Branding Archives - Page 13 of 42 - McLellan Marketing Group

Name a medium and I’ve got a learning tool for you!

November 24, 2008

Sure, there’s a 4-day weekend coming up. At least for us Americans. You bet — lots of turkey and pumpkin pie. And football. Let’s not forget football. Or, if you prefer — shopping.

But sooner or later, your brain is going to ask for of a jump start. And I’ve got just the thing for you…no matter how you like to learn.

Special Report: Rain Today’s Face to Face Networking Guide: A Primer for Relationship Building

Rain Today is one of my favorite resources. Tons of good information, webinars, research reports and smart writing. They’re offering this free report as part of their 7-day free trial. Here’s how it works.

Sign up for their 7-day free trial.
Download the Networking Guide.
Explore all of their other resources, download all the articles, reports, etc. that you want/can.
Decide if you want to remain a member or cancel without any financial obligation.

E-book: Back to Basics by Deborah Chaddock Brown

Deborah’s e-book is a great marketing 101 primer. She asked me to review her manuscript and provide a quote for her cover. Here’s what I said:

"Deborah Chaddock Brown is a bold-faced LIAR!! She promises 30 tips to market your small business in her new book, Back to Basics.

But there have to be at least 50 of them in there! With easy to grasp examples, Deborah offers the small business owner a cornucopia of marketing tips, tricks and best of all, proven techniques for building a rock solid marketing foundation.

Read this book with pencil in hand because you’ll be taking notes in the margins as you plan your way to smarter, more effective marketing."

Software: Marketing Plan Pro by PaloAlto Software and Duct Tape Marketing

This interactive software takes the small business owner through a step-by-step process that helps them identify their target audience, key messages, forecast sales and expenses, and track your progress once you’ve completed the plan.

John Jantsch, founder of Duct Tape Marketing, has been serving the small business owner and helping them wrap their arms around marketing for a long time. His involvement with this project means you can count on receiving a quality product.

Web-based video learning: Web Video University

Through a virtual classroom online, you can learn how to craft, script and create high quality web videos to use on your website or blog.

The Web Video University course is broken down into four weekly lessons which will cover everything from content to the technical aspects like lighting and sound. Dave Kaminski walks you through all of the basics and often offers some cost-savings alternatives to going out and buying big ticket equipment.

There you have it…and if none of these trip your trigger — be sure to check out the Amazon widget in the sidebar. It’s filled with books that I highly recommend.

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3 traits of a creative leader

November 23, 2008

I recently had to say goodbye to a very dear friend.

Al owned an advertising agency in New Hampshire and we’d been a part of each other’s unofficial advisory boards (I wrote about my posse awhile back) for almost 10 years. I loved him with all my heart and I’ll miss his humor, straight talk and business smarts.

But…over the years, I learned a great deal from him and I’d like to honor his memory by sharing some of that with you.

Al was from the northeast and he always reminded me of a crusty old sea dawg. But underneath the curmudgeon facade, there was a very savvy business man and one of the biggest hearts I’ve ever known.

So without further ado, here are my lessons from Al on how to lead a creative team.

Love your people: Surround yourself with talent and then make sure they always know how much you appreciate that talent. Celebrate their wins. Help them grow. Push them, but push them knowing you won’t let them free fall. When one of your team stumbles or makes a mistake — acknowledge it first. Use it as a teachable moment but never let them leave the situation feeling bad.

And last but certainly not least…know their aspirations and help them chase their dreams.

Success is no excuse for not staying out front: No matter how successful your team or agency is, you need to stay current and lead the way. Your clients expect you to ahead of the curve. It’s also a very powerful argument for retaining your best employees.

Al was always one of the first to be trying something untested or listening to the latest book. Sometimes he didn’t get it or see the value in it. But that wasn’t the point. He knew he was setting an example for his team and his clients.

Only work with clients who appreciate your smarts and skills: Al’s belief was that life was too short to work with jerks, know it alls, or people who didn’t have the manners to say thank you now and then. He understood that sometimes good clients had unreasonable deadlines, or had to please an ungrateful CEO, or dropped the ball on their end. He didn’t mind that — it’s just a part of the business.

But he wouldn’t tolerate clients who berated, brow beat or were demanding in their tone. His employees didn’t deserve to be treated like that and he made sure they knew he felt that way. As a result, most of his agency’s client relationships were 20+ years or longer. They weren’t just clients, they were respected friends.

Al had figured out the formula for success in this crazy business. Surround yourself with people who had oodles of talent and heart. Only work with clients who appreciate and value those people. And keep everything fresh by always being willing to explore something new. He led by example and with his heart.

He’ll be missed by many of us. But, each of us — client, employee, peer, friend — carry a bit of Al with us. And we’re the better for it.

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How do you get someone to anxiously wait for your book’s release?

November 15, 2008

Sure, J.K. Rowling, John Grisham and Seth Godin have it in the bag. They release a book…and voila, the audience is there.

But for most authors, especially non-fiction authors, the road is a bit more rocky. They usually don’t have a ton of support from their publishers (if they aren’t self-published), they’re most likely still working a day job and odds are, they aren’t loaded.

So how do they get our attention? How do they convince us to jot their book’s release date on our calendar? Well, the irrepressible and irreverent Andy Nulman did it like this.

And yes, I put it on my calendar. You?

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Small gestures can yield lasting results

November 7, 2008

A few months ago, Guy Kawasaki tweeted (made a short announcement on Twitter, the micro-blogging site) that he was done with his next book’s manuscript and was looking for a few people to proofread it and give him feedback.

I was what I assume was a pretty large group of people who raised their hands. Who doesn’t want to read Guy’s book before it gets published? Anyway…read it, proofed it, critiqued it and sent it back.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago. I got a package and voila, it was Guy’s new book, Reality Check (released October 30th). I thought sending it ahead of the release was a nice gesture. But when I opened it, Guy had also taken the time to write a personal note to me inside.

Class act.

You have to figure quite a few people (like Valeria Maltoni who mentioned she got one too, although for the life of me, I can’t find her reference now.) offered to proof his book. So it was probably no small task to get handwritten notes into each copy before sending them off. A very nice gesture but even more than that….smart marketing.

Guy knows how few handwritten notes and cards are used today. He knows it feels personal and that it makes a connection.

The book is a great read – very irreverent and practical. And the author – a great marketer.

P.S. If you find any typos….I swear, I told him about it! 🙂

How about you? What small gesture could you make to create a connection with your prospect, customer or employee?

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Remove the irritant – Amazon attacks Wrap Rage

November 4, 2008

We hear a lot of buzz about innovation. Everyone is trying to create the next iPod.

But sometimes, the most powerful way to reward current customers and gain new one is not by inventing something new…but instead, by removing an irritant.

Amazon announced on their home page yesterday (I think) that they’re waging war on Wrap Rage. This is the frustration people experience when they try to open something they’ve bought that has been sealed as though it contained the key to Fort Knox.

In a letter from Jeff Bezos, the company announces it’s multi-year initiative to create Frustration Free Packaging from Amazon. (Read the announcement here. Click on it once to enlarge enough to actually read.)

They go on to announce that they’ve partnered with Fisher-Price to unveil this initiative with the first results of their efforts.

Bloody brilliant.

In addition to waging war on Wrap Rage (who knew it had a name?), they’ve also created a place where customers can upload videos or photos of their own wrap frustrations.

Two big takeaways for all of us:

Sometimes the most innovative thing you can do is eliminate something that’s a barrier or problem.
When you create an easier, better, faster way — shout it to the world.

What is the biggest frustration your customers experience? If you don’t know — ask them. If you do know, why not remove it?

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What are your employees trained to watch for?

November 3, 2008

I’m in LA for a conference. So naturally, I went to Disneyland over the weekend.

I was waiting for the parade to start and I was standing next to a couple in their mid-50’s, Bill and Ellen. (It’s amazing what you learn when you evesdrop a little!) It was Bill’s birthday and he was wearing a button (provided by Disney) that announced the fact.

I had positioned myself along the parade route in one of the spots where the floats stop and do little mini shows. Once the parade started, I witnessed an amazing thing.

If you’ve ever been to a Disney parade, you know that the cast members go out of their way to interact with the street crowd, especially the kids. They wave, point, smile, etc. It’s a rare person in the parade crowd that does not feel acknowledged.

The first float in the parade was carrying the Peter Pan crowd. Peter was "driving" and he noticed Bill’s button – waved and mouthed…"happy birthday." I thought…wow, impressive.

By the time the parade was done, Bill had been wished a happy birthday by at least 10 parade entertainers. Whether they were a dancer in the Lion King, Peter Pan himself, Belle, or one of the dwarves…Bill had to feel as though the parade was in reality a birthday celebration for him.

Do you suppose that happened by accident? Hardly. Those cast members were trained to look for those buttons and make the wearer feel special. That’s one of the details that brings the Disney brand to life.

How about your brand? What are your employees trained to look for? It doesn’t have to be a physical sign, like a button. Maybe it’s a customer who seems frustrated. Or a change in an ordering pattern. Or perhaps they express a concern repeatedly.

The point is….what have you trained them to watch for? And how have you trained them to react to that?

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Build your brand: Cultural clues

November 2, 2008

I walked into a client’s boardroom to make a presentation. The room looked like many other boardrooms, but there was one thing that immediately caught my eye.

They had party mints on the table.

I’m not telling you the industry, location, brand or any other detail about this client. But…close your eyes and imagine what kind of a business would consciously choose to put out party mints.

Party mints are not good or bad. But they are a cultural clue.

We leave cultural clues everywhere we go. Think about your office décor. Your office location. Or a typical meeting. Or your voicemail/e-mail signature. All places that cultural clues hide. Or can be purposefully hidden.

At MMG on our conference room table, you’ll find freshly baked M&M cookies, with MMG logo colored M&Ms. No accident.

What clues would I see if I came to do business with you? Are they accidental or is it part of your brand plan?

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Personal Branding is its own reward

November 1, 2008

Each year, Dan Schawbel’s organization recognizes some of the standout brands with Personal Brand Awards. Last year, Rohit Bhargava won the gold award, and this year Jeremiah Owyang was presented the 2008 gold award. An esteemed panel of judges made the selection and people were graded based on a few factors, such as value proposition, differentiation, and marketability.

I’m humbled to tell you that I was one of the 6 people honored with recognition. It’s quite an honor and even more so, when you see the other recipients. I’d like to take a minute and introduce you to each of the honorees (well, except me…you know me!)

Gold Award: Jeremiah Owyang

Jeremiah is probably one of the most trusted and sought after experts in the social media space. As a researcher for Forrester following media trends is his day job. He’s very generous with his time and knowledge and the judges wisely selected him unanimously.

Silver Awards: Daniel Scocco and Laura Fitton

Daniel is certainly a go-to-guy for blogging, people trust him and he constantly rewards his community. He offers up tips and strategies on blogging and currently holds the #29 spot in terms of popular blogs (according to Technorati).

Laura’s focus is on social media consulting, specifically "microsharing" which is all about harnessing the power of tools like Twitter, Pownce, Plurk and Jaiku. She’s often quoted on and offline about where the world of social media is headed.

Bronze Awards: Jim Kukral, Wendy Piersall, and little old me

Jim’s thing is all things affiliate marketing, social media and internet marketing each and every day. He communicates his brand through both video and written entries and is a common face at industry events.

Wendy introduced herself to us as eMoms at Home which has now evolved into SparkPlugCEO. Wendy’s message is about the power and possibilities of working for yourself and from home. Her personal story inspires many to take the leap.

Me. Enough said. If you want to read what Dan and the judges said…(this link is for you, Mom and Dad!)

Congrats to all the recipients. As you can imagine, it’s heady stuff to be among them.

If you’re wondering who made the call, the judges were:

Dan Schwabel, founder of Personal Branding blog
Andy Beal, online marketing expert and owner of Marketing Pilgrim
David Jones, Vice President of Digital for Hill & Knowlton and one of Canada’s top PR bloggers
David V. Lorenzo, Managing Partner of the Executive Development and Organizational Effectiveness for Gallup.
Chris Brown, Marketing consultant and top marketing blogger
Mario Sundar, Community Evangelist at LinkedIn and top marketing blogger
Kevin Dugan, Director of Marketing communications for FRCH Design Worldwide and a leading PR blogger

Read more about the award in the most recent edition of Personal Branding Magazine.

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Build your brand: First Day rituals

October 26, 2008

There are many stress filled days on the job. But for many people, their first day at the new gig ranks right up there. Why not take the opportunity to really seed your company’s brand with the new employee from day one?

Sure, they need to fill out the paperwork and do all the normal HR stuff. But that doesn’t mean you can’t communicate your brand loud and clear, above the din of payroll forms!

At McLellan Marketing Group, we’ve created an entire system for welcoming a new employee. But my favorite part of the process is that every new employee receives a copy of Steve Farber’s book Radical Leap – with a personal note from me inside.

The book is about Extreme Leadership – a leadership fable that celebrates love, energy and being audacious in the workplace. It is about how we try to live at MMG.

I can’t think of a better way to accent that first day and to communicate – this is a different sort of place. We’re glad you’re going to be a part of it.

How about you? What on boarding ritual could you weave into your new employee’s experience? What message would you want to send?

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The headless horseman comes a callin’ to get you texting!

October 23, 2008

Last Friday a flaming headless horseman galloped across Chicago’s building facades between the Loop and Wrigleyville.

Who rousted him just in time for Halloween? Meijer, a 180-store big box retailer in the Midwest.

The store gave people a chance to win $1,000 if they texted the company directly when they saw the apparition.

Fliers were distributed to get people looking for the horseman and whenever the van projecting the Horseman stopped or idled in traffic, the horse would rear its hind legs and flash the message: text Meijer for a grand.

Not only did the company receive hundreds of text messages, but they also got TV, radio and print media coverage. Declaring it a success, the street team plans to repeat the work this Friday (October 24th) in Cincinnati.

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