The Big Game is Sunday. Super Bowl LX is serving up a quarterback showdown that feels like a Hollywood script: New England Patriots’ Drake Maye led the league in completion percentage and passer rating in just his second season. Seattle Seahawk’s Sam Darnold completed his second 14-3 season in a row, establishing himself as a bonafide starter and removing the ‘bust’ label from his name after six underwhelming seasons with four other NFL teams. That’s…
Investment doesn’t guarantee impact. If your new messaging, fresh creative, and shiny new website are not producing results, it may be because your brand just doesn’t sound like itself. I see this all the time. Smart organizations with solid strategies end up with creative that feels professional and polished – and could belong to almost anyone in their category. That’s why I like to play what I call the logo game. If you swapped your logo…
As a marketing strategy consultant, I get a front-row seat to the same struggle across companies – from scrappy startups to nonprofit organizations to legacy brands: Smart people buried in tactical work. I’ve been in plenty of strategy sessions where leadership teams dream big – market expansion, deeper personalization, faster content cycles. But those ambitions often peter out, because teams are too busy cranking out blog posts, updating decks, and pulling reports. That’s where AI…
When we bought our first house – a charming but nearly 100-year-old fixer-upper – we had no idea what we were getting into. We were blissfully naive, armed with big dreams and a can-do attitude. Thankfully, one of my early (and generous) bosses at Progressive Insurance agreed to delay my start date so I could tackle the endless DIY projects. I showed up for my first day at Progressive with paint in my hair…
After some serious people-watching in NYC, I found myself staring at my soft, worn, and slightly misshapen jeans—tight in some places, loose in others—and asking myself, “Are these out of style?” I’d worn them countless times without a second thought, but standing in front of the mirror, I finally realized they were outdated. The answer was clear: Yes. I hadn’t bothered to reassess how they fit or if they still worked. They had become a…
This blog is the third in a series to help you with your marketing planning for 2025. The first article, “9 Tips to Improve Your Email Marketing Program”, is available here, while the second, “2025 Marketing Planning: Strategy Comes First,” can be found here. Both are four-minute reads packed with practical advice. As the year wraps up, you’re likely balancing many priorities. That’s why we created this concise end-of-year marketing checklist to help you kick off 2025 with…
Companies and organizations from Seattle to Connecticut have retained Viva La Brand for rebranding and to optimize their marketing. CLEVELAND, OH – October 23, 2024 – Viva La Brand, the Cleveland, Ohio-based marketing strategy consultancy and ad agency search firm, is starting its 18th year helping clients with brand strategy and digital marketing to help achieve their business goals. “Clients from around the country are engaging Viva La Brand because of our approach to…
This blog is the second in a series to help with your marketing planning for 2025. The first piece, “9 Tips to Improve Your Email Marketing Program”, can be found here. (It’s a 4-minute read.) We work with companies and non–profit organizations that span industries and size. What they have in common is the need for brand strategy. Strategy is difficult to see and not easy to talk about. The world is shifting faster than…
Email marketing is a fantastic, low cost, high return lever for marketers. Unlike most marketing channels, email can create valuable, personal touches at scale. This blog is the first in a series to help you with your marketing planning for 2025. Why focus on email marketing? It checks all the boxes! – Creates brand awareness – Generates leads & sales – Builds a connection with customers – Increases website traffic – Offers customer targeting opportunities – Provides…
The 2024 Olympics won gold. Viewership numbers for TV and digital broke records. 30 million people tuned into NBC Universal’s platforms each day, which is a 74% increase over the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Marketers can learn a lot from the Olympics’ success. Lesson #1: Create a community. The Olympics bring people together. People feel a sense of social connectedness through a common goal. Being part of a community can make us feel as though we…
