Testimonials are the Most Effective Form of Advertising
GETTING THE WORD OUT!
You can say what you want about how great your product is, but your customer wants to know what others think about it. Third parties give the appearance of independent opinion that adds significant credibility to their endorsements. Testimonial examples that successful CPG brand builders use...
5 Ways to Keep your CPG Product on the Retail Shelf
THEY CAN’T BUY IT IF IT AIN’T THERE!
Too often we hear CPG brand builders bragging about how they have finally achieved shelf placement at some big box or chain store. But, broadly distributed CPG brands are only as good as their ability to maintain and expand their retail shelf presence. With our experience...
5 Essentials to a Successful Brand Ad
“WHAT ARE THEY SELLING?”
Advertising is expensive. So, why not do it right? Even when done to perfection, you’ve only got a split second to grab the attention of your potential customer. You must get noticed and understood, and communicate a clear call to action – all in a blink...
Selling Non- Digital, and Non-Personal Brands is Unglamorous and Rudimentary – But Rewarding!
“WHAT…YOU’RE SELLING A PHYSICAL PRODUCT?”
There’s too much talk today about building digital and personal brands and not enough about building physical brands. Yet most of what we consume are the physical products of physical brands. We have gotten so excited about digital products that we now have to use the...
Diligent Quality Control Can Save Your Brand’s Reputation
I DON’T BUY THAT BRAND ANYMORE!
When it comes to brand building, your greatest advocates can become your greatest detractors - over night! It takes years of consistently delivering quality to develop a strong base of satisfied customers who will stick their necks out and actually advocate for your brand. This is...
Grow Your Brand with the Gift They Have to Give Away!
“I KNOW JUST WHO TO GIVE THIS TO”
Especially during the holidays, our clients want to know how to grow their brands. Whether they have a service business like a restaurant or produce a physical product, they want to get the word out about their quality and value. They have tried advertising, email marketing...
Love-Hate Relationship Between Big Chain Stores and Independent Brands
WHOSE BRAND ARE YOU BUILDING?
Our clients get really excited about receiving an offer to produce their product under a big chain store’s name. The scenario usually goes like this: The producer presents their branded product to the big chain, but instead of the chain agreeing to take their brand, they...
Successful Brand Building Must Get Through Long Periods of Little Progress
THE GRIND
We had a friend who was a very talented singer and songwriter. He was convinced that if he could just get discovered (like in the movies), he’d have it made. He used to tell us, “It’s like one, two three! I play, Mr. Big sees me,...
Increase Sales with Positive Customer Experience
WORD OF MOUTH TRUMPS ADVERTISING
When a new company is just getting started or sales are down, the pressure is on for more advertising. But is that the best solution? Advertising is based on your long-term commitment to running expensive ads repeatedly before you can get any “traction.” But there is...
5 Threats That Can Kill Your Brand in the New Year! – Part 4
Legal and Compliance
In most companies the legal department is referred to as “compliance.” However they do far more than make sure your company complies with the laws and regulations governing your industry. They protect you from liability exposures and potential lawsuits. They protect your intellectual property including trademarks,...
Successful Brand Builders Use Representatives to Insure Program Execution at Every Level
SEND MORE MERCHANDISING MATERIAL!
The best brand building signs and merchandising materials we ever saw were in the dumpsters of the very distributers who were expected to use them to sell the products of the brands they represented. What were they doing there? Because the distributers only had a limited...
Definition of the Word “Brand” – Revisited
MENTAL IMPRESSION TRUMPS LOGO
The word “brand” has evolved from the mark made by burning with a hot iron, to a logo or a trademark. But today a brand is the impression of a product in the minds of potential users or consumers. This shift from trademark to customer impression...
Word-of-Mouth Brand Building is a Double-Edged Sword
“HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT…?”
Word-of-mouth is perhaps the best form of advertising. It’s far more than just another form of commercial communication. It’s a personal endorsement from someone you know or find credible. In an attempt to validate the brand’s promise and value, part of every brand building strategy is...
Company Logos Require Careful Strategy to Change
EVOLUTION, NOT REVOLUTION
The Datsun automobile spent five years to rebrand itself into the Nissan. First it was the Datsun, then the Datsun by Nissan, then the Datsun Nissan, then simply the Nissan. Although Nissan wants to bring back the Datsun name for economy cars in emerging markets, the...
Logo Development is the Discovery of a Solution, not Permission to Get Creative
5 POTHOLES TO AVOID ON THE ROAD TO A LOGO THAT WORKS
Do you ever notice that some logos are easy to understand but others are confusing? You wonder what they are selling or why you should buy it. You can’t quite read the words for the curlicues, or the image just doesn’t make sense. Somebody tried to...
Branding Services Abound – Know What You are Looking For
GET THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE RIGHT JOB
They say the folks who made the most money during the gold rush were selling shovels. The branding “gold rush” of today is no different. If this was written twenty years ago it would be called Marketing Services Abound. As we advance into the twenty-first century,...
Worthy-Cause Marketing
IT CAN BE MORE EFFECTIVE THAN CONVENTIONAL ADVERTISING
There’s a secret Madison Avenue doesn’t want you to know: Worthy-cause marketing can beat conventional advertising for many products, because it gives buyers political and social reasons to buy your product and remain loyal to your brand - and it’s more cost effective. Worthy-cause marketing is...