Following up on Chris’s stream of consciousness regarding “what a brand is” – one of the most fundamental tenants of a brand is that its platform MUST ring true. We are consistently engaged to help our clients climb out of the picture frame and take a look at what we see. One of the ways we promote this process is to conduct both internal and external interviews during our Discover Phase, the first step of our engagement with a B2B or B2C brand. We like to hear what internal constituencies have to say about our clients as well as what their clients (current and lost) have to say about who they are. Continue reading →

By Chris Johnson – Senior Director

What is a brand? That question is answered in a multitude of ways as it can be a very personal and subjective matter. One answer I’ve heard, and generally agree with, is “a brand is the sum of your experience with a product, service or thing – all your interactions that evoke emotions or feelings.” For purposes of this dissertation, let’s assume that’s accurate.

In thinking about that definition, it triggers a number of thoughts and ideas. One is that all of us, every human being is a brand. It makes sense as I process that thought. If I think about myself and my actions, everyone around me experiences me in some fashion, whether they like it or not. Impressions are made on others and those impressions can be good, bad or indifferent. The interactions and experiences others have with me are the same as I have, or anyone else has with a particular brand.

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By Nicholas Alexander – Associate

Frequently when rolling out a new brand, our clients will suggest that we develop a “flashy” website. Aside from the fact that Adobe is no longer releasing updated versions of Flash for mobile devices , a website strategy must heed certain functional criteria to successfully create a “flashy” website. One common mistake in website planning is assuming your audiences all use the same web browser you use.

Let’s say that you have an incredibly “flashy” website and someone in need of your services stumbles onto your site through Internet Explorer 8 (in 2011 that was about 40% of the global population and about 20% of the US population ). No two browsers are alike and due to their differing capabilities, bells and whistles through one might look like a lagging and underdeveloped website through another.

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By Nicholas Alexander

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in this case, I think I prefer the picture to only be worth 267 words (the word count of this blog post). According to Wordle.net, “Wordle is a toy for generating ‘word clouds’ from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text.” The tool, or toy, was created with the original purpose for displaying content in a fun, artistic style. As a toy, Wordles are fun. But as a tool, Wordles can uncover valuable insights about communication.

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Often times B2B marketing communications is characterized by numbing sameness, commoditized feature wars, and laundry lists of product benefits. However, branding today is a strategic tool that cuts through the morass of the market, gets noticed, and connects with the customer on many levels and in many ways.

A strong brand becomes the customer’s “shorthand” for making good choices in a complex, risky, and confusing marketplace. This investment can also lead to name brand price advantages and overall increased company valuation.

Click here to learn more about the value a B2B brand can bring to the bottom-line, with key statistics and examples of successful brand initiatives.

By Kevin Kedroe – Designer

What is a logo? In passing the question might seem too trite or maybe too ethereal to answer. Even within the ranks of people working in advertising and marketing the question might be shrugged off between a cocktail bite or martini sip.

But if we take a few moments and “delve” into the history of the logo and its meaning, it quickly becomes evident that global marks, like the Nike sign or the IBM word mark are not just the most current rendition of a post modern visual marketing phenomenon. Their visual presence and social relevance goes as far back as ancient Greece.

The word logo finds its etymological roots in the Greek philosophical dictum of Logos. It was originally one third of the Aristotelian model for persuasion. Ethos was the source of the author’s credibility, and Pathos was the emotional motivation or appeal of the argument being made. Our term of interest, Logos was the principle that connotes reason and meaning, the logic used to support a claim. Hence, the idea of the logo as we know it today is actually the ideological amalgamation of all three Aristotelian appeals encapsulated into one singular and cogent visual statement expressing what a company does and what it stands for.