A few months ago Gap introduced their new logo. Their branding effort was met with tons of controversy, most of which was negative.”  And most recently Starbucks revamped their logo to drop the words coffee and was met with a similar backlash when they introduced their new logo. The internet lit up with chatter on the heels of the campaigns. What does this all mean? People have the ability to get very invested in brands and voice their opinions whether good or bad.

With the rise of social media, blogs, review sites, there’s little room for businesses no matter what the size to ignore their audiences.  One of the most important lessons we must understand in dealing with brand recognition and management is that there always must be a steady flow of two-way communication. What better way to find out what’s best for your business than hearing what your audience has to say? Like it or not, with today’s technology, everyone has a voice...

Acquiring the skills to not only grab someone’s attention, but develop a relationship with that person is the key to successful marketing. Integrating social media opportunities into your current marketing plan can present itself as a challenge to many, but with the rise of technology, it is almost a requirement to know how to market your company using new media. Just be sure to remember those core “time-tested” techniques you learned before the days of social media. Applying old fashioned techniques to modern day social media, will give you an advantage in exactly how to dominate the world of marketing yourself and your business...

Hazy and potentially lazy days of summer are gone.

Here are a few things to get your fall kicked off strong:


1. Plan your last quarter of the year as if was your last battle in a war you desperately need to win; because you do.
2. Stay on task and be hyper-focused
3. Launch new initiatives in the new year
4. Be consistent with your message

On a family vacation to Hershey park this week, it suddenly hit me- this company has had success in both the amusement park and hospitality industry AND the candy industry. Conventional business theory tells over and over again to “stick to your core competency.” We’re told to review our product lines and expand based on our current offerings. According to almost every business theory out there, a candy company expanding into the amusement park and later hospitality industry would be an absolutely ludicrous idea. But it worked.

The wild success in both of their chosen industries stems largely from their unique ability to brand. They know their audience- young children with a sweet tooth, and the parents who buy them candy to satisfy that sweets craving. Hershey Park was originally built as a leisure park for Hershey employees, but upon opening to the general public, they made sure to market all of their products towards their target market. Everywhere you go at Hershey Park you see the life-sized Reese’s and Hershey’s bar characters waving you on to your next ride. You see shops upon shops filled with Hershey candies. As if this wasn’t branding enough, as you walk into and out of the park, the smell of melted chocolate wafts through the air from Hershey’s Chocolate World, a huge factory-like attraction which, of course, is open for tours complete with product samples, rides, shows, and more.

What ancillary products could you offer that conventional business wisdom might say to stay away from? How can you bring this lesson on the importance of corporate branding- on all of your products- into your organization?