If you were enjoying this beautiful beach weekend with me, you may have seen the cloud formation in the sky that spelled GEICO.COM and gone "OOH". OOH is an acronym for Out of Home- the classification of advertising so called because, unlike print or tv, it reaches the consumers when they are out of their homes.
According to the NY Times last Friday, Madison Avenue is having an out-of-home experience. "The ardor to reach consumers outside the home — and outside the realm of traditional media like television — continues to grow among marketers. They hope to fight back against technologies like digital video recorders, which make it easier to avoid conventional advertisements like commercials.

The category once referred to only billboards, posters and signs but now includes expansion into places like airports, offices, malls, schools and health clubs. Industry forecasters are predicting a growth rate of more than 12% a year for the next 5 years.

I've been following the trend carefully, since I am frequently called upon to develop advertising strategies beyond print and online. But even I was pleased and surprised at how the category has expanded and the opportunities to build a tactical buzz across specific geography have never been so creative, inexpensive and hopefully effective.

Considering opening a gym? How about chair advertising such as this for VIP Gyms?Regular BRANDEBlog readers are already familiar with advertising in and outside of malls, movie theatres, barber shops or on coffee cups. But here's just a partial list of OOH media that BRANDEMiX can now include as part of an integrated advertising campaign to increase brand awareness and make some noise.

ATM machines • Driver's Ed cars • Spotlight Ads • Gas Pump Toppers • Taxis • Valet Parking Lots • Sand sculpture • Street Decals ... and for the brave.. Wrapped Port-A-Potties.

If you want to know more, call us.

Oh and speaking of noise, those sky-typing GEICO planes created an out-of-home experience that was 8 miles long.

Labels: BRANDEMiX, out of home advertising

It was Friday night, and as I was in the restaurant, across from my husband, I was texting my love to ChaCha.

No, not the dance, but a free web-based, mobile text messaging answering service that has become my favorite thing. So favorite that I might even consider paying for it if I had to. Because, unlike with Twitter, almost like with Scrabulous before they shut it down, and definitely like my husband, ChaCha has become a can't-live-without addiction.

Here are the facts:
ChaCha allows people with any mobile phone to text 242242 (chacha) and ask any question in conversational English and receive an accurate answer as a text message in just a few minutes. ChaCha also offers voice search through a mobile service that could be queried via a toll-free phone number--1-800-2ChaCha (800-224-2242).

My first experience with ChaCha was tenuous- I texted ChaCha the following question: Where is the best place to invest a small amount of money to yield a 10% ROI. I waited. In minutes, ChaCha texted me back and told me to call a financial advisor. Ever so thoughtfully, ChaCha sent me a weblink to Financial Advisors in my area.

Other texts were more concrete— “What’s the weather this weekend?”, “How many seats are in Shea Stadium?”, “What’s the address of my dentist?” Time after time, ChaCha replied with accurate, up-to-the minute details. When I was in the midst of a conversation about gas prices, ChaCha saved the day by answering my question “If gas is $1.50 a litre, how much is it a gallon” with the following “it would cost $6.819 per gallon. Yikes! Have a great day and keep texting ChaCha. ChaCha told me how to get paint off the carpet, what my horoscope was for the month of July.

I’m not so interested in the behind the scenes at ChaCha but in case you are, the ChaCha system is set up so that each question is routed to a trained Guide who is knowledgeable in that particular subject matter. The Guide will research your question and send the answer back to you as soon as possible. The Guide will be able to see your previous questions so they will understand if you ask a follow-up question. Once you register, ChaCha will save your questions and answers, and you’ll be able to view the profile of the Guide that found your answer!

I also love the ChaCha website- very cool Valentine colors (because I’m not the only one in love) a place to read and leave confessions, a store where I can buy ChaCha apparel and a well-produced culture video.

My HR friends may even find this interesting: ChaCha recently announced that they are moving to a “Pay-For-Performance” system that was designed to improve search quality. Under the new program, “Top Guides” will receive 20 cents per question. Everyone else gets 10 cents per question. To become a Top Guide, users must do the following:

* >95% Quality Measurement.
* 95% and above completion of answers to questions:
* Minimum 300 Searches a week.

But what I really really love is that ChaCha will partner with BRANDEMiX in putting together branded mobile text campaigns including event promotion, text voting or trivia events.

So Friday night, when ChaCha told me what time the local movies were playing, I was so happy I literally texted back “I love you ChaCha.” And you know what ChaCha told me? “We at ChaCha think you’re the best, too! Our customers are very important so let us know if you need anything 24/7”

As a dependable virtual sage at my fingertips, or another leg in an integrated client branding or recruitment campaign, ChaCha stands alone!

Labels: BRANDEMiX, Branding, ChaCha

Last week, LinkedIn and the NY Times announced a new partnership that is supposed to add value to both sites and their visitors/members. Oh, and by the way, it is also another way for advertisers to micro-target their messages. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

According the the press release “LinkedIn members visiting the Times' business and tech pages will see a new section of headlines tailored to the industry they work in, as determined by the information in their LinkedIn profile.”

According to the LinkedIn blog (yes, they have one too), LinkedIn members can share any NY Times article they find interesting with their network connections. So, I went to the NY Times Business pages like I was instructed to, and didn’t see anything that asked me to sign in with my LinkedIn ID.

Nothing looked like this-

Next I hopped over to LinkedIn, stopped first to see how many people viewed my profile in the past few days, and tried to see anything that looked like this. No luck in the 5 minutes of allocated time I devoted to searching.

So, I’m not convinced that anything is adding value to anything, and its just another clever way for a social network to generate revenue by allowing the NY Times to harvest parts of our profiles -- industry, job function, seniority, company size, gender and geography — and sell advertising.

Be sure you opt out.

By the way, if you want me to add you as a connection, let me know.

Labels: BRANDEMiX, social networking

Here’s the Zappos follow up I promised you.

The backstory is a recent posting you can view here or continue reading the short and sweet version.

I came across an article about Zappos paying employees $1,000 to quit their job following training. The ones who stay become the Brand Ambassadors— committed employees who stay, perform and recommend.

I did some follow up research and found a presentation made by Tony— my NBF (new best friend) and also the CEO. At the end of the presentation, he said anyone who wants a culture book could send him an email. I did.

Here’s what I wrote (please indulge me my sales pitch— I’m an entrepreneur)
“I love your site. I love your culture. (And great shoes help.) I develop marketing and communications that support the attraction and retention of talent and if you ever need a hand- please count me in. Thanks,”

I also started following him on Twitter, http://twitter.com/zappos, and saw that he was in London.

Guess what! Tony wrote me back within hours and said
Hi Jody,
It's a physical book so I just need your mailing address...
Re: attracting/retaining talent, I've cc'd Christa who heads up our recruiting department and she will be following up with you!

Not only did the book come, following an awesome email from someone in shipping inviting me on a tour of the facility any time i’m in Vegas, but the call from Christa came along with a potential opportunity to assist them with their employee communications!

So, operationally, externally and internally, ZAPPOS goes from A to Z, or in actuality Z to A in living ther brand!

Great job Tony and friends.

Labels: BRANDEMiX, Branding, internal communications

This was supposed to be my Zappos pt.II post but a funny thing happened to me on the way to the shoe store... sorry Tony. Next week.

Recently I was asked to give advice to women everywhere about having their own business. For those of you who don't know me, take a peek. For my friends- is it true the camera adds 10 pounds?



Since the launch of BRANDEblog, more than 3 years ago, I have been steadily moving away from musing about the joys and despairs of owning my own business. I think that there's value in the reading, though not necessarily for this audience, so stay tuned for the launch of another blog.

My I'm busy.

Labels: BRANDEMiX, Jody Ordioni

YOUR CHOICE: SEE THE MOVIE



READ THE POST
Ever heard of a “Quit-Now” bonus for new employees? We’ve all heard of severance packages where long-standing employees are essentially paid a bonus to quit now. But a “Quit-Now” bonus for new employees to voluntarily leave after a week on the job … that’s novel.

Bill Taylor, of Mavericks at Work fame, writes how Zappos , a fast-growing online shoe retailer, will offer one-week old employees a “Quit-Now” bonus of $1,000. Zappos will ask new employees this question … “If you quit today, we will pay you for the amount of time you’ve worked, plus we will offer you a $1,000 bonus.”

Why does Zappos do this? The reasoning, as Bill Taylor put it, is …

“Because if you’re willing to take the company up on the offer, you obviously don’t have the sense of commitment they are looking for. It’s hard to describe the level of energy in the Zappos culture—which means, by definition, it’s not for everybody. Zappos wants to learn if there’s a bad fit between what makes the organization tick and what makes individual employees tick—and it’s willing to pay to learn sooner rather than later. (About ten percent of new call-center employees take the money and run.)”

SEE THE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION FROM ZAPPOS PRESIDENT, Tony Hseih




Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, provides his 10 tips for building a customer service focused culture.

Whichever is your media of choice, the deal is that for a virtual company to have such a strong connection with its customers, they must be doing something right.

All employees that are hired into their corporate office, regardless of position, are required to undergo a 4-week Customer Loyalty Training course, which includes at least 2 weeks of talking on the phone with customers in the call center.^[7] at full salary. After training the new employees are offered $1000 to leave the job immediately.^[7] This is to ensure people are there for the love of the job and not the money. Over 90% turn down the buyout.

Great job Tony. And move over Southwest. I've just found a new case study for my toolbox.

I have emailed Tony who graciously offered me a free copy of his culture book. More to come.

Labels: BRANDEMiX, Branding, culture, retention

Look what else you can do with a blog— Get a Job!

Okay. Guess how many guest bloggers I got from my Valentine’s Day blog. If you guessed zero, then you are correct. So I guess I’ll just keep blogging myself. Lucky me-- According to the WSJ, blogs are the new resume database and the best way to catch a passive candidate.

Ryan Loken, a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. recruitment manager, says he spends one to two hours a week searching through blogs for new talent or additional information about the candidates he has interviewed. "Blogs are a tool in the tool kit," he says. Since he joined the Bentonville, Ark., retail giant three years ago, Mr. Logen estimates that Web journals have helped him fill 125 corporate jobs. Most of the recruits were referred to him by bloggers and blog contributors, and some were the writers themselves.

Some companies encourage employees to blog because they can use them to recruit others. When recruiter Harry Joiner was hired to fill two positions at Musician's Friend Inc. in November, he used an employee's personal blog to help sell his client's rural location of Medford, Ore., to job seekers. "Candidates were using Medford as a reason not to consider the jobs," he says. "As a marketer, I thought, if you can't change it, promote it."

7 Tips for Making Your Blog Recruiter-Friendly
1. Clearly identify your specialty. Include a tagline in your blog's banner so its theme can be quickly recognized. Also, write a concise "about me" blurb that readers can easily find.
2. Show you're current on hot topics. For example, relate a recent news item about your area of expertise to a project you completed and link to tangible evidence of your work, such as a press clipping or PowerPoint presentation.
3. Provide more information. Include a downloadable resume and if you have a profile on a networking site such as LinkedIn.com, link to it.
4. Exercise common sense. Never write about anything negative or proprietary concerning current or former employers.
5. Omit personal information. Unless it's relevant to the job you want, avoid writing about how much you love Fido or the cute things your kids do.
6. Keep it polished and current. Post new entries at least three times a month to show that you're committed.
7. Contribute to other blogs. Insert an inbound link to your blog to draw more traffic and boost its search-engine rankings.

Once again, I urge you to email me if you have any blog tendencies you’d like to expand upon.

The door is always open. But then again, I might get a new job. LOL LOL LOL

Labels: Blogging, BRANDEMiX

Saturday afternoon found me surfing through CraigsList looking through vacation swaps, free stuff and resumes from advertising professionals. I found this diatribe:

Advertising Account Executive
“I once had a temp job at an Ad Agency on 57th Street. I was excited about it because I had assumed an ad firm would be full of fun, lively, creative people. Wow, was I ever mistaken. I like working with well read, witty, urbane types but, this place was the dullest warehouse of lost human souls I had ever encountered. An insurance company being sold a policy by another insurance company would of had more life. Anyway, the final straw came when on a cold winter's night I was about to leave and was putting on my winter hat which, for a guy, was rather poofy, I gotta admit.

It was a little transgendery looking thing with flamboyant colors and ultra soft material. As I put it on I turned to a female ad executive who worked there and who I thought I had a bit of a rapport with, and asked; "Is this a man's hat or a woman's?" She looked at me and replied; "Well, when you are wearing it it's a man's hat." To which I fired back without missing a beat;
"Yeah, that's what I tell my wife when I am wearing her panties. When I am wearing your panties, they're man's panties."

Now ya think someone with an active imagination, as is supposedly required by an ad firm, would have known right away that I was joking. But not this woman. She just stared at me with a look of horrified disbelief, and I could almost hear the rusty cogs grinding to a halt in her vacuous head as she struggled to digest the information that I had just laid on her. I could tell she actually thought I had divulged some kind of dark sexual secret to her, and that I was some kind of pervert who wore his wife's panties! Whatta cretin. I hesitated to explain myself, and clarify that I was only joking, but then decided to let her fallow brain have something to nosh on over the weekend. Let her share with her girlfriends the story about the weird temp dude in the office. I left the office whistling

So that's my ad agency experience. If you are an agency that thinks you are unlike the one above, in that you actually do value creativity, as well as integrity and hard work, then hire me and prove it.

I was tempted to reply but though I do value hard work, creativity and integrity, I like to be known as the craziest one in BRANDland! So for the moment, we won't be adding to staff.

Labels: BRANDEMiX

Labels: BRANDEMiX

By Susan Solomon, The ClickZ Network
Every day of his gray-hued life, Ward Clever kissed June goodbye, patted Wally and the Beav on their heads, and drove the Edsel to work. He sat at his desk until 4, pushed a few papers across the desk, and called it a day. The tune didn't vary much, except when -- every once in a while -- those crazy boys from accounting trotted across the hall to swap stories about those truly wild guys in finance. But that was a rarity. Most of the time, old Ward relied on a monthly corporate memo or two to learn about anything new in the company.

Today, Ward probably lives in Boca Raton and his sons Wally and the Beav are themselves nearing retirement at Ward's old stomping grounds, but, man, how times have changed. The company intranet has the power to keep them posted on everything that's happening to the company, not only in the Mayfield office but also at the outpost in Mexico City. "It's really neato," Beaver emailed recently to Wally. "But, geez, did you see what the guys and gals from accounting posted the other day? I don't think the company brass intended for us to use the intranet for publicizing the number of drinks they all enjoyed at their holiday bash."

Huh? Cut! I'll bet you thought this was going to be an article about the wonders of the intranet for employee communications. I'll bet you thought it was going to be about creating a free-for-all on the company electronic bulletin board. Well, yes and no.

The truth is, the content of internal communications is just as important as the external stuff. It may not be as glamorous, or as widely viewed, as a multimillion-dollar television campaign or even a well-visited Web site, but employee communications is truly a strategic function that affects the corporate bottom line.

Those marketing communications people who have responsibility for the corporate intranet have a very powerful tool to manage. Don't ignore your duties because it's "just internal communication." Employee relations efforts have a significant impact on your bottom line. Here are some suggestions for handling content.

The intranet is not a bulletin board. Don't clutter your site with employees' notices about cars for sale and condominium rentals. Worse yet is letting your site become a free-for-all. Employee communications -- similar to external communications -- must "stay on message." You don't have to be Attila the Censor, but you have to be a good editor. Set parameters early about what can and can't be posted. And make sure you -- or another communications professional -- are in the editor's chair. Set up a quick and efficient approval cycle and stick to it to prevent bottlenecks.

Architecture counts. Set up your intranet site with the same care you would your Web site. That includes considering which items go "top of fold." Test ease of usage with employee volunteers and listen to their responses.

Reward submissions. Give employees "beats" and reward them with bylines. But never, ever let an article go by without your initial perusal. (Have I emphasized enough the importance of an intranet editor?)

Don't mistake the intranet for email. Email is communicated to a select group of people under some semblance of confidentiality. Forget confidentiality on the intranet, where the message is shared with the entire organization. Therefore, if a department head has a message for a select group of employees, suggest the use of email instead.

Don't substitute the intranet for face-to-face communications. Employee satisfaction is highly influenced by the staff person's relationship with her supervisor. Remind supervisors that the intranet is not a substitute for communicating face-to-face with their direct reports.

Empower employees. Give people the tools they need to do their jobs better. This includes online educational materials, software tutorials, and postings of important presentations.

Expand benefits. Let employees better manage their benefits with tools that allow direct access to their pension accounts, health insurance, and so on.

Communicate the message. Use the intranet to let employees preview ad campaigns. Provide an explanation of the strategy behind the campaign and "talking points" that will help employees further the branding message through word of mouth.

Survey employees. Be as responsive to employees as you are to Web site visitors. Survey users on the effectiveness of your efforts, and don't forget to report on how you've used the information to make changes.

Yes, Wally and Beaver, company communications have changed. But the new medium is useless -- or could even have negative effects -- if you don't take seriously your responsibilities as communications professionals. So, pay attention to those corporate intranets. Otherwise, I'll tell Eddie Haskell on you.

Labels: BRANDEMiX, internal communications

This morning’s email brought me the Top 5 viral video advertisements of 2007-- The advertisements that were most successful in attracting online viewers, as ranked by GoViral, the online marketing agency. It’s a subject I am fascinated by since everyone wants to go viral and its harder than you think to achieve viral status, particularly for commercial purposes.

I should know, I think that BRANDEMiX viral videos (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=brandemix&search=Search) are hilarious but viral, they are not. Not even mildly contagious.

They are-
The Cadbury Gorilla Drummer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbLr2NEV_7o
Launch online: August 2007
Views on Youtube: 5m + lots of other user generated versions

Smirnoff Green Tea Partay
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWzNiUXTh7E
Launch online: August 2007
Views on Youtube: 3.4m

Ray-Ban - Catch Sunglasses
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-prfAENSh2k
Launch online: May 2007
Views on Youtube: 3.2m + user generated content

Lynx/Axe – Bom chicka wah wah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8eUGtZr4Co
Launch online: August 2007
Views on Youtube: 3.4m

So, when I went to see the Best of for ‘07, I was was even more puzzled by most. Great songs, pretty girls, humor (particularly Ray-Ban) but still. And the trend of real Global Agencies making what looks like User Generated Home Movies?

There is one on the list that I do think is genius- for building a brand, a cult, and sales.

It’s a campaign called “Will it Blend”
According to a series of 30 second to two minute infomercials demonstrating the Blendtec line of blenders, especially the Total Blender. In the show, Tom Dickson, the Blendtec founder, attempts to blend various items in order to show off the power of his blender. Dickinson started this marketing campaign after doing a blending attempt with a box of matches.

Nothing could be less sexy than a blender, so the fact that this campaign- by the founder, has dramatically increased sales and built such a strong following is really impressive.

Impact

The phrase Will it blend? has become an internet meme on sites such as Digg. Dickson has revealed that the campaign has been a great success for Blendtec. “The campaign took off almost instantly. We have definitely felt an impact in sales. Will it Blend has had an amazing impact to our commercial and our retail products.” Dickson has made many national television appearances, including NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 30, 2007, on which he blended a rake handle in mere seconds.

Here’s the latest- Blending an Apple Iphone


Check the rest out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLe0T1rUeDA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DieCnMS0G8k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek0OAXmer38
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29qOT4JozSw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7SKDnhI3Eg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9POR8IfawVo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7JCrbRr54w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIakPZ0DJjg

Branding for Business Results- That’s what I’m talking about!

Labels: BRANDEMiX, viral marketing

Several months ago I wrote about America’s Brand as seen through the pages on my passport. It seems that they’re not the only arm of government to redefine its image. The Postal Service, which has a budget of $30 – $35 million a year for advertising, wants people to view them in a new light.

Rant 1: Why is the budget a floating number with a $5 million spread?
Rant 2: Why does the post office need to spend $35 million on advertising?

Though I don’t have the answer to my first question, I can presume that the cost of a stamp- now at almost half a dollar, makes people like myself reconsider whether to actually mail my checks, or use the online bill paying services of my Bank- Bank of America- another recent member of the re-branding club. Losing so much revenue from no-competition stamps means they’re forced to compete head to head against mighty brands like FedEx, UPS and DHL. And that is a problem and the answer to Rant 2.

The manager of advertising and promotion at the Postal Service said that though the brand is changing, customers were not viewing them as the contemporary and competitive organization they are.

The new theme: Today’s Mail.

The ads highlight some new services including shipping a package from your kitchen, creating customized postage stamps, automated postal centers and “eco-friendly” packaging to mail gifts. (Lets cover every base including green- rant 3.) The attributes were culled from the information received from 37 focus group sessions around the country and it’s the first time a theme has been used USPS advertising in 10 years. The ads use real people and, in addition to appearing in both print and online, will appear…. Guess where…. Right in your mailbox. A Brand New Postcard will be sent to 146 million addresses. Direct Mail for Today’s Mail. (Not to be confused with Today’s Male.) I just wasn’t that impressed.

Labels: BRANDEMiX, Branding

It's fall and apples are in season and I set out to buy 3 shiny new ones for BRANDEMiX.

In terms of Brand Equity, Apple's ranks 22 on the list of best Global Brands, and it's brand equity is up 22% over last year. The Apple brand is innovation, style and design. It's thinking out of the box.

And the Apple stores themselves are an experience worthy of the Apple logo.

Though the store was every bit as busy as you would imagine on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, the my salesperson guided me through my purchases, asking me qualifying questions such as who were the computers for and what kind of work would they be doing.

When I expressed concern integrating the new Intel-chip Macs onto my network, out came a Mac Genius. Another company might call this person a Geek or part of technical support.

But in Apple-land he is a genius and he helped alleviate my concerns. He handed me his card and told me to give him a call on Monday and let him know how it worked out.

Yes, I was buying 3 computers but there are companies buying 500 Ipods to give out to their employees. There are customers raffling 100 Iphones at the next networking conference. My purchase was not large by Apple standards yet I was given the red carpet treatment.

AND THIS RELATES TO YOU HOW?

The most significant impact Human Resources can have within their company is to support the brand, hire to the brand attributes and make sure training and development programs, performance management systems and compensation programs are designed to reinforce and promote "brand behavior."

The geniuses both in the stores and running the company know how important every person walking in the door is. Not only are they connected to the culture- the create the culture every day.

They know that my children want Mac computers because Mac makes their favorite thing- the Ipod.

Here's what InterBrand's insights on Global Branding had to say about the company:

Apple
Apple is the supreme master of Demand Creation. Consumers
are now happy to own multiple iPods that are styled for
particular functions: home, video or exercising. And in a world
filled with technology, the expectation created around the
launch of the iPhone demonstrates the supreme desirability
this brand has created. With iPhone, Apple plays a double trick
on its competitors. It transcends the problems of the highly
saturated communications environment by creating products
with such extraordinary customer pull that there’s no need to
push. At the same time, the phenomenon of the product launch
pulls free media toward it, proliferating brand impressions and
flooding media channels with branded messages. Essentially,
it has created such a profound demand that the product itself
generates a media blitz. It’s a high profile demonstration
of the convergence of technology. It was unthinkable some
years ago that Apple could make a phone. Consumers wouldn’t
have given the brand permission to do so. But now Apple
can transcend the ‘old thinking’ of limited boundaries. In this
sense the brand has become its passport, to roam wherever its
proposition can be applied.

That's the power of a brand and the power of Human Resources to take a big bite of the business strategy and get in the game.

Labels: Apple, BRANDEMiX, Branding

What is an IVP and why do I need one?

Judging from the amount of proposals I have been preparing, it looks like everyone's adding bling to the budgets to beef up their website this year. And why not? As broadband useage grows, its easier for everyone to get more than email on the net- now the internet is becoming the number one provider of content and information. And its changing all the rules.

According to a recent Pew Research Study, half of the people who used the internet to research a job change said that the information they received was critical to their decision.

So, as you decide just how to split those dollars to win business, keep clients and influence people-- decide how your value proposition- the things that make you who you are, should be communicated via html.

Here are some things to think about:

• How effective is the emotional connection of our online brand?
• How is the online brand experience perceived by customers and potential employees?
• Reputation management (or PR) – how do we manage how third-party sites present the brand through
• Viral marketing – how do we use the efficiency of online networks to create involvement with a brand?
• How can we extend our brand online?
• How can we vary the elements of the marketing mix online?

I sat through a presentation the other day where people called job postings the junk food of recruiting- easy, fast but not too much substance.

Take time to ask the difficult questions and build your Internet Brand. We can help.

Ciao

Labels: BRANDEMiX, Inkling, nternet Value Proposition

Sharing their one- page management approach and citing recent successes, including their Engagement Survey that BRANDEMiX was proud to play a significant role in, they provide the strategic framework for anyone who wishes to add value to their organizations and profession at large.

Talent_Management.pdf
Pool or Puddle-- You Decide!

Labels: BRANDEMiX, engagement, TALENT MANAGEMENT

What kind of online articles do you read in that one minute of relaxation time? This is the question I set out to answer for myself and over the past month, I have come to the following decision: Give me a headline with a question or a number-- "What will be this fall's hottest seller?" "The 5 things I love about my job." If it has a question or a number, I know I'm in for a quick read and I'll come out the wiser.

So, with that I mind, I will become the change I wish to see. I bring you some condensed, borrowed information from a book on branding.

(5 out of ) 22 Immutable Laws of Branding
-Source: Al Reis

1. Expansion
The power of a brand is inversely proportional to its scope.
"Customers want brands that are narrow in scope and are distinguishable by a single word, the shorter the better."

5. The Word
A brand should strive to own a word in the mind of the consumer.
"If you want to build a brand, focus your branding efforts on owning a word in the prospect's mind. A word that nobody else owns." Examples: Mercedes = prestige; Volvo = safety; Kleenex = tissue; Xerox = copier; FedEx = overnight.

6. Credentials
The crucial ingredient in the success of any brand is its claim to authenticity.
A widely-publicized study of twenty-five leading brands in twenty-five different product categories in the year 1923 showed that twenty of the same twenty-five brands are still the leaders in their categories today. In seventy-five years, only five brands lost their leadership."

19. Consistency
A brand is not built overnight. Success is measured in decades, not years.

20. Change
Brands can be changed, but only infrequently and only very carefully.

So, there you have the number. Next week, let's try the question.

Labels: BRANDEMiX, Branding

Puff Daddy, Sean Puffy Combs doesn't put his assistant ad on Monster or CareerBuilder. No stranger to the camera, P. Diddy put his ad right on You Tube and required the same from his applicants as well.

Not surprisingly, he received more reponses (over 10,000) than the number of questions submitted for the Presidential Debate (3,000).

Best line of the video -- "keep it 3 minutes or less-- I don't like nothin long winded.

Here was the update. I guess he didn't successfully talk about the job requirements because the follow-up video listed a few small requirement like-- you gotta know how to read, count and have a college degree" :



How will he decide?
The people get to vote on the finalists and Mr. Combs picks the winner.

Anyone else want to try this method? I'll help.

Labels: BRANDEMiX, Interactive Technology, Video Job Posting, You Tube

There are lessons to be learned everywhere-- Even the TV. And though Sunday nights haven't been the same without Carrie and Tony -- at least we still Ari, Turtle, Vince, E and Drama. For those of you new to the scene, Entourage follows a movie star, his agent and his 3 trusted consiglieres through the trials and tribulations of fame in Hollywood.

The boys from Entourage have been busy producing a movie- Medellin.

Recap: We're watching TV about making a movie and last week's episode centered on the trailer being leaked to YouTube. Not only did HBO run the trailer after the show but it did actually appear on YouTube-- currently receiving hits into the thousands.

Check out the Trailer-- not an at-home, do it yourself job but the type of production that makes us wonder if the full movie might actually be coming down the road.





This type of integration, the blurring of lines between TV, internet, fantasy and reality is a great example of the building of a buzz, a brand and a blockbuster series.

Gotta love it.

Labels: BRANDEMiX, Branding, HBO, integrated campaigns. Entourage

So, by now everyone knows I've been out on vacation for 2 weeks but did you know I was out of the country? And did you know that 4 days before I was leaving, I discovered that my passport had expired earlier this year?

Getting the passport in a matter of 3 days is another story-- this is the story of my brand new passport. I mention it here because it is a shining example of using every touchpoint in the communications process as a chance to inspire--- multi-purpose at its best.

28-page version of the passport comes with 13 inspirational quotes, including six from United States presidents and one from a Mohawk Thanksgiving speech. The pages, done in a pink-grey-blue palate, are rife with portraits of Americana ranging from a clipper ship to Mount Rushmore to a long-horn cattle drive.

“We thought it really, truly reflects the breadth of America as well as the history,” said Ann Barrett, deputy assistant secretary of state for passport services. “We tried to be inclusive of all Americans.”

This is the first redesign since 1993 and the layout has been in the works for the past 6 years! I wonder what my clients would say if I worked on their projects for 6 years.

Labels: BRANDEMiX, engagement

That's the Slogan for the Cannes Lions, dedicating to celebrating the world's best advertising in the world's best place Cannes, France. This week, judges are voting on over 25,000 films, billboards, radio, direct marketing and interactive ads.

Just seeing the entries are inspirational for a Brand-loving technology phenom like myself.

How about this. The Global winner for the best outdoor billboard goes to Nedbank in South Africa for an Ambiant Billboard. It not only harnasses the power of the sun to Advertise; but goes a step beyond to then power the kitchens of a primary school nearby-- feeding more than 1,100 people.



Great advetising, great idea, great message to all of us.

And, speaking of great-- I'm off to a great vacation in nearby St. Tropez. (That's nearby the Cannes Festival, not necessarily nearby to you dear readers.)

The BRANDEblog is taking a well deserved rest and will come back after the 4th of July POWERED UP with more great samples of great things going on in our world.

xoxoxo
Happy Birthday America.
Jody

Labels: BRANDEMiX, Cannes Lions, Interactive Technology, Online Advertising

I owe this blog to Bruce for emailing me the article about companies going "female-friendly". 13 is the lucky number because only 13 Fortune 500 companies boast a woman CEO. (And we just got to 13, thanks to Wellpoint's decision to promote Angela Braley.

I myself don't think I'd be especially eager to join a network with only women but apparently, here are 3 companies that are making it work.

As for the title of this blog, check out the story below at GE.

Or, for the real deal watch Ari on Entourage right after the life's final episode of the Soprano's.

GE

Formed 10 years ago after a handful of senior female employees had dinner with Jack Welch, the GE Women's Network has since grown to 40,000 active members worldwide. Its focus on leadership, advancement, and career-broadening opportunities has helped GE get to the point where women now run businesses generating some $40 billion in sales, more than 20% of total revenues. One distinguishing feature of the network: Its annual Leading & Learning summit that brings together about 150 top-level women, two-thirds of whom are customers or suppliers, to discuss a wide range of ideas and issues. "We did it, thinking it would be a one-off," says Susan Peters, GE's vice-president of executive development and chief learning officer.

Five years later, the Leading & Learning summit has become a coveted invitation both inside and outside the company. Susan Phillips, vice-president of marketing at PayPal Inc., says she came because "the agenda topics and speakers looked amazing and compelling, and I knew there would be a networking opportunity with senior women." The fact that it was an all-female gathering just made for a richer experience, adds Phillips, as she "felt the ability to relate with other participants." Among the speakers at the May 15-16 event this year: eBay Inc. (EBAY ) CEO Meg Whitman, author Karenna Gore Schiff, playwright Sarah Jones, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, and Today co-anchor Meredith Vieira. CEO Jeffrey R. Immelt also came, as he always does, to speak and spend a few hours with the participants.

Within GE, the benefits of linking the company network to outsiders are many. One big positive is the exposure. "I don't get an awful lot of opportunities to interact with customers in my job," notes Tracie Winbigler, an executive vice-president at NBC Universal and co-chair of the network. "This gives me a chance to have more external focus." Another payoff to hosting such events is having customers form "a favorable impression of GE," adds co-chair Julie DeWane, who works as a general manager at GE Transportation.

That's one reason why each geographic network "hub"--there are 140 of them around the world--is asked to participate in a range of community activities, from philanthropic ventures to other customer-oriented events. Network members in Europe now plan to hold a similar high-level summit there, and others are looking to extend the concept elsewhere. The buzz is already mounting. "I heard from past participants that it is an incredible opportunity to meet people doing fascinating things," says Michelle McMurry of the Aspen Institute, a GE partner, who went to the May summit. "They were right."


BEST BUY


Julie Gilbert doesn't mind admitting that the women's network at Best Buy started with some hugs. Three and a half years ago, Gilbert, who launched the company's store-within-a-store concept for home theater buffs, noticed that during store visits the few female staffers she'd see would come up and hug her. When she asked a store greeter about it, the young woman told her: "Every day when we have people in from the corporate office, they're all guys. When we see you, we realize if we just keep working hard, one day we'll [get there], too."

Such chummy beginnings belie the pragmatic nature of the network Gilbert would go on to create. Inspired by the encounter with the greeter, Gilbert typed up a business plan for a new women's initiative that night. Unlike the women's network that existed at the time--a 25-person shell of a program at Best Buy's Minneapolis headquarters--Gilbert designed the program as a way for employees, from top executives to cashiers, to get more deeply involved in core business issues. "The frame on it is leadership," she says, "but you don't go to a course to build a leader. You learn by doing actual business issues, by solving business problems."

One problem was coming up with better ways to recruit and retain women in Best Buy's male-dominated, techie culture. In the home theater department, for example, the rate of female turnover was double that of their male colleagues. But just as important, Gilbert wanted the network to be an innovation engine for the company's woefully underserved female customers. At the time, Best Buy was grappling with how to better appeal to women, who influence 89% of consumer electronics purchases and spend $68 billion on them each year.

Gilbert's program, known as WOLF (Women's Leadership Forum), includes a web of regional "WOLF packs" and innovation teams, which are based in Minneapolis. Each of the innovation teams chooses a project, such as finding ways to attract more female customers, and then has to get the ideas into a few stores in three months and into a large number of stores in six. Next month, for example, one WOLF group will launch designer iPod holders and laptop cases in 100 of Best Buy's stores. Another WOLF team is revamping the online gift registry; yet another is working with designers to make stores more woman-friendly.

The efforts are paying off. Recruitment of female sales managers is up 100% over the past year, and the company has a greater share of female customers than before the network started. Internally, the network has found fans among executives like Midwest regional manager Shawn Score, who has attracted more than 300 new female employees and seen turnover among women managers in his territory drop almost 10 percentage points in the last year thanks to the WOLF program. He has also tapped the network to help him better serve women customers. One WOLF team suggested switching signs on washing machines to promote how many loads they hold instead of measuring the machine's volume in cubic feet, leading to more pertinent, mom-friendly signage. "We think that's going to be an absolute home run," says Score.


DELOITTE

Few women's networks can boast of a track record like that of Deloitte. Now in its 14th year, Deloitte's Initiative for the Retention and Advancement of Women, known as WIN, has been lauded for its success in promoting women to the most senior ranks: 19.3% of partners are women, the highest percentage among the Big Four public accounting firms. That's up from 7% since WIN was started in 1993.

One reason for its success? Many of the programs born out of Deloitte's women's initiative are geared toward both women and men. For instance, the firm is piloting a "mass career customization" program that will give every employee a framework for dialing up and down their hours, travel demands, and responsibilities as their personal needs change over the course of their careers. Unlike flextime or job-sharing policies, which men often avoid because of the stigma still associated with opting into them, everyone in the pilot locations will be enrolled in the program.

Still, such initiatives have little direct impact on hard-charging audit partners whose idea of work-life balance is a three-day weekend after tax season. When asked, says Cathy Benko, the national managing director in charge of WIN, men almost always say that the women's initiative is important. "But then they'll stop, and if they continue, they'll say 'but it hasn't done anything for me.'"

To help change that thinking, Benko came up with a new program two years ago called Women as Buyers. It would specifically help men with what mattered to them--winning more clients--while improving understanding between men and women at the firm. Noticing a dearth of research on how executive women make decisions, the WIN team sponsored a yearlong study on the topic. It has been presenting its findings in four-hour workshops made up of two-thirds men and one-third women.

The sessions remind men of simple differences such as client entertaining (women prefer breakfast to dinner, since they often have more evening responsibilities at home) and communication styles (just because a woman is nodding doesn't mean she agrees with you). While male executives may prefer consultants or accountants to sit by their side, women are more visual than men, the research found, and partners should face women executives in client meetings.

And because women tend to see leadership roles as positions of responsibility rather than power, partners should think carefully about whom they parachute in to help sell services. "If it's a guy, you might want to bring your big mucky-muck in," says Paul Silverglate, an audit partner who went through the training. "Women partners are more focused on who's going to do the work with their team day-to-day. That was very interesting to me."

The feedback from men has been overwhelmingly positive: More than 90% say the workshops were useful. Silverglate, who's also a leader in WIN, says he's even had male colleagues tell him they've used the tips in their personal lives. "If you really want to make a difference for women," says Silverglate, "it has to make sense for all the partners."

Labels: BRANDEMiX, women's networks

1. Update Blog:

I go searching for something new that inspires me to share. MediaPost tells me that marketing professionals seek new metrics other than page hits because new technology makes that irrelevant. Yawn.

Some interesting statistics on Social Media:

* 1.3 million blog posts daily (18 per second)

* 100,000 new blogs daily (2 per second)

* More podcasts than global radio stations

* 100 million MySpace profiles

* 1.6 million Wikipedia entries

* 4 million registrations in Second Life

* But only 15,000 concurrent users at any one time

OK. That might have legs.


Second Life has 4 million registrations but only 15,000 users. 15,000 users doesn't seem like a lot. Then I read a story on SHRM that changed the numbers to 6 million registered users and 25,000 - 40,000 users on at a time.

Since it's only 7:30 am, maybe by this evening the numbers will go up again. But, whatever the actual numbers are, it didn't stop 800 companies from signing up at a 3-day recruiting event on Second Life sponsored by TMP. Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, eBay, Sodexho, T-Mobile and Verizon signed up for the event and companies are spending 75,000 - 100,000 to build destinations, with an additional $10,000/mo support fees.

But in the recruiting space- who are these people and how will they fit with the REAL culture of your company.

In a survey conducted by Park Associates, over a fifth of users said that they have more SL friends than in real life, and 29% felt that SL interfered with their real-world social life.

Labels: BRANDEMiX, Metrics, Recruiting, Second Life

The Royal Navy builds action and technology into a great recruiting campaign. At the url getthemessage.com you'll see an action video depicting all the excitement of a telecommunications career with the Royal Navy.

The site encourages visitors to use it to send messages to their friends. I sent one to my best friend me.




The email came to my inbox from "my friend" telling me there was an important message waiting for me. I clicked the link.

Here's what I saw.




I had the option of checking the box to allow them to contact me directly with their opportunities.

Well done.

The take aways are for you to use Personalization, Integration and Very Important Brand Messaging to build your unique database and enhance your relationships with opt-in participation.

Great music helps too.

Labels: BRANDEMiX, Branding, Integrated Marketing, recruitment advertising

Labels: BRANDEMiX, Jody Ordioni

It's 75 degrees right now in Acapulco, Mexico which is the perfect temperature for sipping margueritas in the sun. And, speaking of perfect, it's been a perfect week in BRANDEland.

That's enough about me, let's read about me.
Many of you may already be familiar with CareerSmart- a bi-weekly executive newsletter about career management. The latest issue featured some interesting insights from yours truly-- moi about the prevalent use of business titles to build a brand. If you missed it the first time, read it here.
csadvisor_043007.pdf

I had a couple of great meetings with old friends in high places this week too, along with some great news and great feedback about an exciting project we're working on.

ME Marketing.
My presentation, "ME Marketing- making the most of your MEssage, MEdia and MonEy is hitting the road and I'll be speaking in Syracuse next month. If any of you are interested in the subject matter, drop me a line and I'll personally give you a demo. I'm also looking for panel presenters who have used the latest and greatest in today's technology to search for a job or find the perfect candidate so if you or someone you know is interested, please get in touch.

Lastly, BRANDEMiX is on the MovE.
Thanks to some very popular reviews, we're taking our show on to BROADWAY!
1270 Broadway will be our new address with the same old talent, and fresh ideas you're used to. Along with our new crib and hopefully a dry ceiling, we'll be unveiling our new website, which even I haven't seen yet.

So, here's hoping that you have a perfect week too and just to help you, here is my favorite recipe for a celebratory drink.

Frozen Margarita

1 (6 ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
6 shots tequila of choice
2 shots triple sec

Fill blender with crushed ice. Add ingredients, and blend until smooth. Salt rim of glass (optional) and enjoy. Makes 2 for you and 2 for me.

vaya con dios

Labels: BRANDEMiX, CareerNet, Jody Ordioni, ME Marketing, recruitment technology