A Plan for the Brand During Mergers & Acquisitions

A merger can be one of the most challenging transitions for an organization. And even more so for a communications professional tasked with navigating branding decisions.

In my recent article written for and published in the July-August issue of Communication World, the official magazine of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), I’ve outlined the benefits of having a detailed communication plan and shared seven steps communicators and business leaders alike should consider when undertaking this type of transition. Read more

Leading the Marketing Department through Product Launches

In each organizational setting, there is a unique set of expectations we may consider optimal for good management. The management behaviors that may be most effective for encouraging participation at a brainstorming session, for example, would be very different from the management behaviors required to ensure victory in the heat of battle. And though that principle seems self-evident academically, people tend not to alter their behavior effectively in different settings.
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Goldman on Brand: an Interview with the TeaEO of Honest Tea

In the 14 years since Seth Goldman co-founded the company with Yale professor Barry Nalebuff, Honest Tea has grown from humble beginnings to become the first organic and fair trade brand to move into the mainstream beverage distribution system. During the past 10 years the company has posted a double-digit (66%) annual compound growth rate, capitalizing on consumers’ shift toward healthier and more sustainable diets. Recently, MarketPoint met with Goldman, to learn how his brand played a role in the company’s success.
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4 Reasons Why Training Sales People is Less Effective than Managing Them Well

(This article was previously published on Technorati.com.)

Countless books have been written, extolling the virtues of sales training. All of them miss the point. Companies’ sales efforts fail, not so much because their sales people don’t know how to sell, but because they’re not being well managed. Read more

Facebook Advertising: Sometimes, When You Get There, There Isn’t Any There There

We confess: we often swim against the tide. And, no doubt, we’ll be skewered by every ad agency rep who reads this post. But the time has come to ask B2B marketers, “So who’s in charge of your advertising budget – you or that pimply kid from the ad agency?”
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An Interview with Bruce Cakebread

In the four decades since Jack Cakebread began making wine, Cakebread Cellars has established its position among the finest wines in America. Recently, MarketPoint asked Bruce Cakebread, the company’s President and COO, to share his views on the Cakebread brand.
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Meet the First Lady of Social Media

Those who are faithful readers of this blog know that we are not prone to trivialities.

But in a week that saw Facebook go public and Zuckerberg get married, we just had to wonder what stories lay quiet in the backwaters… And there we found 27-year-old Priscilla Chan. Read more

New Business Model for Facebook?

Buried in the technology section of today’s BBC Online is an article entitled “Facebook tests ‘pay to promote post” tool. “Can’t be!” you say? Read on…
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The Brand Management Decision Tree

One of the challenges associated with operating a consulting firm in a mid-sized market is that people start to learn your schtick. And occasionally, when we’re out on the town, someone will walk up to us and ask, with a grin, “Do I really need a brand management strategy?” So, to simplify the answer as much as possible, we’ve put together a little decision tree, which we encourage you to download and keep handy.
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All in a Word

Words are powerful things. We count on them to convey meaning. And sometimes they do their job too well.

Just last month, an former colleague told me how proud she was that she was tolerant of a young man I admire.

“Tolerant?” I asked. “What does that mean, exactly?” Read more