We’ve talked a lot about brands, how they choose to promote their products, and how to avoid brand nightmares. We also covered the (partial) re-branding of GM – or at least what we think they should have done!

Most companies will be lucky, they will never have to go through the process of a complete re-brand. But, there are a few who will have to…and then there are those that choose to. Of course, re-branding an entire company is not easy, and should be given the time and respect it deserves.

Which is exactly what Gro Baby did when they re-branded everything and became GroVia. Their story is explained in detail on the Fox Small Business site, but the most important details of how they made a successful re-branding happen are below:

• In the earliest stages, brainstorm. Ask yourself these simple questions: Who are we? Who are our customers? Where is our company going?
• Be absolutely certain you are working closely with an intellectual property attorney while choosing names. You are going to want to choose a name that can be registered.
• Enlist the help of a PR firm starting in those early stages, and start planning how you are going to launch your rebrand to the public.
• Know your competition. Does your rebrand set your product apart from others on the market? This is your chance to update your image; don’t try to fit in with your competition–take a risk!
• Budget accordingly. Rebrands are expensive, no matter the size of your company. Be certain you have allotted enough for a strategic public relations campaign (from press releases to interviews and events) and aggressive marketing following the launch of your brand.

Have you ever had to re-brand your business? What other suggestions do you have?

50 years ago, if a new product was introduced into the market, it was advertised through the newspapers, magazines, word of mouth and radio ads. Ad directors needed to be creative – really think through exactly what they were putting to paper, since it wasn’t cheap to run ads. They included all the details they could – people actually read the ads, curious to see the new specs and why they should be interested. These ads sold cars! I remember talking with my grandparents about old advertising – and how much they loved it. It was true – the companies put everything on the line, and their eggs in one basket. They needed these ads to work or they weren’t selling their products. They also remember the door to door salesmen – everything from the vacuum cleaner to steak knives, brought and demonstrated in home to show the public just how amazing the products really were. It was a different time for ads – and branding.

Now, we have TV, the web, social media and advertising has changed dramatically. While print advertising still exists, it has become less and less prevalent as traditional media slows. It is still necessary for branding, but print alone will not market your product. You now need to add in television, radio, social media and new technology. Of course, this is a double edged sword. While it does allow companies to diversify their marketing and  increase the touches to the customer, it can also allow for more branding problems and the need for a better strategy. You can’t just jump on twitter and be a success, just like facebook and blogging won’t save a bad business. True branding still requires the same thing it did 50 years ago – a good message, quality products and a strong brand.

Which brings me to today’s question: If you were to release a new product into the market today, how would you do it? Which tools would be the most important? The least important?

Share your thoughts!

A blog is not a magical cure all. Neither is twitter, facebook or youtube. Social media tools were created in order to make conversation easier and more effective with a larger network of people – not to sell stuff. While they can be used to help your business grow, understanding the right way to use these tools is the only way to make that happen. Just like traditional marketing, it takes time and a lot of touches before you will turn someone from a watcher to a listener and then into a buyer. You can’t push someone too quickly or they will just push back. Social media allows messages to send faster, but that doesn’t mean we need to be faster with our pitches. Let’s take the magic and mystery out of the equation, and start thinking about them as tools. To use social media properly you must:

1. Share content – not sales pitches.
2. Be involved in the conversation.
3. Create quality not quantity.
4. Offer help and advice without expecting it in return.
5. Look for the right people to follow based on your industry.
6. Do not send spam messages.
7. Ask for help in sharing, but don’t be overbearing.
8. Give people credit – never steal someones ideas.
9. Be consistent in your message.
10. Write and share often, but don’t be a blowhard.
11. Use your instincts – branding is the same everywhere.
12. Don’t say something you’ll regret.
13. Learn to respond with your brand in mind.
14. Ask questions, it encourages conversation.
15. Take time every week to re-evaluate what works and what doesn’t
16. Not give up. It takes time for people to listen
17. Be honest. People can tell when you are just slinging fluff.
18. Create a consistent profile. Being the same brand throughout all media makes you easier to understand.

What other tips can you share that take the mystery and magic out of social media?

Lexus has always been a luxury brand – and the vehicles are easily equated with style and class, and money. Despite the fact that Lexus’ is not a cheap vehicle, Lexus has never been seen as a contender in the fast, sleek and sexy sports car world. But with the new Lexus LFA, they are attempting to changes their affiliation.

Hitting 0-60 in 3.6 seconds, places it into contention with the Ferrari’s and the Lamborghini’s. Of course, it is also in the same price range. Which is a huge jump. Most Lexus vehicles range from $40,000-$100,000 whereas the new LFA supercar comes in at $375,000 (base msrp). So my question is: How will they compete?

When Volkswagen split from their ‘traditional’ $25-$45,000 cars and created the Phaeton which started at above $75,000, they made a huge error. The cars did not sell well, and despite recent face-lifts and changes, they still are not selling well. Why? Because people who are Volkswagen buyers are not traditionally those who are willing to fork out more than $50,000 for a car.

So with Lexus attempting to make the leap from style and class to high-priced sexy vehicles, I worry if they won’t face the same problems that Volkswagen has.

But, no matter the battle ahead, I am certainly impressed with their commercial. It certainly makes me think about them in a new light…that is one very sexy car.

75 years ago your marketing was entirely based on print and word of mouth. There was no internet, no TV commercials, no billboard advertising. If you wanted people to know about you, you had to run newspaper or magazine ads, go door to door meeting people and hope that others would spread the good word about your business. This meant that your customer service had to be top notch. Every detail of your business needed to be perfect so that you didn’t miss the sale for a slip of the tongue or a mistake in marketing. You had to understand your ideal client so you didn’t waste time or energy marketing to the wrong people. You attended events in the hopes to meet the right people – and when you did, you didn’t ask for their email or cell number, you planned a face to face meeting at an office to discuss how you could work together. There were no shortcuts, no simple ways to reach somebody, nothing that made business easy at all. And yet, thousands of businesses grew, improved and became huge successes. Why? Because they worked their butt’s off, understood what it took to  succeed and never let laziness or short cuts inhibit their success.

Fast forward to today – the land of laziness in business. You can send an email from the road, tweet in bed and cold call from anywhere in the world. It doesn’t take much to create a website, and there are tons of places you can market yourself for next to nothing. And all this has led to disaster for many companies. It is  more important now than ever before to make sure that every detail of your business is perfectly in order, because your customers can reach you faster and in more ways! Companies who don’t remember the past  – or don’t appreciate how to really connect with customers – are letting social media tools run their marketing and are hitting a brick wall. Social media is not the answer to marketing, and it is definitely not a solution to save your business. In fact, unless you already have a steady marketing strategy based on the old ways of actually having quality products and customer service, social media will bury you alive.

Is your business being lazy or are you using these tools to capitalize on the changing market?

Every (for profit) business has an offering, whether it is a service or a product, there is something that they are going to make money off of. But, that service or product is not always (actually, rarely is it) the key marketing tool for a business. Coca Cola sells soda, right? But what is their key marketing statement? “Open Happiness”. AllState sells insurance, but they don’t use that as their marketing statement do they? They tell the consumer “You’re in good hands”.

A lot of times, this key statement is considered a tagline, but I feel that is a misnomer. A tagline makes it sound silly and pointless, just more words that mean nothing. In reality, the tagline should be called your key marketing statement. This statement is used as your  overlying sentiment that you want to portray to your customers every single day. This should be your mantra both in the office, with employees, and out of the office, with clients. This is the key to your success – and needs to speak volumes about who you are as a company and what it means to work with you. When you approach someone and they ask you what you do, you should give them your key marketing statement, then more details. Your business card should have the key marketing statement prominently placed, as should your website and all marketing materials.

When you are considering a key marketing statement there are a few things to consider:

1. What is it that you want to be known for?
2. What can you offer that no one else can?
3. How are you proving you are unique?

Using the answer to any of these questions should help you to form your key marketing statement.

What is your companies key marketing statement?

Does it actually get followed or is it just empty words?

Your brand relies on its customers and consumers. One of the quickest ways to lose these consumers and risk the strength of your brand is to ignore social media. Knowing what is being said about you is the first step towards making a change and improving your business. While not all brands will take the jump into participation, all brands need to be monitoring.  Here are 5 places you need to monitor your brand:

1. Forums: Is there a forum about your industry? It’s easy to find out, just do a quick Google search. Find out the biggest ones and search through for your brand.
2. Twitter: Even if you don’t use your account very often, at least set one up so that you can run searches for keywords in your industry and your own brand name.
3. Facebook: You’d be surprised how many “I hate X Company” groups and fan pages there are. Make sure that yours isn’t one of them. Also, you may want to make sure that the employees aren’t taking to the social media sphere to bash your brand either!
4. Search engines: Google Alerts allow you to set up keyword searches for your business name, executives in the company and even long phrases. Make sure you know every time your company is mentioned on the web.
5. Blogs: Just like forums, almost all industries have 5-10 top blogs that cover the products and companies. Make sure you know who they are and what they are saying about you.

What else can you monitor to protect your brand in the online world?

If you own a small business, your business is not your brand. You are your brand. People are coming to you for advice and support because of who you are and what you have done, not because of the product itself. Most services are sold by more than just you, so make sure that you are able to stand out above the noise and work to build conversations, not just talk. Your brand should be more than just a what your business is but who you are, and what you bring to the table. People do not want to be part of a fly-by-night company; they want history, experience and the trust that the product is effective and worthwhile. During all conversations, you need to focus on the facts, not speculations. We only promise what we can deliver, and we create a consistent message through all channels. By using this method, your followers, fans and readers will trust that they can come to you for help and advice.

When you create your profiles on each social media site, make sure to always use the same name, same picture, same url and same details. You want people to be able to find you easily, and making them consistent will help with searches, as well as strengthen your brand. Also, on sites that allow you to pick colors/designs, try to stick with the same theme as your main website. Visitors like consistency and when they see the same things on all sites, they will feel more comfortable and willing to connect with you. Finally, make it easy to contact you. The largest part of your brand is what you do after people have used social media to find you. If they can’t figure out how to call or email you easily, they won’t. Don’t give away all the time you’ve spent building relationships by not giving them the opportunity to take it offline.

Do you have a brand or just a business?

What do Family Guy and Windows 7 have in common?

Nothing I can think of right away, but apparently Microsoft knows something I don’t.

According to the LA Times, Microsoft has teamed up with Family Guy to create a 30 minute episode that involves their brand and new Windows system. The show is set to air at 8:30pm on November 8th on FOX. The show will have zero commercials and will include not-yet revealed jokes and songs about Windows.

The article says that a 30 second spot last year on Family Guy cost about $200,000. Which means, simple math, Microsoft is spending about $12 MILLION dollars for the show. Really? They couldn’t think of any better way to spend $12 MILLION dollars?

What about a social media push? What about paying the person who started the twitter account with 8k+ followers @windows7center to take it over and make sure all the messaging is what you want? What about offering out some free versions to smaller bloggers?

What do you think? Is Microsoft spending their money appropriately? How would you market Windows 7?

Smart. Funny. Really well produced.
In today’s over-produced, frat-boy beer commercial world, isn’t it nice to see a standout every once in a while?  Dos XX is certainly the current model for breaking the mold and trying something different, like being smart.  Like ‘em or hate ‘em (seems to be the trend), the Dos XX broadcast spots are as refreshing as the product on a hot summer day in Cabo.  From superb creative concept work all the way through painstakingly detailed production, the story of “The Most Interesting Man in the World” is remarkable.  And the timing,  I can’t help but believe, is purposeful seeing the continued slide of Corona sales from a brand who has lost their way.  Can Dos XX unseat Corona?  That remains to be seen, but they’re certainly well on their way to garnering a huge portion of their share of voice.

So what makes this campaign so great?  I think it’s twofold – One, a great concept executed with impeccable attention to detail and two is having a client who’s ready to take a creative risk and put their trust in their agency partners.  How can I tell they trusted the agency?  Do you think for a minute that Anheuser Busch would have allowed the only line The Most Interesting Man in the World to say is, “I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos XX”?  Are you kidding?  The Bud Boys would have insisted that what makes him the most interesting man in the world is that beer is ALL he drinks and not just any beer, Budweiser Beer!  No, instead the brand team continued their attention to detail by arguing that because he is who he is, he follows no rules and does the unexpected, but when he determines it’s time for a beer, he doesn’t insist it’s Dos XX nor does he always drink Dos XX, he “prefers” it.  So strong, so strong.

As professional storytellers, we so rarely get the opportunity to really practice our craft in an unfettered manner; so many times a great story gets watered down with mandatory product claims and creative influence from the voting client team.  But with these spots, the team doesn’t get to tell just one exceptional story per spot, but rather several as each vignette is a different story all in itself.  The vignette with our guy motoring a dory – presumably out to his or someone’s mega yacht – places him a the tiller with 4 or 5 beautiful women aboard, but they’re not just a gaggle of hotties, they’re all wearing beauty competition sashes. There’s a story in there.  A group of dinner guests and our guy are carefully making their way down a craggily rock path at night with their way being lit by a torch-bearing man in a full military formal outfit and a nervous fez-wearing Indian fellow in a suit.  What the?  All the while the VO covers all those great, well written lines that provide the credentials for The Most Interesting Man in the World.  “His reputation is expanding faster than the universe.”  “He’s against cruelty to animals, but he isn’t afraid to issue a stern warning.”  “Whatever side of the tracks he is on is the right side. If he were to move to the other, it would still be the right side.”  “He’s one the same lifetime achievement award twice.” And on and on.  Combine all this with some non-trendy effects – mainly the grainy old film quality mixed with black & white and  color – and it comes together as truly intriguing, much like our hero.

Stay thirsty my friends.  Thirsty for great creative.