Last night’s Oscars were such a bore. The “Academy” blew it. They neglected to deliver what their customers wanted. If only they had conducted consumer research. “Critics pan 83rd Academy Awards hosted by Anne Hathaway and James Franco as the most boring ever” was one of numerous headlines blasting the event. The Academy thought their audience wanted young and beautiful, so they delivered young and beautiful a la Franco and Hathaway. And, that’s all they…
Do you? Touring Jack Daniel’s distillery in Lynchburg, TN, is the ultimate brand experience. From their iconic web site, www.jackdaniels.com, to arriving at their sole distillery in the world (see the welcome sign below), to adventuring across the picturesque footbridge to town and the Lynchburg General Store, you’re bathed in Jack Daniel’s. Unlike the Hershey chocolate factory tour in PA, which is sterile and impersonal, this one invites you into their world – their production…
Bright Spots: Jan. 31, 2011 4:30 am It’s not all bad out there. Here’s the latest installment of a weekly web feature that highlights positive developments in the Northeast Ohio business community. Marketing firm Viva La Brand reports it added nine clients in 2010 while retaining all its existing business. Six companies appointed Viva La Brand as their brand strategy partner in 2010. The companies, ranging from manufacturers to financial services firms to a medical…
Brand strategy firm has a record breaking year. Cleveland, OHIO, January 18, 2011 – Viva La Brand (www.vivalabrand.com), the marketing strategy consultancy that partners with clients to drive results, added nine clients, including several national category leaders, in 2010 while keeping all of its current business. Six companies appointed Viva La Brand as their brand strategy partner in 2010. The companies, ranging from manufacturers to financial services firms to a medical laboratory, selected Viva La…
Don’t know? You need to. If you want to keep your customers, that is. And given that obtaining new customers can cost five times more than satisfying and retaining current customers, it’s pretty important. According to a study by the American Society for Quality, 68% of customers leave due to indifference on the part of a service provider. Think customers walk because they had a dreadful experience? Four times as many split “due to indifference.”…
Frequency is critical to building a brand. Paris Hilton is a pro. In a comprehensive study of entertainment photos taken by Getty Images over a twelve month period, Paris Hilton attended 95 events which is more than Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie and George Clooney combined. Her constant visibility keeps her top of mind. The result? Lucrative endorsements. What are you doing to keep your brand top of mind?
Minding their stores together By AMY ANN STOESSEL 4:30 am, November 8, 2010 A group of Lake County shop owners who founded their own brand, RediGo, touts benefits of operating through partnership John Mazhar, the owner of a new RediGo store in Perry, said there was no question as to the benefits of signing on with RediGo, the concept of which was formed and branded in 2007 by a group of store owners in Lake…
Cleveland, OHIO, November 3, 2010 – Viva La Brand (www.vivalabrand.com), the marketing strategy consultancy that partners with clients to drive results, announced it was selected by Post-Up Stand (www.postupstand.com) to lead the company’s brand strategy development efforts. Post-Up Stand is the trade show display company that produces custom-printed displays as fast as other companies deliver stock items. Named to Inc. 5000’s 2010 list of fastest growing companies in the U.S., Post-Up Stand has produced more…
Last week, Gap, one of the world’s largest fashion retailers, introduced a new logo. Within a short week, the jean machine pulled the new logo (bottom logo) and replaced it with its traditional, iconic blue box (top logo). What went wrong? Not everything. Gap attracted the attention of some of the big names in news from the New York Times to Ad Age to influential marketing blogs. Free PR isn’t a bad thing. However, had…
As featured in the October 11, 2010 issue of Crain’s Cleveland Business SMALL BUSINESS ADVISER: LAURA SHERIDAN Before you invest more in marketing, take another look at your business strategy. We’ve worked with many clients who want to grow their businesses. Often they’ve underinvested in marketing and then decide that to meet their goals, they need to spend more. However, marketing the wrong messages or using the wrong media tools wastes valuable time and money….
