have evolved to be more about the characters than about anything Geico might do for you, the consumer. Continue reading “The Trouble With Geico Ads”
In the months leading up to Tuesday’s presidential election, the major news networks regularly presented the results of polls of the popular vote.
Funny thing, though – here in America, we don’t elect candidates based on the popular vote. We have an Electoral College.
A poll of the national popular vote is kind of a dumb number. Continue reading “Dumb Numbers”
Earlier this week, Esquire magazine published an article titled “How to Nail the Job Interview.” It’s written in the style of Esquire‘s recurring “What I’ve Learned” feature, which I also love – concise little statements with lots of wisdom per ounce.
In my most recent client-side position as vice-president of marketing, I hired 10 staff. And I interviewed 40-50 others in the process. With that in mind, I’d like to expand on a few of Esquire‘s tips that I thought were spot-on: Continue reading “Get the Job Interview Right”
When it comes to building your company or brand, are you in it for the long haul? Or do you seek the quick fix?
Recently, I came across a website offering a $77 paperback book that claims to teach small business owners how to draft a Unique Selling Proposition (USP). I won’t dignify this book by linking to it, but I will share a few of its sales claims, because they’re among the most ridiculous I’ve ever heard. According to the author, after reading his book, you will be able to: Continue reading “Quick Fix or Long Haul?”
That’s what a former boss said to me, more than once, when I was a young brand manager. It was her way of justifying thoughtless, copycat strategy.
Besides raising some serious concerns about my own career path, this kind of thinking destroys brand growth. Here are some alternative statements that are more true: Continue reading ““If Our Competitors Are Doing it, It Must Be Working.””
I’ve recently completed my tenure as Vice-President of Marketing for one of the largest confectioners in the US. Like most executives, I was the target of a huge number of sales calls, most of them cold.
And if my experience was representative, then the modern sales industry is in trouble. Even as they tried to sell the C-Suite, I observed disturbingly low levels of forethought, professionalism and effectiveness.
If you’re a sales professional trying to reach the CMO – or any other executive – here are the things that are working against you: Continue reading “Why You Can’t Sell to the C-Suite”
You see it all the time: Business advice that states that say you MUST do something, or suffer the consequences!
“Five Things Every Business MUST Do to Succeed in 2012!”
Or…
“Twenty Social Media Tactics You NEED to Employ – or Your Abject Failure Is a Foregone Conclusion!”