The Brad Pitt Brand Theory

It can take years, even decades to build strong brand loyalty with consumers but oppositely, it can take one bad ad campaign to destroy it. Building a brand, in the mind of consumers, is about making your product or service breakthrough the endless fog of competitors and stand out amongst them. This doesn't happen overnight, nor without careful planning and execution of a strategic marketing campaign.

I was doing some research for another blog entry when I stumbled upon the train wreck that is the Brad Pitt endorsement for Chanel  no 5. I watched it, tongue in cheek, trying to figure out exactly what the ad agency was thinking when they came up with it. Before we get into the meat and potatoes of this post, check out the ad:


I watched this commercial at least a half-dozen times before I finally threw my arms up in the air and thought to myself  'This ad makes zero sense'. But did it need to? The answer is no and here's why it doesn't and why it works.

- Chanel is an established brand with a very loyal consumer base
- They are using one of the worlds most attractive men to sell women's perfume
- The ad, which now has over 5 MILLION views on YouTube was successful at getting people to talk about the ad which in turn is word of mouth for Chanel

So even though Brad Pitt looks like he's just climbed out of someones carry-on bag and the copy he is reading appears to be written by a failed slam poet, the ad WORKS.

Revenue Boosting Potential

Most women who live on planet earth are familiar with the Chanel brand. Using Pitt as a spokesperson has the potential to tap into a new market for Chanel no 5... MEN. There is no doubt that Pitt is an icon and someone whom many men (though they won't admit it) see as a trend setter and his endorsement of a female fragrance makes the product more accessible to men - meaning they will more than likely feel more comfortable navigating the often intimidating perfume/cosmetics vaccuum in their local department store, dodging over coiffed saleswomen trying to spray perfume in your direction in attempt to lure you in, and make a beeline straight to the Chanel counter. We will have to check out their sales during the upcoming holiday season but the 'average Joe' Pitt may very
well be the ticket to drive men to the department store without a nudge from their significant other (imagine that).

Not All Brands Can Survive a Bad Ad Campaign

Chanel reportedly paid Brad Pitt $7 million to appear in the ads but they can afford it; the Chanel brand is the 4th strongest luxury brand in the world with a brand-worth of over $6.7 billion. It would be safe to assume that they could produce a commercial with circus clowns riding camels through the
desert and still manage to make it profitable. On the contrary, there are brands who jump the gun when testing the waters of non-traditional advertising and some cross lines that completely turn off consumers altogether. Star power is just that - power... power of recognition and association with a certain lifestyle. Some ads use them and win, others use celebs and fail. A great example of this comes to us from Groupon - a brand without a ton of worth, recognition or loyalty, who produced this textbook example of a brand crushing ad for the Superbowl. Even with some star power, the quasi-offensive content was the equivalent of stepping on someone's nerve with 5-inch heels:

 


Admittedly, Timothy Hutton is no Brad Pitt but Chanel did not step over any lines with their campaign, where Groupon (a fairly new brand) did. Chanel's ad campaign created a buzz and a constant stream of word of mouth. Groupon succeeded only at offending people. It doesn't matter what the message is or who your spokesperson may be, taking all members of your audience into consideration through careful consumer research and analysis is key to a successful campaign. Having a strong brand-worth doesn't hurt either. An example of how, in the vast world of advertising, only the strong can survive.

Got two cents? Email me at marketingmindandmatters@gmail.com

You Never Forget Your First Time...

Dealing With Public Relation 'Uh-Ohs' 

Ever heard the phrase 'There is no such thing as bad publicity'? Some say the phrase was first spoken by P.T. Barnum and it may very well have been but most believe that it was derived from a comment made by Oscar Wilde who said 'The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about'. 

Between Freedom of Speech, and plain old poor HR judgement, there IS such thing as bad publicity and when you factor in the ability to have messages spread like wildfire across the internet, television and social media outlets, not only does bad publicity exist, it has the potential to ruin a company or brand reputation almost instantaneously. As with most things in life, there exists a few exceptions to the rule. Today we discuss the good, the bad and the ugly of dealing with what I call a Public Relations 'UH-OH' and how to come out of it alive (and with your job).

In college during PR courses I had taken we went thru scenarios where the professor would call on you, give you a nightmarish scenario (my first one was a hospital losing power for two days) and you would have to address the classroom as if it were a room teaming with reporters and journalists hanging on your every word with only a few minutes to strategize and release a formal statement as the company spokesperson addressing the UH-OH in a way that saved  company face and appeased the angry mobs lurking outside your door. (Photo Courtesy of Bryant University)

Sounds easy, right? WRONG. Very, very wrong. On the contrary, dealing with a Public Relations crisis can be one of the most challenging exercises you will experience as a marketing or PR professional and if this task is not placed in the hands of a skilled PR professional or strategic communications team, the outcome can be disastrous. Before we go into crisis management mode, I'll tell you about my first time dealing with a PR crisis...

I had been hired as the Project Specialist at Intown Manchester in July of 2007 after working for New Morning School in Bedford as a teacher's aide since college ended and careers for new marketing graduates meant going into sales positions thinly veiled under the guise of 'Marketing Specialist' titles (take note, job seekers). After a few full throttle months learning the in's and out's of Intown and its specific place within the municipal bubble in Manchester, I was feeling confident in my abilities and ready to take on new challenges... but not the one that transpired that December.

The Christmas Tree Debacle
 

For years, in the absence of having it's own planted Christmas Tree outside the Radisson Hotel at Stanton Plaza, Intown would work with the City's Parks Dept. to solicit for a tree to be 'donated' for the 
holiday season and erected at Stanton Plaza to be decorated then disposed of after the holiday cheer had subsided. Intown was in charge of decorating downtown Manchester for the holidays, so we had an interest in finding the best tree possible to decorate and light up. This particular year, my boss explained that the efforts to find someone willing to donate a tree had resulted in having a Charlie Brown-like tree to use and that other alternatives had to be sought. As the Parks Dept. also handled all the maintenance of the city cemeteries, a city employee suggested that the perfect tree had been found at Pine Grove Cemetery. Apparently, the roots of this tree had begun to interfere with an irrigation line, and would need to be removed anyways so it seemed like a win-win; Parks would be able to remove a tree that would have damaged a very expensive irrigation system while providing an enormous, lovely and very un-Charlie Brownish tree to be used for the holidays. The tree was nowhere near any grave sites and was going to cause major problems if left where it was. Seems like a no brainer, right? It would have been, had a parks employee not released photos of the Parks department removing the tree to a major statewide newspaper.

Here comes the 'UH-OH'

The paper released the photos with a grim caption of ' City Cemetery Raided for Downtown Christmas Tree'. The parks department, then run by my now husband, took their share of grief because after all, it was their department who had actually removed it BUT, the paper quoted my boss so the flood of finger pointing began pointing in our direction.

WMUR's Coverage (yes, that's my husband and no, this is not how we met!)

(Video Courtesy of WMUR)

Fast forward to the morning of December 13th when the article was printed statewide. I had not seen the news, nor had I read the paper yet. I was the first one in the office which meant I was tasked with collecting messages from our voicemail each morning. The mailbox was FULL, and messages ranged from media inquiries, enraged public (some calling for my bosses resignation), the Mayor's office and a slew of trustees from our board of directors. It was official - we were now in crisis management mode.


Typically, all media inquiries were handled by the Marketing Director, who served as the spokesperson for the organization but she was not in, and neither was the boss but the phone kept ringing and people were coming into the office demanding to speak with someone. Not knowing the proper protocol, I was answering calls, giving understanding and apologetic responses to concerns from the public but left the media inquiries and those from the Mayor's office, Alderman, board members and other city officials to my boss. Eventually, the information regarding exactly why this was done and a 'channel' of appropriate responses were made, and it was handled by the boss. Once a different sensational headline about something else graced the top fold of the front page, it became a distant memory with the only long-term repercussion was the parks employee being reprimanded and a promise by both involved parties to begin a broader search for a tree donor in future years much earlier and the option of planting a permanent tree in Stanton Plaza would be explored.

My boss had handled the crisis very well. She didn't point the finger at the city department and responded to every concern voiced with modesty and grace while reaffirming that this incident would never again be repeated.Though the 'crisis' had been averted, it opened our eyes to the need for some sort of response plan should an 'UH-OH' ever occur again. Having been in her position for many years, my boss was skilled at crisis management and the rule became that when an 'UH-OH' reared it's ugly head that all communications would come straight from the top. For a small, 3 person office that works. For a larger company, a strategic crisis management plan is necessary to be able to handle PR crises. In extreme situations, a President or CEO will address the media but typically, the task of extinguishing a PR fire belongs to a team of communications and Public Relations professionals who strategize an appropriate response, which would then be made by a designated spokesperson for the company or organization.

How to Manage a Public Relations Crisis Properly

• Put a Crisis Management Plan (CMP) into Place

      Regardless of what kind of company you are, your size or mission, you need to be fully prepared to respond to bad publicity. There are 3 basic types of crises that can create major threats:

- Public Safety
- Financial Loss
- Loss of Reputation

Obviously, all three have the potential to ruin a company so having a Crisis Management Plan is vital to surviving a publicity crisis. Putting a CMP into place is a relatively painless process that outlines contacts, talking points and pre-assigns duties to specific members of your company. Because anything can happen and you can rarely predict a crisis or what it entails (just ask BP), a CMP has to be malleable to the specific crisis. In short, your CMP should have points that are consistent regardless of the situation but should allow room for customization to address the immediate situation including who it affects, potential questions posed by media or involved parties and appropriate responses... all with a goal of retaining a positive and trustworthy reputation and preventing any or further affect on public safety or significant financial loss.

• Preparing to Respond to a PR Crisis

Typically, you cannot predict when & why you will need crisis management so having a set of pre-draft messages compiled is useful. This is usually in the form of a template consisting of static responses from upper management and should serve solely as a foundation for building a strategic response. If you are a larger company, you may have a Crisis Management Team in place, where pre-assigned tasks are delegated to specific employees. This team should be comprised of communications experts and if your company has a broad profile (GE, News Networks, etc), there may be multiple crisis management teams who respond only to specific circumstances that they have been trained to respond to and are considered knowledgeable experts on the respective topic/crisis at hand. In smaller companies, the task of responding to a crisis typically falls on the shoulders of the assigned 'Spokesperson', who has been trained to respond to a cornucopia of crisis situations and has practiced their responses so that it can be evaluated by upper management before an actual crisis occurs. It is vital, however, when dealing with a small business that all team members are familiar with the overall strategy in case the assigned spokesperson is unavailable for any reason.

To summarize:

- Have some sort of Crisis Management Plan in place
- Practice your plan and use multiple scenarios in which it would be put into place with respective actions and responses
- Have pre-drafted static messages (templates) that can be revised to respond to any situation (a rough guide where relevant information can be added respective to the situation at hand)
- Assign a Spokesperson and make sure that person is well-trained to handle anything that is thrown at them by media, the public or even upper tier management
- Expect and prepare for fallout and create appropriate response methods

Your plan should also include methods in which you will execute your CMP (press conference, press releases, web content on your company website and social media campaigns). The Institute for Public Relations emphasizes the importance of being quick to respond with accurate information and to relay a consistent message. Having a pre-defined set of Communication Channels is vital. If it was a major UH-OH attracting a lot of media attention, the company should consider having a separate website that solely addresses the crisis and serve as a reference point when speaking directly to media (especially when caught in a tight spot). prepare for everything - for instance, you are asked a question which you are not prepared to respond to. Instead of performing PR suicide by saying 'No Comment' or 'I don't know', you can easily respond with 'That is a great question and one that is addressed on our company website at www. blah blah blah.' BP, despite the distasteful comment made by their spokesperson, did a great job at creating a crisis specific website. It's not passing the buck, it's redirecting people to a site where all concerns are addressed and are accessible to the media and public at large.

The Institute for Public Relations offers a ton of advice about handling a Public Relations crisis, including some 'Best Practices'.

This table can be found here courtesy of the IPR. Learn it, practice it and use it as a resource!

                                                                        Crisis Media Training Best Practices

1.  Avoid the phrase “no comment” because people think it means the organization is guilty and trying to hide something

2.  Present information clearly by avoiding jargon or technical terms.  Lack of clarity makes people think the organization is purposefully being confusing in order to hide something.

3.  Appear pleasant on camera by avoiding nervous habits that people interpret as deception.  A spokesperson needs  to have strong eye contact,limited disfluencies such as “uhms” or “uhs”, and avoid distracting nervous gestures such  as fidgeting or pacing.  Coombs (2007a) reports on research that documents how people will be perceived as deceptive  if they lack eye contact, have a lot of disfluencies,or display obvious nervous gestures.

4.  Brief all potential spokespersons on the latest crisis information and the key message points the organization is trying to convey to stakeholders.

When the phone calls stop and the PR fire is all but a smoldering pile of ash, it does not mean that you are out of crisis mode, especially if the situation has the potential for a long-term effect (public safety, financial loss, loss of reputation). Depending on the severity of the crisis, management may need to begin the task of repairing the company's reputation and implement a plan of action (essentially, what they plan to do to prevent a future crisis). Initial responses should be quick (don't wait too long after the crisis occurs), be accurate (check your facts!), be consistent with your key points, express genuine concern for those affected by the crisis and most importantly, have a channel of communications to implement the response.

If you are lucky, you won't need to go into reputation repair mode which can include anything from negating vicious rumors through a press conference to compensation to affected parties. If you are a larger company, a crisis manager will prepare this plan relative to the intensity and potential negative effect on the company as a whole. More on post-crisis management is available on the IPR website.

Ensuring that your company or organization is prepared for a crisis resulting from bad publicity is vital because you do not want to wait until it happens to start figuring out how to handle it. Better safe (and savvy) than sorry.


GOOD Example - Taco Bell Responds to Beef Not Being 'Real'
BAD Example - Progressive Insurance Makes a Bad Situation Worse
UGLY Example - BP's Tony Howard 'Wants His Life Back'

Peek-a-Boo: Employers See You. A Reality Check About Your Social Media 'Image'

For the first time since I was 15 years old, I am out of work. Despite what rosy cheeked news anchors are reporting, good jobs are tough to come by and the journey to land one is a rough road to navigate with lots of detours and dead ends. Even the most qualified, experienced candidate can find themselves pounding pavement for months, even YEARS trying to find gainful employment. No doubt, times are tough and make no mistake, employers have stepped up their game when checking into potential candidates. The days of a phone call, in-person interview followed by either a gleeful handshake or a 'Sorry we've chosen another candidate' are all but gone.Multi-tiered phone interviews and in-person interviews with levels upon levels of HR peeps, department heads and executive teams are the norm as employers seek out just the right fit for their company.

 If you want to get your proverbial unemployed foot in the door, you better take a close look at what you are putting out there i.e. your social media 'self'. You know who I'm talking about... that funny, clever, politically vocal and sometimes TMI (too much information) version of yourself, who likes to keep a picture of your dog as your profile pic and whose Facebook wall is laden with hilarious 'SomeEcards' for the enjoyment of your many friends. Know that I am not judging because if you know me, you know I am as guilty as they come. BUT the world of social media has evolved from a user friendly format to stay in touch with classmates or sneak a peek at an ex boyfriend/girlfriend to a valuable and widely used resource for potential employers to use when scoping out candidates.

My Reality Check

A few weeks ago I had begun the process of applying for a great job. It started out with the usual getting the 'basics', form filling, uploading of your fine tuned resume and a cover letter sculpted specifically to the outlined duties and responsibilities of the position being advertised. I even threw in my '40 Under Forty' honor... A little back patting never hurts. I was forging ahead, editing my application materials and feeling like I had hit a home run when something hit me out of left field... The online application agent asked for access to my LinkedIn and Facebook profiles.

Time for a thorough Social Media Diagnostics. I logged into all my accounts and began the process of scrubbing my social media image and making it employer friendly. Before we get into Do's, Dont's and why a picture of your dog shot gunning a beer is not an appropriate profile picture, let's talk statistics.

Turns Out You Can Judge a Book (or potential employee) by its Cover

The popular site 'Mashable' recently unvelied an infographic based on Jobvite's Social Recruiting Survey 2012 titled 'Social Profiles Can Help You Land or Lose a Job' but before we dish statistics, keep in mind that there are 3 simple things to remember: 

-First Impressions Mean Everything
-Your Profile is a Snapshot into Your World - Both as a Person and a Potential Hire
-Proper Grammar and Correct Spelling (as much as we all love a good 'LOL!') Matters

The stats:

92% of companies use LinkedIn, Facebook, and/or Twitter for recruiting. 73% of companies have found a new hire through a social network; of that group, 89% hired them through LinkedIn, followed by 26% through Facebook.

Let's start with LinkedIn. If you are not on LinkedIn, welcome to 2012. JOIN! It is an invaluable networking tool as well as a great place to mine for jobs.

 It's been my experience that most LinkedIn profiles need the least 'scrubbing' but DO update your profile, and stock up on endorsements for your many awesome skills from credible peeps. The guy you folded jeans with at The Gap may think you are a great employee but is that endorsement applicable to the career path you are on and the jobs you are applying for? Also, if you like to share articles on LinkedIn, know that what you read and take an interest in with regards to studies, trends, etc can either work for you or against you. Be sure to use a profile picture of the 'work' you. Best foot (or face, preferably) forward. Always. Join groups and contribute to them - most groups also post job openings in their forums.

-Something worth noting- when I started using LinkedIn I had 1 connection - a movie producer who had used some public space downtown for a few shots and had used me as a resource. That was 5 years ago and I now have over 600+ connections. These are not strangers - these are people I have worked with or had the good fortune to meet throughout my career whether at networking events or in my personal time. While it's nice to have a lot of connections, one gripe I hear all the time is people who constantly get requests to Link from people they do not know (usually looking for sales leads). If you have never met the person face to face, don't send a friend request. Using a common connection for an introduction is acceptable but a blind request to add someone to your network will get you blocked, regardless of your intentions.

Facebook, the fickle social media phenomenon.

You may think an employer would ONLY be interested in your applicable job skills but employers hire PEOPLE and want to know a little bit more about your personal life - not all the hairy details but just as we surround ourselves with good friends, employers want to hire good people. Your Facebook profile is an opinion laden, picture filled glimpse into the real you. Facebook is typically the social medium in need of the most 'scrubbing'. My rule of thumb is if you'd be ok sharing it with your Grandmother, it's ok to post on your Facebook wall. Some tips:

• Start with your profile picture. It doesn't need to be some rigid pose from a corporate head shot but keep it simple and keep it clean. Pics with your kids are great, but don't use just pics of your kids - family photos are great for profile pics but make sure YOU are in there!
• We've all had some fun memories in college that involve alcohol and Tomfoolery and those pictures SHOULD be treasured... in a private file or album... NOT on your Facebook wall or albums. You wouldn't think you would need to edit your posts but please SPELL CHECK. According to Jobvite  "recruiters respond negatively to pictures of excessive alcohol or drug consumption, and profane tweets or posts. However, spelling and grammar errors also mark high as issues that irk recruiters."
• It's an election year and we all are entitled to our opinions on issues and candidates. Keep these discussions for post-dinner fodder or when out with friends. This goes for religious topics as well. Jobvite reminds us to "be wary when posting overtly political, religious, or sensitive issues- you don’t want to engage in debates or offend anyone." Especially not a potential employer. Watch what you follow and what updates post to your wall. If you can see it chances are others can too!
• On that note, be sure to visit your Privacy settings. See who can post on your wall, tag you in photos, etc. You can make your status updates so they can be viewed only be a select group of Facebook peeps and, Facebook gives you the option to create or join a 'Private' group, where, unless you are a member, you can say whatever you want to a private audience that cannot be seen by anyone else.

 A little bird told me...

 Your opinion may differ from mine, but I see Twitter as a short form version of Facebook. It is a social medium to get a short point across while trying to make an impact. While it is used more now for relationship marketing (read a great article on transactional vs. relationship marketing here), it is still something that you are putting out onto the internet that employers can use to form an opinion about you. Think of it this way... if your blog is a diary, your Tweets are Post-It notes. All the points above apply here, too. I find that 140 characters is a perfect way for an employer to see that you are capable of forming clear, concise and effective communications without beating around the bush. Just use your common sense!

If you are in the same unemployment boat as me, I wish you the very best in your search for your next big adventure. As a parting note, I recently applied for a job where they specifically asked for my login and password information for both my LinkedIn and Facebook accounts.

 It is a hot legal topic and one you should know about. As this Forbes article with Attorney Renee Jackson points out  "Media coverage is still heavily focused on the various state and federal bills aimed at stopping employers from asking for applicants’ social media passwords. These bills were introduced in response to reports that surfaced in March about a handful of employers who were asking for applicants’ passwords." This would give potential employers or current employers access to everything  - personal messages along with other private information. She adds "A particular hot topic for employers is the legal grey area surrounding the various online “tools” that are being used to assist in the hiring process. For example, employers who are “Googling” applicants, contracting with third parties to conduct social media background checks, or using so-called measures of influence (such as Klout) to make hiring decisions. These tools, if used incorrectly, are fraught with legal risk."

These are but a few of the mind blowing amount of social media sites/tools that inundate our lives from day to day. If you use common sense, keep things clean and remember that what you put out into the world wide web is a reflection of you not only as a person but as an employee, too then your social media 'self' can be proud.


That's all for now. I think I will go Google myself and then update my Privacy settings on Facebook.

Feedback, comments, gripes... all are welcome. I love a good chat. Until next time, be well and keep your mind on what matters.

Gizmo and the Branding Bug

I love to shop, especially for groceries. I love the glistening fresh fruits and veggies, the smell of bread or cookies being baked but most of all, I love the Laundry Detergent aisle. Why? Because like many others I am enamored by the scent of TIDE and for me, regardless of our financial situation, I am loyal to their brand.

Creating a strong brand takes a lot of work, most of which is done thru various levels of consumer inundation through various mediums - web, print, radio, social media outlets and of course, television. Though the world of business and revenue generation can be brutally competitive, having a strong brand is not about beating out the competition; it's about reaching your target market and getting consumers to fully believe that your product is the best option amongst all others in that particular market.

Probably the biggest factor in successful branding is identifying and reaching your target market. Who are you trying to target and how will your business utilize your marketing savvy and put your plan into action? One goal when formulating a strategy is to make sure that your message is clear and uncluttered. What is your mission and why do you do what you do and how what you do is the only choice consumers should consider when reaching for their wallets.

We typically get bit by the Branding Bug at a very young age. I was bit the day I got very sick, I couldn't have been older than 5, and for lack of a better term barfed all over my Gizmo doll (not a child of the 1980’s? Just Google it). When my mother took it away, I was certain he would be dumpster fodder... instead, my devastating incident with Gizmo was a distant memory after my mother brought it back to my room after running it thru the washer with Tide. Gizmo was clean and smelled so good, I can remember pressing my face up against him and took deep breaths. Add the nostalgia quotient from a childhood memory and you've got yourself a loyal consumer for the life of the product.

I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. The point here is that although you do need a well thought out and executed brand strategy, brand loyalty also happens organically and often – either through word of mouth or personal experience(s) and those experiences often happens while we are very young and our brains are like sponges, absorbing any and all information from the 5 senses. Next time you visit a grandparent’s home, look around and see what types of products they use. I can almost guarantee that you will see several of the same brands your parents are loyal to as well.                                          

After working so closely with small businesses over the past 5 years I have seen bad, good and great attempts to brand their respective business. The ones who fall under the category of 'great' understand that building and growing a brand takes time and that your brand is your way of telling your products 'story'.

Here's a laundry list (pun intended) of best practices as far as the creation, organization and execution of your brand strategy:

-Put Pen to Paper-

Gather your best idea cultivating peeps and let the creative juices flow (bring coffee). Involve only as many people as you need because I can tell you from experience that too many chefs will spoil the strategy soup. Based on the mission of your respective company or organization, come up with a strategic marketing plan for your journey towards strong brand land.                                                                      

-Put Paper to Brains-

Take the time and invest in making sure that all involved parties in your business know your strategy, the story you wish to tell with your product or service so they are well prepared to work towards a strong brand

-Use Your Brain-

Successful brands all have one thing in common - CONSISTENCY. All of your marketing collateral should have similar formats, colors, fonts, your logo and easy to find contact information. Essentially, your 10 foot banner on the side of your building should match the look of your website. The goal is for your brand to be recognizable and motivate consumers to buy your product or service. This also includes your Social Media campaigns. Your brand is your voice and it should always sound the same. Your logo, phone # and website should be on every piece of marketing collateral and easy to find

 

 -Cut the Cord-

You've spent countless man/ woman hours on your branding strategy. Your message is consistent. Your marketing collateral is ready to roll and so are you. You can't make money unless you spend money so come out swinging but beware: swing too hard and you risk losing consumers from inundation.

-Analyze & Revise-

After you've launched your campaign, be sure to have ways of quantifying its success or failures. Collecting consumer information can be tough but you need a way to gauge the success of your branding strategy. This can be done in many ways but the easiest is to drive people to your website or social media sites and somehow engage them. Have a newsletter sign-up or other method of gathering contact info. Ask for opinions, offer incentives and gather consumer testimonials; these tools can help you to revise your strategy, identify its strengths and weaknesses, build and learn more about your consumer base.

-Retain Consumer Loyalty-

Not everyone has a Gizmo doll /Tide experience to create brand loyalty at a young age. Knowing your target market and identifying their needs and wants builds credibility and loyalty – two words often associated with success.

Companies will start to integrate into an existing market even prior to ever opening their doors. For example, we have been seeing a ton of commercials for the fast food chain SONIC in NH for at least the past 3-5 years and they STILL haven't opened one yet. When they do, we'll be ready; saturation of a market is a topic meant for another day, as my coffee grows cold.

Your Brain & Marketing are BFF's

We all have fond memories of our time at college - the freedom, the friends, the recreational activities and the amazing professors who helped mold our minds and let us loose on the world, hungry to be a success and make a mark.

No offense to my Alma Mater but after dishing out over $100k for a marketing degree and over a decade to ponder and expand upon what I was taught, I've come to the conclusion that marketing is everywhere - from flowers to flash mobs and it is almost all common sense.... As long as you know how to make it work.

If you are like me, when you go shopping, watch a movie or see a commercial you think about who the target market is and how are they trying to gain that particular market's loyalty. In marketing, nothing is a coincidence. That hilarious Snickers ad, though seemingly simple, was the brainchild of many smart peeps and hours of hard work for your viewing pleasure.

This blog will aim to discuss marketing, trends and how our world revolves around it.

Stay tuned for weekly posts and feel free to post with a comment or opinion - I love a good 'send' or 'reply' conversation.

Today I leave you with my latest favorite commercial from Expedia. There is very little chance that after viewing it, you won't want to check out flight rates. Excuse the current lack of vibrant enhancements as this blog, like everything else in life, is a work in progress. Next week stay tuned for a post on brand loyalty and the surprising facts behind when it starts and why.

Enjoy and be well.

'Expedia Find Your...'