– James Mahoney, Razor’s Edge Communications
It was a sunny day, and Richard Milhous Nixon was inspecting the troops. He came within spitting distance of the photographer pen, where I was babysitting some press people.
“Holy cowpat!” I thought. “The President is wearing make-up!” Sure enough, Nixon had more pancake on his face than Aunt
I’ll have to say, I really enjoyed Aaron Keller’s guest post from yesterday. In addition to the valuable insights he provided, it got me thinking about some perhaps unrelated, but parallel topics of likely interest to legal and marketing types.
Aaron wrote about the importance of a brand being honest with itself and others. He expressed the
Wendy’s is a brand that claims to not cut corners: "For Wendy’s, square isn’t so much a shape as a promise to not cut corners."
As a trademark type, the focus on the square shape and surrounding symbolism leaves me wondering whether Wendy’s is cleverly laying the groundwork for claiming non-traditional trademark rights in
—Anthony Shore, Operative Words
Let’s be honest: There’s a lot of bullshit in branding.
It’s a pity — and it’s a threat. Because today, brand or marketing communications exuding any whiff of bull will be distrusted, discredited and derided by today’s cynical audiences.
And no audience is more cynical than the 18-34 years-olds — the Millennials — who were born into an online marketplace awash in spam, paid “user” reviews, phishing and other greedy deceptions.
These cynics can sniff out bullshit from a mile away. Actually, they’re waiting for it. And when they zero-in on the source of a communication’s stench — an exaggeration, an ambiguity, an inconsistency, nonsense, a promise too good to be true — they’ll pounce. And rather than just take their business elsewhere, they’ll take up a cause to expose and punish the bullshitting offender by urging others to boycott.
Bullshit-free branding has always been important. Today it’s important and urgent.
Because nowadays, you can’t fool any of the people any of the time.Continue Reading Does Your Branding Pass The SNIFF Test?
by Randall Hull of The Br@nd Ranch®
AKA: "Oh What a feeling".
Unless you have been on a trek to one of the poles or living in a cabin deep in the woods somewhere, you have likely heard about the huge problem facing Toyota Motor Corporation and its U.S. organization Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc.
Putting aside the questions of whether Tiger Woods needed to or should have made a public apology, the timing of it, and even the content of it, now that Brand Tiger made the decision to do so and did so last Friday, I’m interested more with how Tiger conveyed it and the likely impact it will have on
Hopefully you enjoy riddles. It is late Sunday afternoon, 4:30 pm to be exact. Too early for valet parking at Fogo de Chao, a wonderful Brazilian steakhouse, so you drive two blocks and enter a parking lot with the following sign:
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You had a very nice dinner and now you’re ready to leave the parking lot at 6:15 pm. Based on the above sign (and contract, by the way), how much do you owe the parking attendant? Instead of humming the Jeopardy thinking music theme song, might I suggest you consider humming the 1970 Five Man Electrical Band tune “Signs” during your calculation. And for any ’70s challenged folk, I’ll prime the pump for you: “Sign, sign, everywhere a sign, blocking out the scenery, breaking my mind, do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?”Continue Reading Are Your Business Signs and Brand on the Same Page?