In praise of the A-List.

I saw Jack Scrib deliver a keynote once. I was in San Francisco for my first conference as a blogger. This was before I knew who Jack Scrib was, or most of the “A-listers” for that matter. So there I was, sitting in a gigantic ballroom filled wall-to-wall with tables and well-appointed marketing professionals, listening [...]

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Sneak peek at the “Social Media ROI” cover.

And here its is. The Social Media ROI: Managing and Measuring Social Media Efforts in Your Organization book cover. Looks like the entire series by Que (Pearson) is changing the look of its business books to this format, which I actually like. The cover is clean and to the point, which makes it easy for [...]

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Top 10 Social Media Blogs of 2011?

I am very proud, a little surprised, and frankly a bit humbled: The BrandBuilder blog made Social Media Examiner’s 2011′s Top 10 list of social media blogs. Proud because I don’t often make Top 10 lists, and I think this is the second time I have made this one. Surprised because this blog isn’t devoted [...]

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MLK 2011.

The fact that one man can help change so much just by standing up and speaking out tells you how much can be accomplished when we devote ourselves heart and soul to something we believe in. Peer into the face of a man who chose to stand for his principles rather than to give in [...]

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Starbucks: Managing a brand’s expansion – Part 2

  Problem: You have an established global brand but it is tied to a specific category. Your expansion plans require you to move outside of  that category. What do you do? Solution A: Rebrand yourself in an effort to distance yourself from your core business and its ‘restrictive’ category. Become more generic in your focus [...]

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Starbucks: Managing a brand’s expansion – Part 1

  Starbucks is constantly changing their coffee packaging line to keep things fresh (pun intended?) However the changes are not drastic enough to confuse the consumer. Their design is highly illustrative which I’m sure appeals to all the designers out there. This illustrative style is carried out in the artwork they display on their store [...]

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Farewell to an old friend: The Starbucks cup of coffee.

Here we go again. This week, another major consumer brand unveiled a new logo. This time around, it’s my beloved Starbucks. Now, don’t get me wrong: Some logos do need upgrades. The original can and sometimes should be improved upon. Belk’s latest logo change – while not necessary – wasn’t actually all that bad, for [...]

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Social Media For Business: Taking Your Program Beyond Marketing Campaigns.

I posted a different version of this post a few months ago, but it’s time to bring it back up in case you, your client or your boss missed it. First things first: Pushing your marketing campaign through social media channels isn’t “social.” It’s marketing. Nothing has changed. Your marketing department or agency might be [...]

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Getting to know you better.

  A few years ago, fellow Corante alumn Lois Kelly asked a question on her Foghound blog: “If James Lipton, host of “Inside the Actor’s Studio” BRAVO television program, were to interview a marketing or business person , here’s how he’d probably adapt his famous 10 questions that he asks at the end of the show. [...]

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