We’ve devoted a fair amount of real estate to branding and the big companies who trip over their brand narratives in spite of massive resources. Hello United. Money doesn’t guarantee brand utopia. But what about the companies who get it right? Inevitably, they understand there’s a journey to building a great brand. Amazon offers a …more
Capitalizing on an almanac event by itself doesn’t constitute creative communications. After all, it’s easy enough to plan for these events. But the Square Valentine’s Day promo stands out and not just because of the creativity and production values of the video. The nitty-gritty execution from Square shows a well-thought-out strike. For example, the company …more
Every interaction with the outside world is an opportunity to build your brand. Even those mundane interactions. One could argue that the “mundane” actually offers one of the best opportunities to stand out, since others are tracking to the status quo. This often leads to template communications, the opposite of communications guided by storytelling techniques. …more
It’s hard to believe that it’s been over a year since Netflix’s storytelling went astray in rationalizing the separation of the DVD business from the streaming video business. The primary issue wasn’t the decision as much as how it was communicated. At the time I wrote: Just be honest and open with people. No …more
I attended a family reunion in Vegas last month. The town offers a Petri dish of brute-force branding. It’s all about who can shout the loudest, radiate the brightest lights and hire the most human sandwich boards. That’s why the simplicity of this billboard away from the Strip caught my attention Let’s break it down …more
The best global brands recognize that their communications must be tailored to the local markets. Last year two of our account folks in our Japan office penned a post that examined how Sony created two different videos for the same camera, one for the U.S. market and the other for the Japanese market. Today, Jiyoung …more
Ask 10 people to define buzz and you’ll get seven different answers. Three people will say, “I know it when I see it.” It’s easy to quantify a YouTube video by the number of views. It’s straightforward to quantify a blog through the underlying analytics. But how do you quantify buzz for a company, especially …more
In facilitating a branding workshop last week, it suddenly struck me. One of the great myths of branding is the big guys get it right. Thanks to their ample war chests, they can hire the smartest people, maintain an endless flow of M&Ms during focus groups and stockpile creative types. It’s just not true. Worse, …more
Weddings take place in Vegas every day. Yet, I think I can safely say the Sony wedding at CES between the TV and Internet was a first. I promised last week to investigate the wedding and report back to you. Conversations with sources led me to Ray Hartjen, senior PR manager at Sony Electronics who teamed with Rob …more
