No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Back in my days, it was the good old times of the Rolodex, typewriters and Cyndi Lauper. Now we have Blackberries, Ipods, pads, etcetera and Lady Gaga. We have come a long way. The only constant since then is Madonna.

Back in 1984, her chart-topping single was titled, “Like a Virgin.” Her most recent chart-topping single was titled, “Give it To Me.” In business, we call it kaizen – continuous improvement.

Understanding this tectonic shift in power is crucial towards navigating brand sthrough a changing landscape. Learning how to use the platforms and tools will cause our brand to resonate and expand within interested networks, faster and louder than before.

1. Give consumers a reason for positive talk

Consistent refreshing of the product experience harness positive talk. Apple has generated interest and excitement about the iPhone before its launch and during. It then ingeniously maintained interest and excitement through its apps store as a constantly evolving and user-generated content maintains positive word of mouth.

1. Always aim to outperform

To turn consumers into an effective marketing vehicle, companies need to outperform consistently to have intrinsic word-of-mouth potential. In its essence, kaizen is geared not by machines but by people. As Walt Disney has built an everlasting empire based on its imagineers, anyone’s real job is to be Vision-eers, or Vision engineers.

1. You just need to be 15 minutes ahead

Woody Allen’s routine (as recounted by Rosabeth Moss Kanter) about the first landing of UFOs on Earth. In the business world, these aliens are known as “advanced competitors.” Allen remarked that most worries about planetary takeovers involve aliens that are light years ahead of us in technology, bringing devices we can’t understand or communicate with, which enables them to control everything. Not to worry, Allen said. If we can’t understand or communicate with their systems, we’ll just ignore them, doing our work the way we always do until they leave in frustration. Instead, he argued, the advanced civilization that we should really worry about is one that is just 15 minutes ahead. That way they’d always be first in line for the movies, they’d never miss a meeting with the boss… and they’d always be first in every race. Let’s have the 15 minute advantage.

1. Do not be afraid of dissenters, embrace them

In this new landscape of branding, there will be turkey shoots and open war. Do not fear, but use criticism and irrevocable truths about the brand constructively. By all means take ideas from forums and chat rooms to reinforce your SWOT. We used to pay millions for customer survey. In fact, it’s out there every day. Internally, encourage candid debates. Do this before any of your product launches, not after when there is no opportunity to create a difference.

1. We are all responsible for our brand

As leaders, it is our job to make progress transparent to our people. Empower them to help you build ideas. Acknowledge your authority as an expert, but get your people to set and embrace the vision. Even if you decide to go with a less popular but more visionary direction, at least you will know in advance how tough it will be and how you can deal with it.

As Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, puts it. “There was no single defining action, no grand program, no one killer innovation, no solitary lucky break, no miracle moment. Rather, the process resembled relentlessly pushing a giant heavy flywheel in one direction, turn upon turn, building momentum until a point of breakthrough, and beyond.”

And one last from, Madonna, whatever you do, “Never forget to dream.”

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Tim Ferris has 7 ways to deal with haters. Maybe we can all take a leaf from the guru of the “Four Hour Workweek” in our lives. Hey, after all - he’s only working four hours a week, yet makes millions, and pursues his passion endlessly. Originally posted by Amy-Mae Elliot on Mashable in her piece : Tim Ferriss : 7 Great Principles for Dealing with Haters.

1. It doesn’t matter how many people don’t get it. What matters is how many people do.

Ferris argues that if your objective is to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people or to change the world in some small way (be it through a product or service), you only need to pick your first 1,000 fans — and carefully. “As long as you’re accomplishing your objectives, that 1,000 will lead to a cascading effect,” Ferriss explains. “The 10 million that don’t get it don’t matter.”

2. 10% of people will find a way to take anything personally. Expect it.

“People are least productive in reactive mode,” Ferriss states, before explaining that if you are expecting resistance and attackers, you can choose your response in advance, as opposed to reacting inappropriately. This, Ferriss says, will only multiply the problem. “Online I see people committing ’social media suicide’ all the time by one of two ways. Firstly by responding to all criticism, meaning you’re never going to find time to complete important milestones of your own, and by responding to things that don’t warrant a response.” This, says Ferriss, lends more credibility by driving traffic.

3. “Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity.” (Colin Powell)

“If you treat everyone the same and respond to everyone by apologizing or agreeing, you’re not going to be recognizing the best performers, and you’re not going to be improving the worst performers,” Ferriss says. “That guarantees you’ll get more behavior you don’t want and less you do.” That doesn’t mean never respond, Ferriss goes on to say, but be “tactical and strategic” when you do.

4. “If you are really effective at what you do, 95% of the things said about you will be negative.” (Scott Boras)

“This principle goes hand-in-hand with number two,” Ferriss says. “I actually keep this quote in my wallet because it is a reminder that the best people in almost any field are almost always the people who get the most criticism.” The bigger your impact, explains Ferriss (whose book is a New York Times, WSJ and BusinessWeek bestseller), and the larger the ambition and scale of your project, the more negativity you’ll encounter. Ferriss jokes he has haters “in about 35 languages.”

5. “If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.” (Epictetus)

“Another way to phrase this is through a more recent quote from Elbert Hubbard,” Ferriss says. “‘To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.” Ferriss, who holds a Guinness World Record for the most consecutive tango spins, says he has learned to enjoy criticism over the years. Ferriss, using Roman philosophy to expand on his point, says: “Cato, who Seneca believed to be the perfect stoic, practiced this by wearing darker robes than was customary and by wearing no tunic. He expected to be ridiculed and he was, he did this to train himself to only be ashamed of those things that are truly worth being ashamed of. To do anything remotely interesting you need to train yourself to be effective at dealing with, responding to, even enjoying criticism… In fact, I would take the quote a step further and encourage people to actively pursue being thought foolish and stupid.”

6. “Living well is the best revenge.” (George Herbert)

“The best way to counter-attack a hater is to make it blatantly obvious that their attack has had no impact on you,” Ferriss advises. “That, and [show] how much fun you’re having!” Ferriss goes on to say that the best revenge is letting haters continue to live with their own resentment and anger, which most of the time has nothing to do with you in particular. “If a vessel contains acid and you pour some on an object, it’s still the vessel that sustains the most damage,” Ferriss says. “Don’t get angry, don’t get even — focus on living well and that will eat at them more than anything you can do.”

7. Keep calm and carry on.

The slogan “Keep Calm and Carry On” was originally produced by the British government during the Second World War as a propaganda message to comfort people in the face of Nazi invasion. Ferriss takes the message and applies it to today’s world. “Focus on impact, not approval. If you believe you can change the world, which I hope you do, do what you believe is right and expect resistance and expect attackers,” Ferriss concludes. “Keep calm and carry on!”

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

To launch the KLM Economy Comfort seats, the airline levitated a man. Magician Ramana seemingly floats on an invisible seat - tying in wit KLM’s new advertising campaign, ” Choose Your Personal Kind of Comfort.” It’s a creativity that injects a little wonder and magic into our lives, and float in the air with pleasure.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

“Can a bank really stand for something? Can it balance its ambition with its conscience? To do what it must. Not what it can. As not everything in life that counts can be counted. Can it not only look at the profit it makes but how it makes that profit? And stand beside people, not above them. Where every solution depends on each person. Simply by doing good, can a bank in fact be great? In the many places we call home, our purpose remains the same. To be here for people. Here for progress. Here for the long run. Here for good.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Related posts:

1. Levitating Liberty Literally To launch the KLM Economy Comfort seats, the airline levitated...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Eric Schmidt on Google’s blog has declared that : Googlers should be now referred to as “Topekers,” or “Topekans,” and everything Google should be renamed to Topeka, giving birth to Topeka News, Topeka Talk etc. The post included rules for “proper Topeka usage” such as “before our blind date, I had ‘Topeka’d him.”

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Why do marketing people need to know this? Because reputation building is long-term, not short term. Remind your selected spokesperson to speak from the heart. Train your spokesperson to do so during media workshops.

7 Tell-Tale Body Language Signs

1. Little or no eye contact

2. Physical expression will be limited - gestures will be mechanical

3. Person seems to shrink or take less space

4. Hands may go up to throat or face

5. Unlikely to touch his chest with open gestures

6. Timing between gestures and words are off

7. Emotions and expressions are limited to mouth area

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

No it wasn’t a demonstration against a politician.

Ass-vertisers and marketers, don’t get your knickers in a bunch in the softening economy. If you are a creative brand, get creative.

Here’s a sight which jarred even New York city’s most jaded commuters. Scantily clad men and women in front of Grand Central Terminal flashing underwear with “Booty Call” on their bums. Cameras flashed, employees gaped from high-rise windows, photos were posted on the internet.

It was a marketing campaign by New York Health and Racquet Club to promote a butt-building class.

J.Travis, brand manager for New York Health and Racquet Club said that it was fabulous. It was definitely more attention grabbing than your regular five-figure billboard. And definitely cheaper than any other five-figure one full-page full-color. Or even that 30-second slot on primetime. And tonnes sexier.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Here’s a quick acid test. Grab your video cam, grab your most thick-skinned executive, or a long-suffering friend – preferably a good-looking one and hit the street. Ask 20 people within your target market what they REALLY think about your brand. Ask them if they would buy it. And if not, why. Then go back to the office and revise your marketing plan.

And if you can’t do it, we will and compile the results within 5 working days. We hit the streets, you fill the gap. Before the competition does.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.