March 9th, 2011
We can’t seem to get a handle on just who our customer is to create a customer profile. We aren’t sure how to determine who our customer is without revealing that we don’t have a clue. Does it matter if sales are consistent? One of my favorite magazines, UTNE Reader […]
March 30th, 2011
There are so many companies with so many brands that it is hard to believe there is much “new” out there. Do you ever get over whelmed by finding ways or trying to be inventive and original? Finding ways to help relevant, authentic brands tell a unique story is rarely […]
May 19th, 2011
Only 7% of the US beer market is comprised of craft beer devotees. Yet, this savvy market is hopping at an ambitious rate of 11% annually as the commercial beer market shrinks 2% year after year. We want to know more about craft beer imbibers to build a kick ass […]
August 25th, 2011
The hardest thing about Brand Development isn’t the time intensive research…. It isn’t being consistent yet flexible… innovative yet timeless. The hardest thing about Brand Development isn’t creativity, charisma, social media, new marketing, old ideologies, fierce competition, or even too many cooks in the kitchen (although that is a much […]
October 28th, 2011
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world… it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead It took me 30 minutes this morning to buy wheat pita bread at the grocery store. Not because the lines were long or the aisles congested, but […]
December 15th, 2011
Everything you need to know to get your brand new brand up and running… from writing your business plan to choosing your brand name, creating differentiators, identifying your customer….
July 18th, 2012
I hate the word “branding” for 2½ reasons, all of which have everything to do with popular usage and connotative meaning…. Courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/trimmer741/ 1.) When Branding is used as a verb, it typically refers to the isolated one-time or occasional applying of tactics to improve brand image. “Branding” typically […]
September 6th, 2012
Routinely we talk with unhappy heads’ of companies disappointed with their current brand development effort. They say things like “the brand house don’t seem to get us”, or “they seem pretty rigid in their process”. And the truly terrifying “they didn’t ask many questions, but now I have a new […]
October 9th, 2012
When it became clear that it was time to retire the “flashy” BlackDog website, we did what we always do around here. We started looking around, asking questions, and reading the facts and findings of the guru’s that write the research. What we gathered was informative, most of it was […]