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The Republican and Democratic conventions have provided plenty of fodder for political pundits and late night comedians alike. But for those of us focused on creating, sustaining and nurturing strong brands, there are valuable insights.
Attention C-Suite: It might not be for you
Recently, we heard a C-someone say an internal communications effort was unnecessary. Our answer: maybe it's unneccessary for YOU.
Pretty much everyone in the C-suite knows what’s going on: where the company is headed, financial goals, benchmarks.
Do these pants make my brand look big?
(Or, 3 things your brand and skinny jeans have in common.)
They are not for everyone.
Skinny jeans have a certain number of loud detractors. They probably have an equal number of people who are ambivalent. That’s OK.
Just call us curiosity nerds. That’s fine. But this week, I was thinking about hot candy.
I got to wondering about the insides of Hot Tamales. So instead of just chomping down on a Hot Tamale like I normally do, I let it dissolve in my mouth.
Wearing Groovy Chick t-shirts at an ad trivia competition.Three ways to power up your internal brand
Every day, millions of companies are working on their communications to customers. They’re honing and refining—what to tweet, new services to offer, the next quarter’s sales promotion. At the same time, the majority are overlooking the need to devote well-focused attention to their inside audiences.
Do your employees know—really know—the brand "guts" of the organization they represent? And if they can articulate that certain something, have they also adopted it into their work-time way of life? If they have, then you’re going to outlast your competition. If they haven’t, then here are some steps you can take to help.
What if fast food workers lived the brand?
I've been buying a lot of iced tea lately—stopping by some of the numerous fast food chains to satisfy my curiosity: is it really fast-fast-fast at Jimmy John's? Do they really want me to have a refreshing experience at Burger King?
Sometimes I went to drive-thrus and sometimes walked into the stores for service at the counter. For the most part, my experience was the same.
Alex's Garden Gnome Green Thumb party.Nearly everyone has an employee manual. It dictates policies and procedures, vacations and jury duty. Great! So a new employee knows the basics and you've covered yourself on all the legal must-dos.
But wait! How does your brand relate to internal customers? What does it mean to be part of your company? How does it feel? Sound? What should an employee say when someone asks why he came on board?
That employee has hitched his star to your wagon. He's accepted your invitation because he thinks you have something he wants to be a part of. Don't let him down.
Birds and brands: both can be small and mighty
The first thing I noticed as I looked out my kitchen window Wednesday morning was that my bird feeders were pretty much empty. A bit of guilt hit me as I thought about how I’d procrastinated for the last few days on making the stop at the hardware store for more birdseed.
But then I noticed something that made me smile. On the feeder closest to the window, I saw a very tiny, buff-colored bird sitting on the feeder and—what? Feasting. That bird was so small, she could fit more than half her body into the opening in the feeder. She was making a veritable feast of the seed that hadn’t spilled out. That's the seed that most other birds would never be able to reach because they’re just too big, or couldn’t see.
There’s a lot of talk about the crimes at Penn State. Experts are talking about how to correct some very deep problems and move ahead, how to deal with the loss of sponsorships—and how to salvage the brand.
All this focus on outward communications is justified. There’s much work to be done, decisions to make. They should be made quickly. And actions should be decisive so crimes such as these cannot be committed again. It would appear those efforts are well underway.
What's "inside" your brand?
A good read! This book is available for the iPad and other e-readers, so you can have it right now. What's Your Strategic Heartbeat? is more like a long article than a book. But it has some solid tips and inspiring thoughts about cultivating new ideas and innovation out of one's true brand essence.
At MB Piland, we know that when communications and promotions are created as an outgrowth of your brand's "soul," they really click. That's because they're really authentic. We help clients figure that out all the time, because it can be hard to see inside yourself without some good diagnostics. Luther's book helps you see how he identified this soul—what he calls Strategic Heartbeat—and used it to take his companies to great new heights. This is good for self-examination.
| 13 Mar 2024, 11:30AM - 01:00PM American Business Women's Association/KEEN Chapter: Empower Your Professional Brand—Next-Level LinkedIn Strategies |
| 22 Feb 2024, 11:00AM - 12:00PM American Bankers Association Wealth Mangement & Trust Conference:The Millennial Wealth Wave: How to Ride the Tide |
| 14 Dec 2023, 09:00AM - 10:00AM Greater Topeka Partnership Small Business Council—Networking 101 And Beyond |
| 01 Dec 2023, 09:30AM - 11:30PM Barton Community College Leadership Institute—It's a Brand You World |
| 25 Jul 2023, 11:00AM - 12:00PM MINK Midwest MD—Reel in the Stars: spotlight on marketing brilliance |
| 03 May 2023, 01:15PM - 03:45PM Kansas Community College Leadership Institute—It's a Brand You World |
