• For making every football Saturday during my four years at Penn State unforgettable, whether we won or lost, and we mostly won.
• For all he did for the “kids” who towered over him as his Penn State players.
• For  his selfless contributions to support excellence at Penn State.
• For his commitment to academics and the achievement of his players.
• For the way he ran on the field with the team.
• For the thrill of winning a national championship my senior year.
• For giving me a sense of pride in my school that began at age 18 and is still with me today.
• For scaring the crap out of me when I walked down my dad’s basement and glimpsed from the corner of my eye a life-size “pop-up Joe” in the shadows.
• For being a fellow Italian who made my dad proud.
• For being a role model of perseverance.
• For the way 50,000 people in Beaver Stadium would shout “Jopa” and the other 50,000 would shout “Terno.”
• For his rolled up pants, white socks and black shoes.
• For the way he screamed at players who taunted the opponent or celebrated too much.
• For being carried on the shoulders of his team more than once, and the joy on his face.
• For being strong while being humble.
• For his fight and his unwavering loyalty to white and blue.

Thanks for the moments. We’ll miss you, Joe.

What is branding?  Heart & Mind® Branding.

I guess you can say the Kardashian’s are models, in a way. Kim Kardashian was discovered through an explicit sex video that launched her “claim to fame.” Then, Ryan Seacrest discovered the entire Kardashian clan for a reality show. But what is their brand position, really? What do they stand for? opportunism comes to mind, but I hope there is something more.

To make their brand position even more confusing, I read earlier this week that Celebuzz has teamed up with the Kardashian Kollection and Sears to kick off a t-shirt design contest. What? The winner’s concept will be put into production for the next Kollection line, and they’ll also receive $1,000 to spend at Sears.

Talk about confusing brands! Now the Kardashian’s, Sears and Celebuzz are in the t-shirts business? Which is it then? T-shirts, designer wear, appliances? I’m confused. Maybe you the winner of the $1,000 will buy a new washer or dryer with their new-found fortune?

At HEASLEY&PARTNERS, we work every day defining brands for companies, products, programs  and people. We look for what is Genuine, Meaningful and Different. Is the brand genuine to its audience, meaningful to the people it serves and different than the competition? I don’t believe the Kardashians or Sears are being “genuine” (except for their genuine desire to cash in from from each other). And what does Sears mean to Kardashian fans? What does Kardashian, a brand that’s all about $20 million engagement rings and being married to a pro basketball player) mean to Sears lovers?

Perhaps Sears is simply trying to attract a new, younger shopper and are hoping the K-Kollection can do it, that it’s “different” enough to drive new shoppers. I doubt Sears gave the Kardashian’s fashion foray a home expecting nothing in return; certainly they expect the brand to carry clout.

Before you think I am a Kardashian basher, guess again. I’m a fan, and avid viewer of “Keeping Up With The Kardashians.” They offer a good entertainment reality show. Not many families live the lifestyles they do, have their family dynamics and act out in such outlandish ways. But, that is what makes them entertaining, that is what makes them genuine, meaningful and different as a reality show family. But does it mean they are clothing designers? Does it mean they are a “brand fit” with Sears? Momanager, Kris Jenner may have taken the brand one step too far this time…in the wrong direction.

*Update- With the recent news of Kim Kardashian filing for divorce after only 72 days of marriage, business could be good but the Kardashian brand will most likely be damaged.

What is branding? Heart & Mind® Branding.

So, in the days that followed, I found myself online viewing past episodes, and with the same results…wiping tears from my eyes at the acts of CEO goodwill helping a few select employees they had worked with.  But then it dawned on me, what about all those other employees the CEO didn’t have the chance to meet, or to work with one-on-one? Are they any less significant?  Why don’t they get their first franchise paid for, or get mentored by the President?  And then I thought, “Are the CEOs only doing these kind things and making changes in the company for the camera?”  I then started to get mad.

Why do CEO’s have to go “undercover” to find out what is going on in the front lines of their company?  Wouldn’t you think CEO’s would have a vested interest in the employees and people who “make things happen?”  Do they really get that disconnected with the people that work for them?

Where I work, at HEASLEY&PARTNERS, we believe every organization has two sides:  A heart side and a mind side.  The heart side is the creativity, the passion, the drive, the higher purpose.  It’s the most valuable of all assets, yet it is hard to quantify.  The mind side is the realities of business—things like profit and revenue, sales quotas and sales projections, processes and procedures, budgets and quarterly goals, rules and regulations.

Undercover Boss really brings out the fact that CEO’s are so immersed in the mind side of their companies, they forget there is heart in their employees and the jobs they take pride in every day. The show doesn’t bring out what is great about a company or a CEO, it shows how disconnected they are from the reality in their own organizations and from the people. The heart of the organization has always been there, they just have never taken the time to notice. Do they really need a reality TV show to bring this to their attention?

When you think about it, finding the heart of an organization doesn’t take that much effort.  What it does take is a CEO, or management, to “recognize” the people that work for them, and the hard work they do day-in and day-out.  It doesn’t take a lot of effort, or money, to learn a first name, ask about a family member or even say “job well-done.”  All it takes is a little recognition that everyone plays an important role in the organization and that they are significant. It doesn’t matter if employees are recognized with $25,000 to start a franchise or a plaque in the hallway with “Employee of the Month.”  The employees on the show all said the same thing…”It’s so nice to be recognized after all these years.”  Years?  Does it really take that long?  Should it take that long?

Now when I watch “Undercover Boss”, I don’t get emotional and cry at the revelations the CEOs have about how they are going to improve the company and help employees, I get emotional at the fact it took a reality TV show to bring it to light for them.  Couldn’t they have made the changes they did to better the company and the lives of all the employees, instead of just a few, without the TV show? Or, does it take “lights, camera, action” to find the real heart of an organization? We believe they can, and we do it for them everyday.

What are your thoughts?

What is branding? Heart & Mind® Branding.

Let’s be blunt, guys like Steven Tyler and Bret Michaels have been around. They’ve been around and around. They may be rock legends but finding new audiences in our cluttered world is like starting all over again. They simply have to do what we all have to do whether we are launching or relaunching a brand: They have to find a platform to communicate their heart.

Interestingly, in nearly all cases, these celebs are reinvigorating their careers not by being the tough, hard-driving rockers we all came to know them for. Instead they are taking an approach that is more genuine to their lives today. They are being real and if they can teach us anything about branding from their own brand success, it’s that “real” sells.

Bret Michaels

Here’s a guy–rocker from Poison–who came on The Celebrity Apprentice last season (and made a repeat appearance last night) with most of us thinking he’s just the womanizing washed up rock star from the MTV reality show “Rock of Love.” Few expected much from him–Donald Trump said so much–other than entertainment value.

Then Bret started to reveal Bret. He dropped the rocker shell for the most part. You learned he was in the game to win money and raise awareness for the American Diabetes Association. You learned he is a lifelong diabetic and feels for anyone who has to live with this disease. You witnessed the phone call where he learned that his young daughter’s tests came back abnormal and that she is now borderline diabetic. You saw his pain. You learned he was a hard-working, tough competitor who doesn’t quit. His own health issues played out on TV. It was impossible for Bret to be the tough rocker. Millions fell in love with Bret and his career soared to new heights. He’s pretty much everywhere now.

Steven Tyler

They said that American Idol would be washed up without the sharp-tongued Simon Cowell. Well this season proved them all wrong with high viewership and record votes. The reason is because we have Steven Tyler. Who could have ever expected that the lead singer of Aerosmith would bring such spirit to this show? After all he’s the “Love in the Elevator” guy. How could we have known he’d give us such “Sweet Emotion” after every contestant’s performance this season? You can’t help but feel his heartfelt love of music, talent and commitment. The guy is connecting for the first time with millions of people who were not Aerosmith fans, but they are now. Record sales are way up.

What you are seeing here is yet more proof that we buy from people we like, and that we can spot a phony a mile away. It also proves that being genuine is golden. When you’re real and reveal your heart, people fall in love with you and your brand. Of course, if your heart is rather Grinch-like, the real you may not be quite so lovable!

Why so few people get this simple fact is a mystery to me. I see cases of it everywhere. Just look around. You’ll see that when you find your platform, are the real thing and that real thing is loveable, you’ll want to hang on tight. Success will come faster than you may think.  Bret and Steven, thank you for showing us yet again that genuine heart is the power of any brand–even tough, cool rock stars.

What is branding? Heart &  Mind® Branding.

2.0 has appeared in the HBO series “Oz,” on the Showtime series “Jeremiah” and in the movie “Johnson County War” among others. Luke appeared to have found his new brand and a more mature audience. But then in 2006, it was as if he stepped into his past to star in NBC’s “Windfall,” a show about a group of friends whose lives change post college after they win the lottery.

Rumors abound that he’ll make a guest appearance on “90210.” He says he won’t reprise his role as Dylan, and that’s a good thing. That’s not where the Perry brand needs to go. Fifteen years ago he didn’t fall victim to fickle fans who one day ogled his poster and the next day tucked it in the back of the closet with the rest of the 90’s stuff. Perry was smart, he left them in search of his next brand reinvention. How many times in business have brands held on to the cushy, comfortable gravy train long after they should have jumped off? How many times have brands been blinded by the money and forgot about their heart? Blockbuster Video, Borders and Newsweek are all teetering because they kept doing what made them money and missed the inevitable market shift. They forgot about finding and serving the new customer until it was too late.

Perry, his agent or both were smart.  They knew teen-idol status is short lived, so they shifted ahead of the curve. That meant brand reinvention time, and unfortunately, it’s not as easy as Madonna has made  it look over the years. Finding that next point of relevance is risky. And it often takes a complete brand transformation—around a strong foundation—to find a new audience.

Luke Perry continues to work at his brand. My guess is that Luke 3.0 is in incubator right now. It’s like the quiet period before a company goes public. But here’s a note of caution. The world is moving quickly and you can get left behind even if you are on the treadmill; it’s worse if you appear to be off it entirely.  Luke needs to burst back on the scene to gain relevance fast.  All the best Luke, but know I’m not just talking to you. I’m talking to myself and all of us as brands, too.  Big breakthroughs always require big leaps.

What is branding? Heart &  Mind® Branding.

The brand lost its way in the 1970′s.  It was purchased by Converse in 1972, but later had to be sold off when the US government filed an antitrust suit claiming that if both companies combined they would have a monopoly for sneakers.  Soon, instead of every kid needing a pair of PF Flyers, they needed a pair of Converse All-Stars.  PF Flyers continued their downward slope until New Balance bought the rights to the brand in 2001 (which had been dormant since 1992) and resurrected it in 2003.  Regardless of their roller coaster ride, movies like “The Sandlot” have given PF Flyers a permanent place in our modern culture.

PF Flyers are well on their way to making a comeback.  They went back to the heart of their company and recently did an Archival Reissue re-launch of the most popular styles from the 50′s and 60′s. You can find PF Flyers anywhere from Zappos to Neiman Marcus. Will PF Flyers ever have the status they did in the 50′s and 60′s? Stay tuned…

Check out vintage PF Flyer commercials!

What is branding? Heart & Mind® Branding.

Those brands aren’t the record labels.  No they are the artists themselves. The Beyonce’s, the Lady Gaga’s, the Chris Daughtry’s, which brings us back to American Idol.  While Simon and the gang talk a lot about singing quality and whether a performance was “pitchy” or “just okay for me” or “a complete disaster” what we’re really judging these young performers on is their brand.  Singing is just a part of it.  When the illustrious judges say, “You made the song your own,” or “You are blossoming as a performer right before our eyes,” they really mean, “You’re developing into a marketable brand.”

The transformation from rookie to rock—and in some cases pop, country or R&B—star is a journey that every business owner, every entrepreneur can study and take to heart.  Because if you notice on American Idol, the strongest brands are the ones that truly find their heart and bring it to life in every performance.  Their brand essence comes from deep within.  It’s part of their DNA.

The same goes for building a brand in business.  The strongest brands start from the heart and keep it alive for the duration. People respond. Just go to Nordstrom and you’ll see many making their pilgrimage, no matter what the economy is doing.  The principled, demanding leaders at Nordstrom aren’t willing to sell out their purpose and their passion.

But, understand just like the brands Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson or Jordin Sparks, staying true to some loftier purpose—their artistry for example—doesn’t mean they are averse to making money or being famous.  Fame is the price of serving the many, and big money is the reward for doing everything right.

Last week, Simon told one contestant, “If you’re in the bottom three every week it means you are doing something wrong.”  Notice he didn’t say, “Singing poorly.”  What he was saying was, your brand wasn’t connecting with the public.  In business the same thing happens.  It’s just harder to perceive because the feedback loop isn’t instantaneous.

And finally the ultimate winner on American Idol is the brand that can get on stage week after week and deliver a “Moment” to the audience—translated as a spell-binding, moving performance that is on brand.  Moments must happen in business, too.  Great brands create them all the time.  At Nordstrom, they are Moments Masters.  Even being assisted by the sales staff is a memorable experience.  It’s like shopping with a friend who has good taste.  Compare that to your company’s sales process.

What we’re talking about here is Heart & Mind® Branding, and it is the difference between brands that just do okay and brands that break through. This week if you happen to catch American Idol, listen carefully to Randy, Ellen, Kara and Simon and ask yourself, “Are they talking to the contestants or are they talking to me?”

What is branding? Heart & Mind® Branding.