2008

Good Words. And Great Names. Green Lipstick and the Environmental Pig. How it Feels to Live in a 650-year-old Wooden Home. The Key to a More Productive Workflow. Marketing that Makes a Sustainable Difference. New Year’s Resolutions for Your Marketing and Branding Efforts. Sweet Successes.

2007

2007. The Perfect Time for a Road Trip Alcoa CSI “Uncorks” a New DVD to Introduce its Unique Wine Seal. Cook for the Cure 2006: Record-Setting Sauces Cook for the Cure—Spoil Your Dinner! Green What? Integrate, Segregate, Reformulate? Measuring the Effectiveness of PR: Thinking Beyond the “Thud Factor” Miller Brooks Builds with Habitat for Humanity. Online Media Measurement See What’s New at Miller Brooks! The Shock of the New. What is a Brand Touchpoint? What We’re Reading: Made To Stick Word of Mouth Marketing

2006

Brand Washing. Branding in the Blogosphere. Cook for the Cure: A Souper Time Cook for the Cure Invite How Does Your Brand Speak to Multiple B2B Audiences? June Blitz: Largest in Habitat History Making the Most of Your Online Advertising New Look, Easy New Access. New Year's Resolutions for Your Marketing and Branding Efforts. Peter Drucker: Thoughts on Business from "the Man Who Invented Management." Trade Shows. Afterthought or Forethought? Why Marketing Matters

2005

Are Employees Speaking Your Brand Language? Conducting a Brand Audit: An Energizing Experience. How to Justify Your B2B Budget. How to Watch TV for Your Brand. You Can Learn a Lot. Less is More: Refining Your Brand's Print Materials. Patience. Is it the Missing Ingredient in Marketing Innovative New Products? Personal Accountability in Branding. Taking a Cue from Reality TV: Is It Time to Pimp Your Brand? The Sound of Branding. Triangulation: Three Views into Your Brand. Value Proposition. Positioning Statement. Are They Really Different? What's an Elevator Pitch?

2004

Are You Over-Hyping your Brand? Brand Understanding: Developing a Great Positioning Statement. Brand Warfare: 10 Rules For Building The Killer Brand. Good News/Bad News: Your Brand Made Headlines. How to Recover from Bad Press. Marketing B2B, Products vs. Services: Is There a Difference? Media Management: The Value It Brings to a Brand. Measuring Marketing ROI: Holy Grail or Myth? Mosaic Branding: A Way of Thought? The Right Media To Drive Your Brand. The Value Of Market Research For B2B Brands. Trade Show PR: Remain True to the Brand. Writing a Marketing Plan: Taking the Hassle Out and Putting the Value In.

2003

Brainstorming: How To Get The Most From Your Ideation Sessions. Brand Crisis? What Crisis? Brand Messaging: Why You Need It, And How To Develop It. How Do Customers Touch Your Brand? Understanding What's Important Can Make All the Difference. How To Get Your Brand Into Show Business. Is Your Brand a Product, Organization, Person, or Symbol? Keeping Your Brand Look and Message Consistent. Project Management: Working Behind The Scenes To Synchronize Your Brand. Putting The Web To Work For Your Brand. The Art Of Innovation: What Every Brand Can Learn From Inspired Product Design. When Do You Need Another Brand? Who Cares About Paper?

2002

A Brand's Functional Benefits vs. Emotional Benefits. An Electronic Brochure? What Is It and When Is It Needed? Collaborative Branding: When Agencies and Other Suppliers Work Together, Brands are the Big Winners. Creating A Direct Response Campaign? Think Like a Fisherman. Expand Your Brand: How to Make Your Brand Speak to Media and Analysts. How Long Should It Take to Produce a Brochure, a Website, an Ad? The Purpose Of A Corporate Brochure. The Softer Side Of Branding: Understanding the Nuances of Brand Personalities. What Color Is Your Brand? What's The Personality Of Your Brand? Try This Simple Brand Association Exercise. What Is The Value Of Your Brand? When Does A Brand Need A Logo?

2001

All Aboard: How to Get a Greater Return from Your Direct Mail. Brands, Channels, and Customers. Building Your Brand in a Tough Economy? Give Your Brand A Spring Cleaning. Is Your Brand Ready for the Internet? Get a Clue from the Cluetrain. It's A Brand New Day. Branding with Strategic Public Awareness. Justify Your Marketing Budget. Lights, Camera, Action! Tips for Launching Your Brand on TV. Photography: To Stock or Not to Stock? Is This Really a Question? SIC vs. NAICS: Understanding the Difference. What Business Are You In? What's an Elevator Pitch? Wolverine: Building A Brand That Works.

2000

Bingo Cards: Are They Dead? Creating a Harmonious e-Brand. e-Branding: How To Embrace It. e-branding: Sometimes Simpler Is Better. How to Strengthen Your Lead Management Process. Maintaining Your Brand's Image. Making Taglines Work. Managing Visual Assets In A Digital World. Mapping Your Web Site. Messaging: The Foundation for Good Communication. Miller Brooks: Growing with the Changing Times. Naming: Will It Play Around the World? Project Management: Necessary Evil or Strategic Advantage? Top 10 Steps to Taking a Brand Overseas. Why Every Brand Needs a Brand Architecture.

2007. The Perfect Time for a Road Trip 2007 Qtr 1

Integrate, Segregate, Reformulate?

2007. The Perfect Time for a Road Trip.

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.

Sun Tzu (Chinese General, circa 500 BC)

You owe it to yourself. And to your brand. Hit the road, one that you haven’t traveled heavily (or ever?). Get out of the routine. See different places. Or the same places differently.

We’re stuck in a rut and there’s no time like the New Year to get unstuck. If you can go from home to office/ airport/ customer’s office/ restaurant/ hotel/ airport and home again without ever really thinking, then my friend, it’s time for a real road trip.

A real road trip is like a bucket of cold water in the face — it both wakes you up and gets your immediate attention. “How could I have been so asleep to what’s going on?” it makes us say to ourselves.

How about a road trip to a trade show completely unrelated to your industry, or a day spent “mystery shopping” a specific category, just to see what the customer interaction is like. Or how about a day (or two or three) working in your customer’s business…or in your own business, but in a vastly different capacity. A change of perspective can dramatically alter the way we see things.

For example, there’s Sylvester, a technology consultant from Munich. Sylvester never writes anything down. Instead, he photographs everything (still and video). He documents meetings, meals, feelings, weather, conversations, you name it. And he then edits intriguing visual documentaries. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But what Sylvester really does is turn a series of seemingly unrelated actions into meaningful insight. Sounds a lot like ethnographic research, doesn’t it? So, are we ready for our next “close-up” at Monday’s staff meeting? Yikes.

Let’s get out of our comfort zone.

And we’re not talking vacation. Go some place where they speak a different language, where the culture and business practices are just different enough to make your head hurt. What can we learn that makes our business just a tick better, our brands just a bit more distinctive?

Take notes. Take photos. Pick up reminders of experiences. And come back energized, enthusiastic, full of ideas. Changed. Because that’s what a road trip is all about.

Back to top