January 13th, 2009
Get Moving, there’s business to be had! Hunker down? Not if you are going to come out ahead. 2008 is going to be remembered for a great number of things, both good and bad. Some brands are marking 2008 on their tombstones. Read AP News article on the demise of some best known […]
August 2nd, 2009
…Until all that is left is what matters. The process of developing a brand requires patience and perseverance. It is a top->down, inside->out approach that often requires knocking down long standing dogma and rhetoric. When a brand is born, it is arises from an idea, a philosophy. Those ideals are imbued […]
August 11th, 2009
Brands communicate attributes that in and of themselves aren’t really unique or all that different…after all…What’s so unusual about having values or a training program? The differentiation is in the combination of characteristics, the ‘believability’ of the promotions and the sense that can be made of a story that relates […]
August 27th, 2009
Admit it…. you thought developing a strategic brand was crafting a mission statement, a logo and a tag line. 50 years ago that may have been all that was necessary. Today it is a complex task that touches and should be touched by all parts of your company. When we work with an […]
September 17th, 2009
One hot topic…. Brand. In the blogosphere, in magazines, newspapers, books. Turn around find another voice… brand, Brand, BRAND, Brand, BRAND! Trouble is, with all of these voices shouting about the importance of brand (it goes without saying, we believe it is uber critical), the truth of the message, the […]
January 12th, 2010
Brand is more than just “looking good”. An authentic brand requires doing good. Just putting a pink ribbon on your product doesn’t make you socially responsible. “Certified Organic,” “Carbon Neutral,” and “No Trans Fats” claims on your packaging won’t achieve it either. A brand isn’t socially responsible unless they are […]
March 17th, 2010
The philosophy and relevance behind brand development has proven to have utility across a wide and diverse range of interests. Brands distinguish organizations, churches, teams, industries, destinations, associations, events, museums, causes, institutions, politics, clusters, professions, movements, buildings, and the arts, one from another, when services offered don’t. It should come […]
April 28th, 2010
I can’t tell if what I am seeing is a gross over simplification or just a lackluster attempt to ‘spin’ a brand, get on with the show or turn a buck. What I do know is that the inherent power of brand to tell a vibrant story, capture the essence of […]
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 […]
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 […]