Last week I was introduced to a simple mind-game that involves nine dots arranged on a grid-like layout. The goal is to connect all nine dots using only four connected lines. The game demonstrate how our habituation to prior ways of being too often obscures us from approaching problems with a fresh perspective. There is an analogy to design thinking.
Read MoreThere is tremendous value in using social media to promote brands. The real value, though, lies in integrating the social media strategy into a broader brand strategy that includes a deep understanding of your customers’ needs and desires. It is not enough to have social media tools; it is about using the right social media tools to nurture and cultivate an ongoing conversation with your most esteemed customers and fans. Where are YOUR customers hanging out online? How can you bring your conversation to them? Do they tweet about your service on Twitter? Comment about your product on Facebook? Buzz about your company on Google? With what promotions can you reward your most valuable customers? How can you provide them with an efficient and painless user experience?
Read MoreHow do brands become famous? They own a word or phrase in the minds of their consumers. Business owners can learn a lot about branding from Hollywood. Especially at awards shows. Watching the Best Actress presentation from the 2010 Oscars, I was reminded of how well brand-positioned the best actors are in Hollywood. In fact, many of the A-list actors are instantly recognizable by a word or a phrase.
Read MoreOnline content providers are in a doldrums. Consumers simply do not want to subscribe to pay for content. Yet why do consumers value the iTunes Music Store and The Wall Street Journal while they complain about paying for other content? Why is HBO so popular while network TV is falling to pieces? They each offer differentiated products that the competition cannot.
Read MoreWhat does the Gettysburg Address have in common with the most enduring brands? What lessons does it hold for distinguishing your brand message from the marketplace clutter of your competitors? Aristotle wrote that “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Over two millennia later, this concept is as profound as ever.
Read More“1 + 1 = 11”: No, it’s not the “new math”, numerology, gematria or Bernie Madoff calculating his stock returns. It is collaboration. According to brand guru Marty Neumeier, “The mathematics of collaboration is nothing less than magic.” Just as the whole of a human being is greater than the sum of its component organs, “1 + 1 = 11” is what happens when there is creative collaboration across silos and departments.
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