In marketing and advertising lingo…the term Branding carries a lot of weight! But when it comes to the very target Branding is suppose to make its impact on, well they don’t really care about that term because that is not how they refer to a company, product or service and it’s not what gets them to take an action.

Their touch point, frame of reference, what gets their interest…is the ‘human experience’. Period.

Today’s American consumers (whose ever changing life stages must be taken into consideration) start their relationship with your business by examining and experiencing your intent and motivation.…

A good part of being successful has to do with character and what being successful means to YOU.

Character shows up in those little things most take for granted like keeping your word especially when it’s inconvenient, taking personal responsibility even if it cost you, returning phone calls, looking out for others well being before your own.

Basically, the way I see it is business success in this new economy will depend largely on your intentions, your motives. That is the way it used to be and that is how it should be in my books.

Everyone gets it you…

A new study just released by digital agency i360 regarding Twitter use for branding, marketing and the consumer, indicates that consumers and brands use this medium in vastly different ways. By the way, this is also the case for Facebook.

Even though many businesses are jumping on the Twitter and Facebook bandwagon…they are finding they are on the outside of the bulk of conversations and not having the so-called instant success many of the Social Media gurus are promising. That is partly due to the fact businesses still think Social Media is just another form of…

On the eve of celebrating the blessing of our precious independence for our great country I love so dearly…I came across this headline today which announced 7.9 Million U.S. Jobs Lost many forever.

Wow! What a sad situation our country is facing as we prepare to celebrate and enjoy the freedoms that have been purchased and ransomed for us today on the backs of many a fine American. I thought to myself, “Is this our story for 2010 and on?”

The article went on to say “even though we’ve gained about 600,000 private sector jobs back, we’ve got nearly 8…

Interesting question Ad Age posted in a poll this morning. So curious me logged in, cast my vote which was a (NO) then found the results to be exactly what I thought it would be.

This was the poll question…Do you care about Cannes?

Here is what the results were at noon (CST) on June 23rd…

I’m sure I’m going to hear it over this but to me this is a prime example of how out of touch many advertising, marketing, PR agencies and departments are concerning today’s new business era. Close to…

I decided to address this topic because I have begun to hear more and more the advice “your business doesn’t need a website anymore”.

This has stemmed mainly from the fact social media opportunities are powerful marketing options today.

My concern with this is someone in business may think these self proclaimed digital marketing experts preaching this point of view really know what they are talking about. Some do for sure…but I find that loads of them don’t.

To suggest a business does not need to have their own business website real estate clearly indicates to me this person has…

I just read a great article by Jay Deragon on Digital Nashville and he talked about the astonishing fact that so many who are in business today don’t really know what is going on in this “New Business Era”. He posted this very interesting chart that gives you a great snapshot of just how fast things are changing when it come to your customers behavior. Check out Gary Hayes Social Media Count below.

Oh, also bookmark Jay’s website while your at it. He has a great forward thinking mind!

Also, while you are at…

Ning the well known free social network service used by 2.3 million businesses and organizations on the web is shutting down its free service and it’s reported they have laid off 40% of their staff.

Sad to see these folks lose their jobs for sure but on the other hand I think this is a great wakeup call for those who depend on using custom social networks in their business strategy.

This is one reason I believe placing your most important digital assets in someone else basket is NOT a wise strategy. If you realize the…

After all the bad PR Toyota has had lately, somebody over there came out swinging with a new ad series all built around life in the “Daddy Like Swagger Wagon”.

This is a great example of how creating and leading with relevant stories built around the lifestyles of your target market can be a hit like the campaign Toyota did with this targeting young, hip families.

They created an entire  “Swagger Wagon” destination to promote the Toyota Sienna. Notice they led with the lifestyle story not pushing boring specs on vehicle MPG’s, safety features, etc. No! They led…

In December 2004 new kid on the block Facebook reached 1 million active users. Fast forward six short years later and we are talking about over 400 million users who are active!!

Now you tell me how anyone in business who is fairly intelligent can ignore this or not see the significance of what is going on here? Honestly, it does not take a PhD to see this in not just a trend! No this is the END of business as usual forever. This is a new age, a new business era, and huge shift in our culture.

This is…