A while back I asked the folks on Twitter to submit their biggest marketing problems. One tweeter wrote, “How do you convince the C-suite that word of mouth works, i.e. spending $ on customer gifts & special attention.” Well, getting support from the top is a problem most marketers can relate to, particularly if you work in old guard companies that haven’t seized new methods and ideas.  What do you do?  Read the rest of this entry »

Old Spice? Yes, if you are a baby boomer, Old Spice was your dad’s after shave lotion. It was of an era where masculinity was akin to images of the sea and the great courage of sailing tall ship vessels. Huh? For real…

Enter the 60′s when few mod girls wanted their guys smelling like their uncool “establishment” dads. And the 70′s disco era brought on designer fragrances like Pierre Cardin with its phallic-shaped bottle conjuring up images of bare-chested, disco-dancing  John Travolta, not dear old dad.

Tough market. The 80′s and the 90′s weren’t any more friendly; Old Spice was what grandpa smelled like, not Rick Springfield or Kurt Cobain. Old Spice seemed dead in the water never to be resurrected again.  Until…2010 and one of the most brilliant brand revivals ever staged.  Maybe it is because most original Old Spice wearers are long gone, may they rest in peace. Or maybe it is the brilliance of branding–specifically writing and casting–that has put Old Spice back on the map. Whatever it it, a brand that seemed all but gone is back.  Read the rest of this entry »

Succeeding with social media is simple, right?  Anyone can create a Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn page and make instant strides in sales and marketing.  (Cue laugh track…laugh track, go!)  Yes, people actually believe this, and while it would be great if it was true, success with social media just isn’t that simple.  It takes a lot more strategy, creativity and old-fashioned marketing smarts to make it work.  Use it incorrectly, and you can do more damage than good.  Save yourself from creating your own social nightmare by avoiding these business-busting blunders.  You’ll be glad you did. Read the rest of this entry »

Facebook is a powerful personal branding tool.  Your posts say a lot about you.  Are you saying the right thing?  The key to all virtual communication is to do everything in moderation.   Every detail is not important to share.  Every photo documenting your life does not need to be posted.  Keep reading to see if you fall in one of these categories. Read the rest of this entry »

You can say what you want about the latest Nobel Peace Prize winner, Barack Obama. You can love him or hate him for his political views or his health care plan, but he has done more for Heart &Mind®  Branding and social media than just about anyone in the world.  Because it was Barack Obama who proved to the laggards (a.k.a the business community) something that the college and high school age set has known for years: that social media; i.e. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, et. al. is a fantastic way to a build relationships simply through the art of staying in touch.

To put it in business terms: using social media is a great way to build relationships with people who may or may not be your customers by attracting them to your brand, letting them get to know you and what you stand for and nurturing as many of them as you can to the level of brand enthusiast.  At last, the Internet has become a powerful vehicle for delivering the heart aspects of a brand.  It has always been good delivering the mind-based facts.

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