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Steve McMains asked:


What is your favorite cellular service provider?Well,mine has been Hutch.I used Hutch for quite a long time.I liked it not only because of its great service but also because of its great ads. However these days I don’t use Hutch any more. In fact it is true that I remember the name rarely.

After Vodafone bought Hutch they changed the name.You can see just a change in the name can make such huge difference that people have started forgetting Hutch.Instead of calling Hutch they call it Vodafone.If you think deeply you will understand that it is not only a change in name.It is rather the elimination of a brand.

Yes,that is the power of branding.It can make or break a business in no time.So branding is very crucial.Brand exists in the consumer’s mind. Whether you own a big or a small business you have a brand.People have certain ideas about your company. You can not create your brand,you can only control it.

Successful branding depends on continuous repetition.You should reach your target audience and keep reminding them about your brand more than often.Whatever media you are using this is the mantra behind every winning brand.

One of the fast and cost effective medium of reaching your target audience these days is Internet.The web world has a huge audience. You can reach millions of people across the world at the same time.Unlike other mediums you can reach them 24×7. You can do this easily by making a good website.



Internet branding has several benefits.It can appeal to both the audio-visual senses at the same time.A good website combines relevant image and informative content which is a good way of earning the consumer’s trust.Your target audience can visit your site any time to get information or to buy something.

Making a good website is not really a big deal.Just follow a few simple steps and you will end up with successful online branding.

•    While making a website follow the search engine algorithm so that your site can rank high in search engines and people can find it easily.

•    Use relevant images and informative content.

•    Make your site interactive.Ask for customer feedback,query,suggestion etc.

•    Repeat the logo in every page of your website and keep the design elements same.

•    Make your site user friendly.

•    Understand the customer need. Make the site in such a way so that users can immediately find what they are looking for.

•    Publish newsletter regularly. This will help you to get in touch with your potential customers.

•    Brand your domain name by putting it on your business card,letter head,email signature etc.

•    Create free e-books covering topics that might help your target audience.

•    Publish articles worth reading. Put an URL of your site at the end of your article. It is one of the best ways that can be utilized for free publicity.

Internet branding is not that tough.Implementing these tips will enable you to achieve your desired result.



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Samantha Hartley asked:


Back when her unpopular TV show, “The Apprentice,” was on the air, Martha Stewart’s company lost 40% of its value. As the face (and name) of the company, people were clearly turned off by the experience of her in the “you’re fired” role.

Until then, we’d seen Martha striving for perfection in cooking, home decorating, entertaining, gardening and many other domestically oriented areas, all while cooing her catchphrase, “It’s a good thing.” We’d heard rumors she was a little testy behind the scenes, but who cares? I’d be cranky too if it meant my pies would turn out perfectly.

The bottom line in marketing terms was that her brand got dented in this experience, although I suspect it will rebound. Why? Because she has built…

An Authentic, Resilient Brand.

I’m not sure how many domestic divas can go to prison and still maintain their air of elite perfection, but somehow Martha did it.

Which other notable brand shot itself in the foot, only to spring back stronger than ever?

Coke Was It!

Coca-Cola was tarnished by the New Coke debacle in the 80’s but today occupies the top position in the list of the world’s most valuable brands.

HP (Hewlett-Packard) even had a “Board Leak” scandal, but it did not seem to affect sales. Like the other brands, HP is an incredibly respected brand that was able to withstand temporary trouble without hurting the company’s long-term performance.

What Makes A Brand Authentic And Resilient?

What we know of great brands is that they are trouble-resistant and resilient IF they have authentic value. Authentic value is seen in a track record of delivering on your promise, consistently, over time. It’s also about providing that which no one else can to a target audience that feels you understand their needs and exceed them.

Brands are resilient when those who feel loyal to them will tolerate small missteps, because the brand has made a difference in their lives. It’s like hearing a rumor about someone and saying, “What? Nonsense. I find that impossible to believe.”

People who feel a great loyalty to Walt Disney Company probably will not blame the brand for accidental deaths on park rides. One bad film from my favorite director certainly will not cause me to stop seeing his films. A single missed deadline from a vendor would rarely cause you to terminate him.

Just as in personal relationships, those who know you best and trust you will forgive you if you make a mistake or two. The key is creating goodwill and trust. I call that goodwill a brand: the experience I’ve had, as your client, of the best you have to offer and my trust (or expectation) that you will continue to deliver that value.

Now, how do you create authentic, resilient brands in your small business?

A Thousand Small Gestures

Michael Eisner, former CEO of Disney said, “A brand is a living entity – and it is enriched or undermined cumulatively over time, the product of a thousand small gestures.”

A thousand small gestures. Doesn’t it make sense that if, out of a thousand small gestures, one of them is inconsistent, my brand could still survive? However, if 200, or even 20, were out of character, then my value would be undermined.

Every interaction with your brand creates – or destroys – brand value for your company. Whether with you or your employees, your product or service, stationery or signs, storefront or office, your brand is affected. That’s why it’s so critical to examine all these touch points of your business to see what kind of experience you’re delivering.

Anyone (and anything) working on behalf of your brand must be delivering the value you promise – every single time.

Experiences that meet or exceed customer expectations greatly enhance the value of your brand and build resilience. Consistently positive experiences can ensure customer loyalty and spark word-of-mouth, an incredibly effective and profitable form of marketing.

Brand-Building To Do List:

1. Work to understand your authentic value from the point of view of your intended audience.

2. Examine the “touch points” of your brand. Are they consistently delivering the experience your clients expect?

3. Initiate one new, small gesture this week. How can you deliver more of your authentic value to your intended audience with your brand?



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Bonita L Richter asked:


Have you ever felt that the people you are marketing to don’t “get you” or understand you?

Or, maybe you know you’re not communicating the “right” message to your target audience, but you’re not sure how to change your message, or what it should be.

The problem in both above instances could be your’re not harnessing and using the power of ancient archetypes in your personal branding strategy.

To help explain the concept of ancient archetypes…

Have you ever noticed certain brands, advertisements, movies, or celebrity personalities seem to instantly connect with you? Without you even realizing it, these brands are communciating a story and meaning to your soul it is already deeply familiar with.

Research in the marketing field indicates that the most powerful brands consistently embody the persona of ancient archetypes. Which ancient archetype you embody is the first thing you must do before you begin developing a personal brand identity.

So, what is an ancient archetype?

Archetypes are believed to be universal, mythical characters that live within the collective unconscious of people all over the world. By symbolizing our core human desires, archetypes can evoke strong, deep emotions that everyone can connect to, and understand.

Examples of powerful brands that stir our emotions are Coke, Nike, Marlboro; movies such as Star Wars, and E.T. The Extra Terrestrial; and personalities like Jackie O., John Wayne, and Lady Di. These “brands” have captured and held the imagination of the public. Why? Because they represent something soulfully and deeply familiar to us.

The twelve ancient archetypes are the:

1. Creator

2. Caregiver

3. Ruler

4. Jester

5. Regular Guy/Gal

6. Lover

7. Hero

8. Outlaw

9. Magician

10. Innocent

11. Explorer

12. Sage

Each of these archetypes possess powerful identities that signal the fulfillment of basic human desires and emotions, and releases deep emotions and yearnings within us. Scientific research signals the missing link in successful marketing and branding is a lack of understanding of archetypes, and the power they possess.

During the recent development of my own personal branding strategy, I focused on researching and studying the twelve ancient archetypes to determine which one resonated with me most. After my study, I determined the ancient archetype that best describes me is the Ruler. Well-known Ruler brands are Saab, Ralph Lauren, Fortune, and Microsoft.

The Ruler archetype is known as the leader, and desires control; it also seeks to create prosperity and success, and to make order out of chaos. The ruler identity is right for a brand if it is:

- A high status product

- A product to help people get more organized

- A product at the moderate to high price range

Knowing this type of information helps to create a personal branding strategy that is consistent with the attributes and values of the brand, as well as identify the words to use to market the brand.

By using the ancient power of archetypes when branding your business, you will immediately make your marketing easier, and you’ll feel more confident because you’re authentically communicating who you are. This message of individuality and expression is so powerful, your ideal client will intuitively understand you, and be attracted to you.

A branding strategy, using archetypes, allows your audience to dive deep into the heart and soul of who you really are.

Whether you are developing your personal branding strategy for the first time, or rebranding, using ancient archetypes will separate the ordinary brands from you—the extraordinary brand. Use the power of ancient archetype to develop a powerful personal branding strategy to tell your brand’s story.

Copyright 2008, Bonita L. Richter



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Jonathan Andrews asked:


There is an increasing body of evidence that makes the case for solid employer brand management. From an organisation’s point of view, an employer brand encapsulates the key qualities current and prospective employees associate with you as an employer. These qualities can be economic (remuneration), functional (training and skills) or psychological (such as a sense of identity or status).

As an organisation, whether you’ve taken the time to define it or not, you have an employer brand. What are the benefits of building a good employer brand? Three benefits that have been identified in studies that make a case for employer brand management are enhanced attraction, increased retention and greater engagement with staff

In essence, this means attracting better quality candidates at a lower cost, more effective and proactive employees and, ultimately, increased revenues.

How does one reach the heart of employer brand management? The answer to this question is that the key principles for employer brand management are much the same as for regular brand management. Whoever is tasked with developing the employer brand needs to spend quality time and effort defining the key components of the brand. This definition is characteristically encapsulated by a model that defines how you’d like the brand to be received by the target audience (which in the case of an employer brand is prospective and current employees). This model will provide the starting point for your brand strategy.

There is an implicit danger in this approach however as one needs to be cognisant of the fact that just defining the vision of the brand is not the brand itself. This is merely the way you’d like people to perceive the brand. The real brand lives in people’s everyday experiences of the brand and the perceptions and associations they have in their heads about your organisation.

People have a tendency to become cynical of brands which promise a great deal, but under deliver. To bridge the gap between the perception of a brand and the brand reality, many top brand-led companies create two definitions of the brand: one that enshrines the brand as it is currently perceived and experienced, and the other describing how the company would like the brand to be perceived.

There is a delicate balance between these two definitions. On the one hand, organisations should be striving for the latter, but change too much about the former and the brand may lose focus, change too little and the brand may lose relevance.

Within the employer brand context, you need to understand the explicit needs to your employees as a point of departure. But, to ensure and effective internal brand strategy, you also need to develop an understanding of employees implicit needs as well as the broader organisational and cultural context in which it will operate.

The benefits of having a strong employer brand are numerous. Enhanced attraction, increased retention and greater engagement with staff have already been mentioned. This presents a number of opportunities for human resources, as well as enhanced marketing functions. Richard Mosley goes into greater detail about this in an eArticle entitled “Employer Brand – The performance driver no business can ignore”.

Richard Mosley also makes a compelling argument about why employer brand thinking is here to stay. Broadly, there are three reasons for this.

First, organisations are realising more and more that they cannot take the commitment and loyalty of their staff for granted. The old notion that if you give someone a decent job, they will gratefully do your bidding is ill-conceived and somewhat irrelevant in modern organisations. Valuable employees, just like profitable customers, are free to make their own choices and engage as they wish. The way to attract and retain skilled and able employees who perform to the best of their ability is through a coherent benefit-led approach that many companies are not accustomed to providing.

Second, employer branding provides an effective bridge between HR, internal communications and marketing. Recruiting, retaining and developing the right people is becoming all the more important in business as most organisations now recognise their staff as their most important asset.

Third, employer branding draws on a discipline that has proven lasting value in the marketplace. Employer branding draws on established principles of branding and brand management. This is the most effective way to sustain people’s commitment and loyalty.

In today’s world, overlooking your organisation’s brand strategy and how your brand is perceived by employees is short-sighted. One of the most effective ways to ensure commitment and buy-in from your employees is by building a strong employer brand with which they can identify.



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