Empathy In Branding

Being in branding can burn a person out the way I imagine being a Cubs fan, or a toll booth operator can. But every once in a while you see a company get it right, and you remember what drew you to this industry in the first place.

I have no idea what I was watching last night on TV, but for the first time in a long time, a 30-second spot for Kleenex of all things, captured my imagination.

(Go watch it, I’ll wait...)

Tissues = Being Sick?
Tissue branding has always been aligned with feeling crappy, dryness, misery and/or post-nasal drip. Not a good move brand-wise. Has no agency ever sat down, looked at a box of Kleenex and asked “How do we get people to connect emotionally to this product?” The answer seems so obvious, but somehow it has eluded Kimberly Clark for decades.

“But, We’re Different!”
A frequent mistake for… ...(more)

Traffic or Findability?

There’s much noise lately over traffic, and whether we should all care about it or not. I think there’s a distinction to be made between being highly findable, and one of its inevitable benefits… traffic. In a recent Washington Post article, Frank Ahrens posits over another popular meme, that blogs have peaked, and invites bloggers to tell him why they blog. I saw a connection between the two, and felt compelled to respond:

(An open letter)
Mr. Ahrens,
Good article. I’m certain you’re getting it with both barrels right now, so I’ll keep this brief. I found your article through Steve Newson’s blog.

And that’s exactly why I blog.

I’m exponentially more findable when I regularly publish content relevant to my market. People who track blogs and keywords such as design, blogging, brand, creative, etc… find anything I publish containing those keywords, almost instantly. This connects me to, and generates dialogue with, new clients,… ...(more)

i-Can’t take much more.

I’m having a really hard time hating Microsoft today. And I don’t mean their Windows® Operating System, for which I hold as much contempt as ever, but rather the Microsoft Corporation itself.

They did this thing where they allow you to hear their developers talking about projects in their own words; through blogs and video diaries such as Channel9. By doing this, they further distance themselves from the practices of companies like Apple who operate under a shroud of secrecy, developing for months at a time, then dramatically unveiling a tremendous update of some sort - who’s net effect is usually that I have buy all of my software over again to take advantage of some incremental speed increase.

What Microsoft is doing is the single most progressive and effective marketing strategy happening today. I just got to sit in (and you can too), on an hour long meeting among the top developers of Microsoft’s new ...(more)

We don’t work here.

A gaggle of ethnically diverse “twenty-somethings” with perfect skin and flawless fashion sensibility? Is that who’s really administrating the Linux server your website lives on? I know it’s not. You know it’s not. And the companies who put these people on their home pages know it’s not. So who do they think they’re fooling? And why try to fool your customer ever? Even the web host I trust to keep my site running is guilty of this chicanery (check out the guy who only has his ear in the frame). Bluehost is a great host. Their customer service is always available directly by phone, and completely capable of handling any request. Why not show these people? Their offices? Their flaws? Their commitment to doing their jobs well?

I’m reading Robert Scoble’s new book, Naked Conversations and it has started me thinking about small companies who fabricate their identity out of thin air. It’s a common mistake, but how can these companies hope to differentiate themselves or establish trust,… ...(more)

Can you find me now? Good.

They say “If you can’t be found online your business is already dead - you just haven’t noticed it yet.” Now, 11 days after launching my site, Google can see me. Findability is key to any site’s success. Here are 5 easy ways to be sure your site gets found.

Create findable content - This seems obvious, but thousands of great companies bury their content in sexy (occasionally annoying) Flash animations or objects. If done wrong (as a majority are) it renders their content and links completely invisible to search engines. I believe 90% of SEO can (and should) be done during the design of a site.

Good ‘n plenty - Often companies make redesigning their website the central focus of their marketing efforts, only to abandon it after it’s completion. Your website is not finished when you launch it. It’s not finished ever if you want to continue to be found online. Regular content updates, links to related content and links back to your site are not only search… ...(more)

Branding Brittle
My Dad has spent years perfecting his recipe for what many consider to be the World’s greatest peanut brittle. Every Christmas my mother’s kitchen becomes his laboratory where he carefully refines his process. This year he made 40 lbs. that were given to his friends, family and coworkers. With retirement on the horizon, I’m trying to talk him into a joint venture - selling his delicious creation over the internet.

Before this can happen I first have to convince my father that - A.) People will pay $14.95 for a pound of the World’s greatest peanut brittle. B.) No one will choke on, be blinded by or assault someone else with his brittle - subsequently suing him for liability. And C.) Blogs actually do work. If you bake it they will come!

To the last point, DL Byron and Scott Benish have done a masterful job of productizing and marketing an invention through their own blog. I see two obvious advantages in their product. First, it solves a problem.… ...(more)