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Advertising Age reports this week on a growing advertising trend–the increased use of goats in ads. It’s an odd aspect of our creative industry that copying is so common. One area where follow-the-leader is rampant is in naming. Brand names should be distinctive above all, but I often get naming project requests like: “I want [...] “Brands are how we sort out the cesspool.” This famous quote from Eric Schmidt, President of Google, gives us insight into the importance of brands when determining what search results to offer in response to customer queries. How do you know a word is a brand? Google codes up the clues into mathematical algorithms. Google’s advanced and interlacing [...] Fast growing, innovative companies can sometimes outgrow their brands. “Our name became constraining,” said Frank Butler, CEO of Proxios, a fast-growing company using cloud computing technology to create affordable and reliable alternatives to traditional in-house information technology and phone systems. “Our old name Super-Server did not have broad appeal and it was dated.” Merriam Associates gave this [...] Outgrowing the Brand Is your brand all talk and no do? Successful brands walk the walk as much as they talk the talk. Great brands are not creatures of the marketing, living only in ads and brochures. Business brands have to break out of the marketing department and work beyond the scope of the ad campaign. They must [...] Business brands can be just as emotional as consumer brands–in fact the best B2B brands harness the power of emotion to win in the market. Sales the key to building your business brand. Your sales force is your eyes and ears and your voice. They operate in the real world of the market every day and own the client relationship. They have an ear to the ground to hear what people say about you and your competition. Through their words and actions, your sales force conveys the meaning, feeling, and experience of your brand to clients and prospects. Are business brands different from consumer brands? Yes, but the more interesting questions are: How are business brands different from consumer brands? What do those differences mean for brand builders? By 2007, the second generation of the founders’ family had taken over. They wanted to grow more aggressively. They needed an identity that could effectively carry the company reputation to new audiences in new markets. Merriam Associates helped with the rebranding. If you’ve got a small company or are in the process of starting one, you might be thinking about building a brand. Given all the things you can spend your time and money on, is branding really worth it? |
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