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Entries Tagged as 'Current Affairs'

Did Barack's speech keep his brand promise alive?

by Drew McLellan

August 29th, 2008 · Branding, Collaborations, Current Affairs, Passion

Conventions_08_v3 84,000 screaming fans a la a rock concert.  An estimated 40+ million watching at home.  On the 45th anniversary of Dr. King’s historic "I have a dream"  speech.

The stage was set for magic.

Barack’s acceptance speech last night was clearly one of the most important of his entire career.

It was his change to communicate and solidify his brand.  This wasn’t the night for getting into the nitty gritty.  This was the night for a Steve Jobs "get the crowd pumped, make them laugh/make them cry" sort of speech.

It was a brand builder’s dream.

So how did he do from a pure brand/marketing perspective?  That was the question posed to six of us (CK, Ann Handley, Cam Beck, Alan Wolk, Stephen Denny, and me) over at Marketing Profs Daily Fix.  We had to (in 200 words or less) critique the speech based on message, brand delivery and relevance.  We also had to give a 0-5 star rating.

Mr. Obama got everywhere from a 0 to a 5 from the six of us.

Here’s a snippet of my comments:

Clearly Obama did not get the memo. Of all the speeches he will ever give – this one wasn’t about politicking – this one needed to be about creating the vision, the dream. This was the night to ignite our passion for his brand promise of change and hope.

Come read what everyone had to say and then weigh in with your opinion!

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Lies travel at the speed of the Internet – what to do if they're about you

by Drew McLellan

August 13th, 2008 · Current Affairs, Media, Web/Tech

71367500 One of the amazing things about the Internet is the speed at which information is shared and digested.  When a young journalist was jailed in Egypt that was a good thing.

But for American Airlines, sometimes the speed stings.  Bad.

All over the net (and in print pubs like the Washington Times) headlines like "American Airlines Charges Soldiers For Extra Bags" appeared and then the stories go on to describe how American Airlines is charging soldiers traveling on orders to Iraq or elsewhere a fee for their 2nd and 3rd bags, in alignment with their new policies.

It’s a doozy of a headline.  But, it’s not true.  For the whole story, check out what the Seattle Times has to say.

But what should you do if you find your company in the spot American Airlines has been in – at the receiving end of false information (or misinformation) on a blog?

  • Secure the facts first.  The last thing you want to do to accidentally deny something that’s got a kernel of truth in it or give false information.
  • Write a response that is clear (no weasel words), free of emotion and professional.
  • Decide how you’d like to release the response (based on the tone, impact, intent of original blog post).
  • Execute your plan and be accessible for follow up questions.
  • If you have a blog, deal with it there as well, even if it wasn’t raised there.  That’s where many people will go to see if you have responded.

When you’re in the cross hairs — you need to respond quickly and judiciously.  Unlike the good old days, you don’t have a lot of time to ponder the possibilities.  If you’re wondering how quickly a spark can build into an inferno, ask American Girl.

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Brett Favre's brand = sort of sad, can't let go Has Been?

August 7th, 2008 · Branding, Current Affairs, Strategy · 21 Comments

Unless you’ve been in a cave, by now you know that: Brett Favre was one of the most revered quarterbacks of the last 20 years He broke records left and right, and is the only 3 time MVP in National Football League history Has a Super Bowl ring Played one season (his first) with the [Read more...]

I have a stomach ache…I think I had a bad brand for dinner

July 15th, 2008 · Branding, Current Affairs, Marketing, Strategy · No Comments

We have a new minor league hockey team (Anaheim’s farm team) moving to Des Moines.  I am embarrassed to tell you that the new team’s name is….The Iowa Chops. I know…and from a branding perspective, it gets even worse.  They have given their team name even though someone else owns the name!  Read about who [Read more...]

Study on the internet and consumer behavior

June 30th, 2008 · Current Affairs, Growing & Learning, Strategy, Trends · 9 Comments

The good folks from Fleishmann-Hillard sent me some information about their European offices’ recent work on understanding how the Internet affects consumer behavior in Europe. Key findings: The Internet beat TV two to one on influence, and eight to one over print. People ask other people for personal purchase advice, but for airline tickets and [Read more...]

The elasticity of price

May 26th, 2008 · Current Affairs, Customers/Clients, Life, Marketing, Strategy, Trends · 8 Comments

Gas prices are scooting over $4/gallon here in the states and yet consumption has not shown signs of significant reduction.  How can that be? That’s the question that reporter Gail Rosenblum of the Minneapolis Star Tribune posed to me late last week.  Her article, Paying a lot for gas, changing lifestyles a little" appeared in [Read more...]

Are gas prices impacting your spending habits?

April 25th, 2008 · Current Affairs, Marketing, Trends · No Comments

If not, you are in the minority according to research released today by Kelley Blue Book.   "Gas prices are already affecting vehicle sales in every segment, and traditional sport utility vehicles have been especially hard hit," says Jack Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book. "Other industries will feel [Read more...]

Is it work or play…and what's the cost?

February 22nd, 2008 · Current Affairs, Life, Marketing, Trends · 2 Comments

Three converging thoughts/conversations: A recent post on this blog about how our work/personal lives are becoming more blended An on-going e-mail conversation with KG (Kristin Gorski) about the pressures of trying to keep up coupled with her post about our muses Greg Verdino‘s pot stirring post, asking if we’re fooling ourselves with social media tools [Read more...]

Marketing, recessions and budgets….oh my!

February 18th, 2008 · Branding, Current Affairs, Marketing, Strategy · 12 Comments

Boy, there’s a lot of talk about the R word, isn’t there?  And I think business owners/leaders are beginning to get a little jittery.  That’s what prompted me to remind all of you that there is significant danger in being reactionary and lowering your prices. Jonathan Munk, over at Manizesto, recently interviewed Beth Goldstein, author [Read more...]

Should you lower prices during a recession?

February 4th, 2008 · Current Affairs, Marketing, Strategy · 37 Comments

Remembering that perception is reality, we’re headed towards a recession.  Whether we are or not.  Consumers believe it’s coming…so they will behave accordingly.  So we need to be ready to anticipate how this is going to alter their reaction/response to our marketing messages.  And, if they’re right, we need to be mindful of our own [Read more...]