Brand Image

Mayo, Lettuce, and Magazines on Rye

June 23rd, 2010

Make art- not advertising. Whether it’s a two page spread in a print publication or a vertical banner on a website, at BlackDog, we believe if the ad you’re placing isn’t as interesting, attractive, and useful to readers as the content it’s sandwiched between, you’ve missed the Big Idea.  Promotions that are […]

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Social Media – The Prize Inside

July 9th, 2010

The secret to brand relevance isn’t a Cracker Jack prize, Twitter account, or Facebook Fan page.  If you don’t have anything to say, you’re not worth listening to. Social Media is a valuable tool when it’s used as a relevant and meaningful contribution; when your company’s web chatter is driven […]

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No Copying Allowed

August 17th, 2010

If your brand is irreverent, your brochure should be too. Conscious design should be applied to more than just your color schemes and typography. Every billboard you put up and business card you hand out should reflect the essence of your brand. One of the secrets to attaining true cohesion […]

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How Buff is Your Brand Narrative?

September 1st, 2010

Everything that you say says something about you. Your brand narrative is how you tell your story. It runs deeper than a marketing rollout or an advertising campaign.  Your brand narrative is told in and through newsletters, press releases, promotions, CRM, sales, programming, products, annual reports, and internal communications- day […]

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Banners, Logos, and Neon Lights, oh my!

September 9th, 2010

We were recently at a sponsored event that was hosted by a world renowned art museum and showcased the talents of several remarkably gifted musicians. One sponsor, clearly still living in the land of magical thinking, elected to give away an ordinary solid-color t-shirt emblazoned with nothing but their logo […]

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The Past Begets the Future

September 23rd, 2010

Urban renewal gained a justifiably notorious connotation following World War II. For more than 70 years countries followed architectural, city planning and governmental policies that were based on the ideas of a few and the will of even fewer .   In putting commerce ahead of community we built places that […]

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The Rolling Stones Didn’t Have to Bribe THEIR Groupies

October 1st, 2010

We came across a newsletter this week that actually said: “‘like’ our Facebook page and receive an exclusive offer.” We’re not sure what the offer was, because we’re not interested in being bribed, manhandled, or coerced into social media engagement (…but we’re guessing it’s free shipping or a discount promo […]

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An Open Letter to Health Insurers

November 8th, 2010

We appreciate that you operate in a complicated cultural reality – economic uncertainty, political divide, scarcity mentalities, and fear have collided in the health-care sector. The insured, underinsured, and uninsured are feeling anxious, concerned, entitled, angry, and threatened. We find it frustrating and shortsighted that the health-care “hysteria” is largely […]

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Social Media Masterminds: Facebook Pages that Are Getting it Right!

December 7th, 2010

“Social Media isn’t a fad, it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate.”   Erik Qualman, The Social Media Revolution(1) Unfortunately, most companies use their Facebook pages as little more than a new medium for their old school marketing tactics. Facebook isn’t a place for interruption marketing, engagement through bribery, […]

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365: Brand vs Advertising

January 1st, 2011

What’s the difference between a brand and advertising? In humanistic terms the question asks “What’s the difference between a stable personality and a really snappy look?” Brand is a commitment to deliver a differentiated service, product, and quality standard consistently. Winston Fletcher(1) defined a very basic but sound working definition […]

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