Most companies make the same mistakes when trying to differentiate their
brand, products and services:
They look inward, not outward – Differentiation isn’t about
“making up” your company’s difference, it’s finding
what objectively, authentically sets it apart. Understanding what customers /
consumers need and discovering how your product / service fulfills them (or
not) is the best place to start. Successful brands spur conversations and
build movements. They don't engage – Despite all the lessons learned
from social media, only 16% of companies fully integrate social media.
Actively engaging with customers/consumers in a two-way dialogue
differentiates brands from static, one-way communicators. They aren't bold
– They pay homage to the God of Safe. Don’t speak colorfully.
Never take risks. Don’t invest t... (more)
My daughter Sophie participated in a great program sponsored by SkiNH called
“Earn Your Turns.” It’s for 4th-graders in NH who want to earn free
tickets and discounts to NH ski resorts with a slight catch - they have to
work for it. There are several homework assignments they can choose to earn
the ski rewards – make a poster, write an essay, draw a picture. Sophie
chose to conduct a survey of friends and family. Her question: Which ski
resort in NH is your favorite? While her survey wasn’t scientific, it
did result in a high response rate (64 votes from 100+ possible responden... (more)
Did you read CareerCast’s top 200 jobs for 2010? They analyzed and
ranked careers that provide “a positive experience for a majority of
employees,” (italics from CareerCast). Five measurement standards were
applied – stress, working environment, physical demands, income and hiring
outlook. They did this across a number of industries, skill and salary
levels. Communications made the cut, with “public relations executive”
at #79 and “advertising account executive” at #105. We ranked higher than
piano tuners, barbers, teachers, photographers, janitors, podiatrists,
commercial ... (more)
iPad on Ulitzer
To borrow a line from Scrooge, "I'm as giddy as a drunken man." With today's
Apple iPad intro, it feels like Christmas.
I was glued to Engadget's live blogfeed of the announcement. Apple is
leveraging its iPhone technology in a new tablet format, adding bells and
whistles like unlocked, no contract, and cheap 3G data plans, a keyboard dock
and the iBookstore.
But once again, as we've seen in the past with Apple, the whole is larger
than the sum of the parts. In the tech industry we pay homage to "innovation"
as the ultimate springboard for leadership positioning ... (more)
“Pitch” and “pitching” aren’t going away
… but they should. They’re so frequently used in agencies,
corporations, not-for-profits and organizations they appear current,
reasonable and viable. But they’re not. They should be retired
immediately. Historic usage, prevalence and pithiness shouldn’t
supersede relevance or appropriateness. If it did, words like: colored, going
steady, secretary, sissy, stewardess and mental would still be in wide
circulation today. Here are seven reasons why we should drop the pitch:
1. It's a d... (more)
Andy Beaupre is a 35-year branding and communications professional. He is a senior counselor with Beaupre and heads the firm’s clean technology practice.
Scott Sellers
Anthony Franco
Daniel Morris
Wayne Walls
Niki Acosta
Jereme Hancock
Oren Michels
Marvin Wheeler
Douglas Kim
Ken Guiberson
