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How to Create a Cult Brand
2009-05-28 15:18:00
Brands like Apple, Oprah, Harley-Davidson, Ikea and Southwest Airlines have made their competition irrelevant through brand communities they have helped nurture over the years. But why do brand communities form? And what can we learn about them? No related posts.
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What is the real worth of your logo?
2009-05-25 16:25:00
Logo designing is that part of branding which may cost you from nothing to thousands of dollars. What makes a logo designing to become so expensive or become very cheap? There are several factors involved. Normal business owner may have difficult time knowing what he should pay someone for designing a logo. Some think thousands of dollars is fine with the logo, while other will consider it a very expensive deal. Related posts:Animal Planet Logo Change You might consider me very late on this, and in...Connect the Branding Dots Logos, websites and marketing materials have to work together to...
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Brand Starts and Ends at the Core
2009-02-20 15:54:00
One thing that both these natures of brand have in common: ultimately they depend on the values, integrity and effectiveness of the organization that creates the brand. If the brand is a promise of a level of quality, you can't break the promise with immunity, especially in a digitally amplified world of blogs, forums and buzz. No related posts.
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Brand Value vs. Brand Recognition
2009-02-11 16:49:00
Let me share with you how we think about brand. There is a very important difference between brand value and brand recognition. Brand value means something to the end user. Brand recognition, all it means is a bunch of advertising to make people recognize the brand name. At HTC we care about brand value, not brand recognition. Building brand value is like earning respect; you have to earn respect, you cannot buy respect No related posts.
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Pepsi Rebranding ? The Explanation
2009-02-11 14:30:00
  I mentioned here the much discussed Pepsi Rebranding. Fast Company revealed a leaked pdf that outlines the thinking behind the controversial new Pepsi logo. If with this the designer team is trying to get excuses for their results and 5 months of working or the million dollar invoice, then they should listen to what everybody comment on ... Related posts:Pepsi Rebrading It's not the firs nor the last of big brands...

Branding retailers in time of crisis
2009-01-14 14:41:00
In an era of slow growth, tight margins, and fckle consumers, the key to success is to differentiate. One critical element in successfully differentiating is communicating that difference to consumers. Hence, branding will require special attention from retailers who want to stand out from the crowd. Related posts:Brands in Time of Crisis Retailers are also sensing more shopper experimentation. This fall, supermarkets...
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Fast Magazine?s Best and Worst Brand Extensions of 2008
2009-01-07 12:42:00
Brand extension is ?the application of a brand beyond its initial range of products, or outside of its category. This becomes possible when the brand image and attributes have contributed to a perception with the consumer where the brand and not the product is the decision driver" Fast Magazine published in an article their choice of best and worst brand extensions of last year: No related posts.
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Animal Planet Logo Change
2009-01-05 10:40:00
You might consider me very late on this, and in a way I probably am. I usually not giving bad comments on brands and logos, but this time, almost a year later, I couldn't stop myself doing it. I tyried to watch a show on Animal Planet last night. Well I pretty much couldn't... or better say I didn't enjoy it. I was totally and definitely annoyed by their new (well, already old logo). Related posts:Pepsi Rebrading It's not the firs nor the last of big brands...What is the real worth of your logo? Logo designing is that part of branding which may cost...Pepsi Rebranding – The Explanation   I mentioned here the much discussed Pepsi Rebranding. Fast...
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What Branding Is? What Branding Is Not?
2008-11-25 09:53:00
Think of your brand as a promise ... a promise you make to your clients, prospects, employees, and even your vendors. But before you make that promise, be sure you never forget this fact. It is imperative that you are able to back it up. You cannot build a successful, long-term brand on unsupported claims and wishful thinking. History is littered with companies -- big and small -- that have promoted themselves or their products as something they would like to have lived up to but could not. Related posts:Brand Starts and Ends at the Core One thing that both these natures of brand have in...
More About: Branding

Key Brand Elements
2008-11-17 20:03:00
There were probably said before, one way or another all across this blog, and not only. I just feel the need to remind them and put them in a structure. No brand can live without them, all efficient brands have them. The most important elements of a brand should be:Brand Position, Brand promise, brand personality, brand story, brand association Related posts:7 Elements of Small Business Branding Every business can increase the value they offer their customers...

7 Benefits of Personal Branding
2008-05-20 16:24:00
Corporations out there needs to understand that each and everyone within the business can contribute to the success of there corporate brand and what better way than to allow their staff to build a personal brand inline with the corporate brand. Now what benefits does a personal brand offer? 1) You get to know yourself better. 2) ...
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Identity, Message, Presentation - 3 Levels of Branding
2008-02-14 15:54:00
Identity, Message , and Presentation ? this involves a more thoughtful process of seeking to articulate the value, culture, outlook, and goals of the department, now and for the future, and crystallizing this in clear summary statements and messages. In this case, an exercise of ?brand-storming? precedes development of messages and presentation element, since those are the outflow of identity definition.
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Entrepreneurial Branding
2008-02-13 15:49:00
When it comes to building a powerhouse brand, the little guys have a huge advantage over the big guys because small businesses and entrepreneurs do not suffer from organizational inertia and usually the vision of the founder of the company is closely linked to the essence of the brand and embedded in the organization. Entrepreneurs have a chance to build entire businesses based on a powerful brand promise while large companies tend to drift away from the original promise that made them compelling and then they foolishly spend millions to try to "re-brand" which may or may not be possible.
More About: Branding

Band Branding
2007-10-30 14:50:00
A very interesting article in NY Times, couple of days ago, on how (co) branding and nowadays marketing strategies had changed the way music industry is running its business. It is focused especially on names and bands "whose generation embraced the anti-big-business motto ?never trust anyone over 30? in the 1960s, toots the corporate horn" nowadays.
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Seven Branding Secrets
2007-09-20 16:10:00
n today?s competitive business climate it is important to differentiate your brand. A sound investment is defining and communicating what is truly special about your business. Your brand will bring you the success of your business and financial results through loyal and happy customers. Your brand will tell the world why they would be crazy not to do business with you.
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Approaches to Brand Valuation
2007-07-13 15:12:00
Interesting article on brand valuation on 4hoteliers.com website. First off all the author is corectly placing the brand as a independent category among the intangible assets of a company: Brand and relationship intangibles: these include trade names, trademarks and trade symbols, domain names, design rights, trade dress, packaging, copyrights over associated colours, smells, sounds, descriptors, ...
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UK?s 07/08 Superbrands Top Announced
2007-07-13 14:48:00
Microsoft is the UK?s number one brand for the second year running according to the UK public. Microsoft took pole position beating a resurgent Coca-Cola, which re-entered the top ten following a one-year absence. Google finished third with the BBC and BP making up the public?s top five. Brands falling out of the top ...
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9 Responsibilities of a Marketing Department
2007-03-13 13:59:00
Rob Engelman is putting up a list of nine core activities / responsibilities a Market ing Department must handle. 1. Focus on the Customer 2. Monitor the Competition 3. Own the Brand. 4. Find & Direct Outside Vendors. 5. Create New Ideas. 6. Communicate Internally. 7. Manage a Budget. 8. Understand the ROI. 9. Set the Strategy, Plan the Attack, and Execute. As per ...
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Top Brand Extensions
2007-03-09 08:21:03
Brand extension is a marketing strategy in which a firm that markets a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name but in a different product category. Brands use this as a strategy to increase and leverage equity. Product extensions, on the other hand, are versions of the same parent product that serve a segment of the target market and increase the variety of an offering. An example of a product extension is Coke vs. Diet Coke A successful brand helps a company enter new product categories more easily. (more…)
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Country Brand Index 2006
2007-02-23 20:10:14
Principles of branding apply in equal measure to countries as they do to corporations. But methods are different. Count ries will compete daily with neighbors or block regions for tourism, inward investment and export sales. There?s only so much business that can go around. Those countries that start with an unknown or poor reputation will be limited or marginalized. They cannot easily boost their commercial success. Consequently, they will often languish at the bottom |of the ladder of influence. No voice or even worse, they are the butt of jokers at every regional summit. With toursim as the world’s second largest industry, and countries spending more to promote themselves, their product and their assets, FutureBrand feels it is time to look at countries in a whole new way - as brands. Since I presented here the 2005 Country Brand Index , is time now the 2006 Top 10 (number in brackets are representing last year standings): (more…)

Advertising vs. Branding
2007-02-20 02:04:03
Excellent article in current edition of Business Week, by Marc Gobé, the Chairman and CEO of Desgrippes Gobé New York, a brand design firm and the author of Emotional Brand ing : The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People and just released Brandjam: Humanizing Brands Through Emotional Design. The conclusion of the article tells it all: It’s time to remember that advertising needs brands more than the brands need advertising. A good product creates its own relationships. Understanding what the consumers want and bringing solutions that will inspire them is the most powerful way to support any business strategy. Putting consumers and the product at the center of the equation is fundamental to a brand’s success. Design then becomes the message and the advertising, as it’s proof of a company’s commitment to people and to innovation. (more…)
More About: Advertising , Sing , Advert

4+1 Key Lessons About Branding
2007-02-15 20:00:12
Mary Foley, author of Bodacious: An AOL Insider Cracks the Code to Outrageous Success for Women, has an interesting list of 5 key lessons she learned about branding while working at AOL: Every company has a brand. The question is, “Is it working for you?” Creating a brand isn’t just for the big companies; it’s for companies of all sizes. Your brand must evoke a strong emotion. Customers buy from emotion and back it up with their head. Your brand isn’t a logo. It’s everything you offer, say, and do.  Your brand needs constant tweaking. You have to start somewhere. So, you launch your company and brand, see what works, and you keep adjusting. What ultimately matters is what the customer thinks and feels. Okay, I skipped the 4th point, I’ll let you (ladies) go to the original post and find it.
More About: Branding , About , Brand , Less , Sons

More on Brand and Authenticity
2007-02-15 07:59:08
Quite a discussion is taking place on several blogs on the matter of branding and authenticity. Starting with William Arruda on his excellent Personal Brand ing blog: All successful branding is based in authenticity - that is - what?s true and genuine and unique about you. Brands are uncovered, not fabricated. The myth that branding is about spin or packaging and image management needs to be replaced by the truth that ?you can?t be someone you are not.? More on Bobby Lehew in Your Brand - Authenticity rules: I think the field has been covered well, but to state (again) the obvious: branding is not about conveying something you are not but about revealing who you are. Last, but not least on ThinkingSparks, excellent point raised by Pepita: Authenticity isn?t necessarily good. Nor does it mean good. I think of Al Qaeda, IRA, ETA, the mafia, street gangs etc. They would qualify as an authentic brand
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Defining an Authentic Brands
2007-02-10 01:52:01
In response on Pepita’s comment here is an interesting reading: Authentic brands are not about marketing. They are not products. They live inside the company. And they are held and enacted of the people, by the people and for the people! Just like the Declaration of Independence created the foundation of a nation, so does your brand act as the foundation of your company. Its principles are the framework for thought and action by everyone in the company. Without it there is no consistency, no alignment between what you say and what you do, no synchronicity between who you are inside and the way you present yourself outside. You may ask??well isn?t that the same as culture?? The answer is yes and no. Authentic brands are in many ways the identity of the company culture. They help that culture become visible. They also embody the values and purpose of the company, giving all these things a face and a voice that can be seen and heard by everyone the company touches. But especially...
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Consistency - The Most Important Aspect of Sucessful Branding
2007-02-09 13:51:01
Consistency is considered to be the most important aspect of a succesful branding by branding experts and industry opinion leaders questioned in a an Interbrand’s survey made pubilc late January this year. The experts cited understanding of Customer/Target frequently. This mirrors the finding in this report that metrics and brand research are key tools. Communication and Creative effectiveness were also frequently mentioned as critical aspects of successful branding. These open-ended responses provide a useful counterpoint to the other findings in this report. They reflect the classic tenets of branding and marketing, which are focused on knowing the customer, maintaining a consistent brand in the marketplace, and delivering winning content and creative. study says. Here is the list of the top 10 aspects of successful branding, as resulted from the study: Consistency (36.0%) Understanding of Customer/Target (18.2%) Message/Communication (14.7%) Creative/Design/Brand ID (12.8%...
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2007 - Interesting Year Start in Brands and Branding
2007-02-09 13:51:01
2007 definitely started with a lot of agitation in some of the big brands courtyard. I’d start with the Apple Computers who dropped computer from its name. The move is rather normal considering that iPod or iTunes are two of the main products of Apple Inc. and was announced in the same time with the buzzy launching of iPhone. Now, getting to this, cannot help myself not to admire the Apple capacity to create a buzz in the media, no matter that we’re talking about the internet of the classic mass media. The phone they launched is, I admit, a work of art and has a lot of great features but I wouldn’t hurry to name it neither a Blackberry killer, a computer or a smart phone. It’s more like a beautifully designed, big brand sustained swiss knife of mobiles. (more…)
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Millward Brown classification of Great Britain?s best-known brands in 2006
2007-02-09 13:51:01
Google was the best-known brand in Great Britain in 2006, although it only spent EUR 2 million on advertising, a survey carried out by consultancy company Millward Brown indicates. 2006 was the first year when Google was included in the Millward Brown classification since 1998. The world’s most popular search engine has risen to the first place in the Great Britain top of brands; the position Google occupied comes counter to the connection Millward Brown usually set between the brands’ advertising expenses and the position in the top. Most of the EUR 2 million Google allocated to advertising last year went to online advertising, according to Nielsen Media Research data. The second place in the top went to Microsoft, with EUR 59.6 million advertising budget; the next places went to McDonald’s (EUR 48.6 million), Nokia (EUR 26 million, the former first place in 2005) and Tesco. The remaining positions in the top ten went to Coca-Cola, Colgate, Nescaf?, Ford and Vodaf...
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Google Tops Landor Associates Top Brands of 2006
2007-02-09 13:51:01
Landor Associates, the world’s leading branding and design consultancy conducted a survey of the most popular brands among consumers, which rates the best and worst brands. The rankings were compiled from more than 2,000 interviews carried out by a New York design agency, Landor Associates. Its managing director, Allen Adamson, said inclusivity was a critical factor for the year’s successes. “One thing they’ve all got in common is that they appeal to multiple segments,” he said. “Google ’s become the starting point for the internet experience of almost everyone - be it the chief executive or the head [lavatory] man. At Vegas, you’ve got families with kids sitting next to people who are there to escape from their families.” (more…)
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In Case You Missed It - Branding News Roundup
2007-02-09 13:51:01
Since I had a quite long break from brand-blogging I thought I should point out some of the posts I found interesting in the branding blogosphere, just in case you missed them: Marketing a Strong Nonprofit Brand Laura Ries has run a list of 7 important things to consider when building a brand for the non-profit organizations: 1. The name 2. The spokesperson 3. The position 4. The enemy 5. PR, PR, PR 6. A signature event 7. Color and logo What is your (personal) brand worth? David Sandusky has an interesting list of questions people should ask themselves when they’re evaluating their own personal brands. What about you? What is your personal brand worth? How do people feel when dealing with you? Do they think of you when looking for an expert in your space? Do people hear from you only when you need something like a job; or are you making networking deposits regularly. More, he has a 4 steps strategy to define and maintain a personal brand: 1. Define yourself 2. Understand y...
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Popular Brands May Brand the Brain
2007-02-09 13:51:01
A new study finds that familiar brands evoke faster, more positive responses in the brain than lesser-known brands. In tests on young adults using real-time functional MRI, the logos of well-known auto and insurance companies “lit up” areas of the brain associated with warm emotions, reward and self-identity. “Furthermore, strong brands were processed with less effort on the part of the brain,” said Dr. Christine Born, a radiologist at University Hospital, part of the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany. In contrast, less-recognized brands triggered more activity in brain regions associated with working memory and negative emotions — suggesting these products were less easy to “process” and accept. (more…)
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