My favorite president brand is Ronald Reagan. I was not a fan while he was in office, and am not sure how much I am now because there are still some things he did that I didn’t agree with, but as far as a legacy that millions of people still hold in the highest regard, Reagan is hard to beat. Every president is remembered for this and that, but Reagan gets “The Eighties” in his library. The fall of communism, the rise of fajitas, bands like Yaz, U2 and Run-D.M.C., parachute pants, “Thriller.” It all happened on Ronnie’s watch. It happened because of unprecedented prosperity. Whether you did well under trickle-down economics or got swallowed by its tide, Reagan’s impact was enormous. You can make the case for the strength of any presidential brand over another, but this is how I see it and I’m sticking to my guns because I’m American, it’s President’s Day, and Obama, for now, still says I can.

(While my role is in marketing, I remain a journalist at heart and therefore retain the right to be politically nebulous.)

Today I woke up in a Valentine’s Day mood. Hallmark holiday or not, I’m into it. It’s a chance to embrace the people you care most deeply about and tell them how much they mean to you. If you’re single and don’t have a special someone, that’s OK. Love is all around you. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week Google made a predicted splash by launching brand pages for its social platform, Google+. Like Facebook Pages, brand pages give companies and organizations the opportunity to connect with customers, foster brand loyalty, and so on and so forth. Unlike Facebook Pages, however, brand pages are tied directly to Google’s massive search database. They’re accessible by anyone, with or without a Google+ membership, and they feel like a natural fit for corporate entities. Indeed, the greatest opportunities on Google+ may be realized by companies — not individuals.

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Standing at my desk, watching our social media manager eat cold Burke Street pizza left over from a recent company meeting, I’m reminded of the delicate nature of targeting in the world of brand revitalization.

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It’s noisy out there. The social sphere is a cacophony of sound, made up of hundreds of millions of users and brands all vying for personal attention and individual recognition. For every belief that remains unchanged since social media’s initial boom, there are beliefs that have been challenged, rewritten, or completely disproven. Read the rest of this entry »

A couple days ago a colleague and I began exploring Dunbar’s Number—most commonly known as the monkeysphere—when it had come up in a conversation about the applications of different social media platforms. You might want to grab a notepad. Read the rest of this entry »

We’d like to direct your attention to the plant in the corner of your office. You know the one.
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“Cute shoes!”  As all females know, we crave that type of admiration. But for too long that admiration has caused us to suffer.

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A brand worth billions and billions of dollars and brand equity up 84% over 2010 to overtake Google as the highest valued brand in the world, that would be Apple. They are getting the love and lots of it.
It made me wonder who else was getting the love, so I checked out the report released  last week by Millward Brown’s Brandz. Read the rest of this entry »

Anyone who was old enough to have seen the original “Arthur” with Dudley Moore may likely appreciate this new Hollywood remake. Or not. Movie fans are in a tug of war about whether this film should have ever been remade. One thing’s for sure though. It is certainly a new take on an old story. Read the rest of this entry »