Tag: brand - Page 3

I am not a big mover in life, other than the fact I lived in hotels for a couple of years. I like my creature comforts and am simply too lazy to move house. I tend to stay in any one home for 4 years or so. Same with business. In 17 years, I have moved only a few times in each city. There are many reasons for this; size of business at the time, end of leases, owners wanting to tear down building and make them residential.

For years, Marketing Eye used the same brand messages and continued to push through to the market key points that we believed were different to what everybody else was saying and doing.

The problem is that when you are online everyone can see for themselves what you are saying and doing, and for competitors to copy, it really is quite simple.

All of a sudden, prospects were ringing up and saying "oh, you do the same as such and such".

The rise of video gaming as a lucrative, commercial industry should be enough to have advertisers banging down the doors of gaming companies. It seems, however that, brand positioning within the gaming community isn’t high on their agenda. Perhaps this is because advertisers don’t understand the industry, as journalist and gaming enthusiast Owen Chow discovers.

When measuring sales, reach and profitability, video gaming now rivals the combined power of the global film and music industries. Worldwide, gaming sales amounted to US$46.5 billion in 2014, compared to US$36.5 billion in film and the music industry’s US$14.7 billion net return. 

It's known as the 'Kardashian Effect and is described by the Urban Dictionary as “The practice of caring about D list celebrities who have no talent and contribute nothing to society.” At first glance that may seem correct when talking about Kim Kardshaina, but look a little deeper and it couldn't be further from the truth.

There is another more positive way at looking at the Kardashian phenomenon, and that is to examine what the Kardashians did to build their image empire.  

I am not a storyteller, not in the sense that I can engage a crowd verbally; have them hanging off my every word through great wit and charm. I am no Gatsby and certainly not great. I have friends who hold the floor when they speak – command it in fact – but that is not in my nature to do so. I like to listen so I can come back to my desk and write about what I have heard.

That is not to say that I don’t do public speaking, I am quite reasonable when I am on topic, but I am a storyteller in a different sense, more hack than raconteur and certainly no Peter Ustinov – the greatest raconteur that ever lived. Author John Green (The Fault in our Stars) says it best about many writers, “Writing is something you do alone. Its a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don't want to make eye contact while doing it."

I have a personal fascination with colour: the history behind it, the emotions it evokes and the simple beauty of it.

Since entering the marketing industry, I now have an appreciation of how colour influences brand identity.

When it comes to brand recognition and fostering an engaging and innovative brand image, Apple Inc. is one business by which all others should be measured.


Before you go about measuring yourself, however, ask what strategies did Apple use to build their brand and stock so high and what lessons can we learn from them?

Life is about telling a story. It is about creating a story. It is about taking the bull by the horns and living like there is no tomorrow. Even when life slows down, when children take a chunk of your patience and when time seems limited, life is there to be loved. Love your children, your family, your friends, work and colleagues and tell the stories of how each and every one brings out the best in you.

Your life is your brand. And you can direct it in in any way you see fit to deliver your personal message.

Bill Hambrecht, chairman of WR Hambrecht & Co once said, “You don’t want any buyer to feel like he’s been foolish or cheated. So they all get the same price.”

I came across this quote recently and it resonated with me, more so than any number of great quotes I have read in my time putting motivational magazines together.

Getting ready for the artic freeze with a 12 degree chill expected tomorrow, I am gladly sitting in my warm office in Atlanta.

The team is fired up for the start of the new year. At this time of year, many people rethink where they sit in this world; life, work, health. I for one, have been doing a lot of that lately.

As I embark on the next phase of global expansion, I am left with some thoughts on the people I employ and those who would best suit our company going forward.