Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Creating a NEW Brand!

Forgive me for being a bit slow to post...we've been rather busy around the house.

Julie & I would like to announce the birth of our son Alex John! Tuesday, January 16th at 7:34am, he was 8 pounds, 5 ounces, 19 & 1/4 inches long. Yelling like a ninny the whole way out!

Thanks for your well wishes & help...this has REALLY changed our lives. Amazing how you see things differently now.

We had to have a c-section and I was lucky to have taken this "Hail Mary" photograph right at AJ's moment of birth!

Friday, January 12, 2007

The Cola Wars on the middle class America Home Front!

Talk about Brand Dominance. My wife & I went to dinner this evening with her parents. Long story, lots of comedy, I'll tell you someday over drinks.

But this particular story is quick & simple...

Julie ordered a Diet cola. It came to the table in a big plastic cup with the logo on the side: "Diet Pepsi" it says. When the waitress returned later to ask if she'd like a refill, Julie says "Yes; it's a Diet Coke" even though it says, in BIG LETTERS ON THE CUP, "Diet Pepsi."

Now, wouldn't it be amazing for YOUR company to have that kind of mental recall AS someone is using your competition? You CAN have that...but it takes work. It takes time. And it takes Saying Something Important. I can show you how.

Friday, January 05, 2007

So...is it ONE or TWO?

I'm watching television with my wife last night (who is 9 months pregnant, by the way!). A TV commercial comes on that just steams me...it steamed me back at the holidays and this new version steams me now.

It's Macy's. The big department store. And they're LYING to you. You see, Saturday is their "First One Day Sale Of The Year" we're told by the announcer voice...and it's quickly added in "Preview day, Friday."

So let's get this right...it's a one day sale...that lasts TWO days. So it's NOT a one day sale at all. They did this back before Christmas too & it bugged the Jingle out of my Bells. Why do "marketing" people feel that they have to BS you & me? What's the harm in just calling it a really decent TWO day sale? Instead, my cynical generation looks at them and thinks "You're idiots...you REALLY think this is going to motivate me, don't you?"

If you're a small business owner, I know how tempting it can be to mimic the big companies, afterall they make hundreds of millions of dollars and surely you could claim a piece of that pie. I encourage you to go about your business differently. Do things that are uniquely you. Make sure your customers, and any potential customers, know who you are and what you stand for.

And when you have a two day sale, don't call it a one day sale.
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