For years now I’ve been running around using the term brand depth hoping it would catch on and I’d be given credit! When I use the term in meetings, I always get one old schooler that leans forward and asks me; “You mean brand equity, don’t you?” Nope. The concept is really easy with the goal being to have as deep a relationship with your customers as you can. (I...
I had a very interesting conversation the other day with a very smart entrepreneur in Boulder. (Not sure if he’d want me to use his name. So I won’t!) We were talking about businesses and how “they are what they are”, for lack of a better way to say it. Meaning Google is a search/ad company. Facebook is a social company and Apple is an consumer electronics company...
According to Gartner, within 3-5 years smartphones will out number PCs and then eventually take the lead as the number one device used to access the Internet. This doesn’t take into account that more and more information that would be accessed via the Interwebs, is being accessed through apps. As evidenced by the death of the web piece by Chris Anderson. (BTW: It ain’t dead. It’s just...
Several thousand eons ago I posted about advertising becoming a form of self-expression. (It was actually in 2007 but eons sounds so much more dramatic.) The premise is that with the rise of Gen Y and their love for brands, that people would begin to display “unpaid” ads on their sites to show their support for specific companies. The ads featured down the right hand side of this site...
This is a ENORMOUS post. If I weren’t summarizing a presentation I gave last night, I would have broken it into a small miniseries with many guest stars including Betty White. So make sure you go to the bathroom before you start. Last night I got the chance to speak to a class at DU that focuses on creating business plans. Social media is perfect for the startup due to the low barriers of...
I’ve been reading Word of Mouth Marketing by Andy Sernovitz and it has some great insights. (Book report coming soon!) In one section of the book he mentions Harley Davidson, Apple and Nikon as brands that have a rabid fan base via word of mouth. These are brands that we’ve all heard of and when I thought about it, with the exception of Nikon, all are noted as a complete pain in the ass...
Summer is in full swing and once again, I’ve seen many men on scooters. Unfortunately they all, for the most part, look very uncomfortable. Not with the quality of the ride but with the fact that they’re on a glorified moped (also known as a scooter). Watching some poor emasculated sot whiz by, hoping you won’t notice him is funny to see, but one can’t help feel some...
Just talked to a friend of mine that recently joined a marketing organization and was told after he joined that he would have to stop blogging. When he asked why, he was told that it would take traffic away from the company blog. Again, this is a marketing organization, and one that sounds like it needs to get in touch with what is going on now. Most organizations hope to find someone with some...
Ford has created a new social media campaign called the Fiesta Movement and the goal is to (you guessed it) sell cars. Ford has found 100 web-minded individuals “Agents” and have given them a Ford Fiesta to test drive. Every month for six months, each Agent will be given a mission starting tomorrow. Many people in the industry are watching to see if this project is a success...
I called Maui Hawaii yesterday in the hopes that I’d be able to talk to Louie Martin, founder of Tropix Surfboards and the Maui Built brand. After speaking with a couple of people at Tropix Central, I finally got him on the phone. I asked him if I could interview him for my blog and he told me he wasn’t interested. I had 15 questions and have been looking forward to speaking with him...