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Brand

Microsoft Asks Employees to Spam Friends and Family

internet-explorer-8It’s not a secret that employees can be some of a company’s most powerful brand advocates.  However, that brand advocacy can’t be forced.  In a move that hinges on unethical, Microsoft leaders asked each of the company’s employees to send email messages to at least 10 friends urging them to download the latest beta version of Internet Explorer 8 (and supposedly last before the official launch of IE8). 

But wait.  There’s more.  Microsoft didn’t just ask employees to annoy their friends with useless email.  For some bizarre reason, the leaders of Microsoft thought it would be a good idea to write the spam email message for employees, so they could simply cut and paste it into a new message then spam away!

The Register got to see the email in all its glory when a Microsoft employee did as he was told and spammed his friends with it.  Seems the recipient of the IE8 spam email message could tell his friend didn’t write it based on the writing style.  Wonder why?  Let’s take a look at a snippet from the email courtesy of The Register: [Read more…] about Microsoft Asks Employees to Spam Friends and Family

Google’s Worst Brand Extension Bites the Dust – Goodbye Print Ads

google_print_ads_mistakeGoogle’s worst brand extension has finally met its demise.  Last week, Google announced that Print Ads is getting the ax.

In 2006, the brand that dominates the web launched its new Print Ads product.  Print Ads was Google’s attempt at making money in traditional media, Print Ads was marketed as the perfect way to bring a new revenue stream to newspaper publishers and to provide more relevant advertising for consumers.  Turns out, it didn’t work.  No surprise there.

What went wrong?  First and foremost, Google expanded into a business it had little experience with and lost focus of its core brand strength – dominating the online world.  The extension didn’t make sense from the beginning.  On the flip side, newspapers are in a fast decline.  Google Ads won’t revive them, no matter how great Google thinks they are.  [Read more…] about Google’s Worst Brand Extension Bites the Dust – Goodbye Print Ads

Toyota Looks to the Next Generation Brand Champion

On Tuesday, Toyota made a move to leverage the power of a brand champion by naming Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the company’s founder, as the company’s new president.  Brand champions such as Hugh Hefner for Playboy and Steve Jobs for Apple can play a powerful role in developing and promoting a brand image and promise.  Brand champions become living embodiments of the brands they advocate and protect, and often become celebrities for no other reason by their role as the face of those brands. 

For Toyota, which posted its first loss in 2008 since the company was started in 1937, naming Toyoda as the new president could provide a perceived sense of security to consumers and stockholders who associate the brand champion’s last name with the company’s success.  Of course, Toyota doesn’t operate based on the word of its president.  Instead, it’s very much a consensus organization, but nevertheless, Toyoda brings a sense of heritage that harkens back to a time when the company could do no wrong. [Read more…] about Toyota Looks to the Next Generation Brand Champion

Are Your Sub-brands Embarrassing Your Primary Brand?

scionOn Saturday morning, I opened the Yahoo! home page and saw a featured article about celebrity children who tarnish their parents’ names.  I had to take a look and see who the writer tagged as the biggest embarrassments to big name musicians.  I couldn’t help myself.  As I looked through the list of less-talented offspring, I started to think about how the same thing could happen to corporate brands. 

Are your sub-brands embarrassing your primary brand?

Of course, the first rule of branding is consistency, but sometimes a well-known company brand can support a wide variety of sub-brands successfully.  However, what if a sub-brand fails to perform well?  And what if that sub-brand draws a lot of unflattering publicity?  The answer is clear if that sub-brand is not bringing in the revenue the company needs, but what if that sub-brand is driving huge profits?  Does the company protect its main brand and let go of the sub-brand, or does the company keep the sub-brand and let the chips fall where they may? [Read more…] about Are Your Sub-brands Embarrassing Your Primary Brand?

Create Visibility and Increase Your Business

Without a doubt, the one thing that any company, corporation or business wants is visibility. Exposure to the masses and the being seen by thousands, or even millions of potential customers is a dream come true for some. But just how is it that a company is supposed to get this “visibility” and make it work for them?

When the internet became available for business and consumer consumption, many jumped on the bandwagon, hoping to find their way to a glorious road of fame and riches. The dot com events of the late 1990s proved unfortunate for some, as they were simply relying on their name and reputation to create instant success. What they weren’t prepared for was orchestrating a way for that success to translate into actual business dollars. It failed miserably.

Visibility is a concept that is neither bought, sold nor translated. It is created. It is a form of art, if you will, that shapes and molds a company or an idea to formulate a process in the potential customer’s mind. In other words, if you can get them to think it, perhaps you can get them to buy it.

One example of a niche market that maximizes its use of visibility is the sports arena. Most everything in sports has a sponsor, a logo or printed advertising. From the Michael Jordan Nike swoosh symbol to the Saucony running shoes worn by triathlete Lance Armstrong. Although these companies do pay to have their brands plastered across the athletes backs, what they can’t pay for (so to speak) is the lasting impressions and thought impressions that their brands leave in their mind. Think about it: how many times have your kids said they want “Skechers” or “Nike” shoes and not the no-name, cheaper brands?

Some may argue that this is branding or perhaps advertising. But while that may hold credence, I maintain that it is definitely visibility, and that visibility is what makes customers remember you and want to buy what you have.

No matter what the size of a company is, they can create visibility for themselves, especially online. How:

1. Be everywhere. Interact on social sites like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace. When people start to see you and your company everywhere, all of the time and interacting with others, they will become curious and go check out your site. After all, that’s what you want, right?

2. Ask questions. Not chiding questions, but genuine questions. Ask for others opinions, input and feedback. Show customers that you really don’t know it all.

3. Give back. Offer something of value back to your online followers. Be generous with your information and share how-to’s, resources and tools.

When you employ these strategies, who do you think readers will turn to when they need advice? Who do you think they’ll remember when they have to make a decision or choice and you just wrote an article or blog post on the subject?

What can you or your company do to create more visibility for your service or product? What creative ways can you find to share what you know?

The Apple Brand and Steve Jobs Review: Change + Quality Work Well

What Changes Mean in Corporate Leadership

Corporations are no different that any other business, large or small. Companies can operate for a period of time with all things being optimal, and then one day things can change. Perhaps they may not go the way they’ve always gone. Whether those changes are subtle, or in direct connection to the success of the business, anything different does require researching and reviewing to see what topic(s) need to be addressed in order to place the company back into position.

There are times when changes in corporate leadership become necessary. This can be attributed to slow company growth, poor sales, poor leadership, high employee turnover or all of the above. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the company itself is a poor investment or invaluable. It can simply mean that a shift in leadership and thinking can refocus the corporation back to a strong position of direction and leadership. But often, just because there is a change in the leadership does not automatically dictate a change in the company overall. With each leader comes a change in personality, style, direction and overall sense of doing things a new way.

Acting Like a Leader

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)), a leader in computer and digital technology, announced to the media that their 2009 Macworld tradeshow presence would the final time that Apple will appear at the show. They stated in their press release  that “trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers“, therefore they have decided to pursue other methods of customer acquisition.

The press release news of the changes at the Macworld conference has caused quite a flurry in the blogosphere. Also, with the general absence and participation of Steve Jobs at various events, many people wonder and are concerned about Apple’s current leadership. There have been speculations about Jobs’ personal health, about the company’s business positioning if he has failing health and whether there will be any new bombshell product announcements. Although Apple maintains a news and development page on their site, there is nothing there confirming or dispelling stories about Jobs’ viability as a continuing leader.

What should a corporation do when there’s nothing to tell?

How to Present Changes to Your Customers

While it is a fact that Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, will not present the keynote address at the 2009 conference, he has declined to say why he won’t present  the address. What is known is that Phil Schiller, the senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, will be the keynoter. Bloggers are speculating whether or not he’s being positioned to take Job’s place. What if this is true and it does happen? What will happen with the quality of their products or level of customer service once a new leader is at the helm? Does it matter? Will it make a difference? Will the quality of their products change?

Even though change is not always readily welcomed, it can be something positive for all involved. Apple has done, in my opinion, a great job in presenting and managing change with their customers. Some of the things that Jobs’ did when dealing with the question of his health and other issues was to address them directly. After he addressed them, he made it clear that he would not entertain further questions so that the focus could get back on the company and away from him. As corporations, here are some things that can be done in the same way as Jobs’ implemented to keep the business in an upwardly mobile state:

1.) Dispel panic and pandemonium. 

He felt that his health issues were of no consequence to the viability of the  company, therefore he did not spend a whole lot of time on it addressing it. If it is not directly related to sales, marketing or customer service, don’t spend any more time on it than is absolutely necessary.

2.) Use your blog or website to communicate to your customers.

Update it frequently. This should go without saying in this day and age of mega social networking sites and Twitter fever. With a brief click and a few typed characters, you can connect quickly and easily to your customer base. This keeps them feeling in the loop and a part of the whole process.

3.) Always exercise quality.

This is something that Jobs’ is notoriously known for. He’s a perfectionist and demands the same from his staff. When you provide exceptional products and service to your customers, quite simply, you reap perpetual rewards, both tangible and intangible.

 

With the changes that both Jobs’ and Apple are experiencing, I doubt seriously if there will be a change in the level of quality that we’ve come to associate with the Apple brand. If anything, Job’s, Schiller and the rest of the Apple team will work diligently to ensure that the customers are satisfied, that Apple stays on top and that the focus will always be about the brand and not non-essential news.