I began my career as a newspaper journalist, far from the glamour and lights of the CNN anchor desk. There, with the guidance of more experienced writers and editors, I learned to write compelling stories – stories that not only informed but captivated readers, giving them something to talk about, something to think about, and occasionally something to act upon. At the paper, brevity and facts were my deliverables. Life was simple.
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Perhaps, businesses would do well to follow the lead of Congressman Weiner. No, not his internet flirting, or his bad-judgment photo texting, or his blatant lies to reporters… but his apology. In the rush to vilify Mr. Weiner and brush aside the whole affair in favor of the latest headline, we may have missed the moral of the story. In the end – albeit prompted by the fact that he was caught red-handed – Weiner apologized. And he did it well.
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Distracted driver laws are a source of heated debate in the United States. Consumer safety groups and law enforcement agencies warn of the dangers of distracted driving, citing statistics made available through the U.S. Government’s Department of Transportation, while users argue that cell phones create no more inherent danger than drive-through restaurants. In all, 34 states (and the District of Columbia) have enacted some form of Distracted Driver legislation, with 8 states specifically outlawing use of hand-held phones while driving. In 2009 alone (most recent Government statistics), 20% of all injury crashes – and 5,474 fatalities – involved distracted driving. And according to one study conducted by the University of Utah, “motorists who talk on handheld or hands-free cellular phones are as impaired as drunken drivers.”
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Lots of good-hearted people make a decent living by training sales people. I used to be one of them. So, it’s with a sympathetic heart that I say, “Sales training stinks.”
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Almost 30 years ago, I was fortunate to have a mentor who was a devotee of W. Edwards Deming. No less than once a week (for four years) I would hear Charlie say, “If you’re not measuring it, you’re not managing it.” I never found the actual Deming quote, but the concept is certainly consistent with his philosophy. Charlie’s paraphrase of Deming changed the way I looked at marketing and advertising. Before Charlie (BC), I was satisfied measuring things like “reach and frequency,” confident that exposure drove awareness, built brand, and generated revenue – but Charlie (and Deming) proved me wrong.
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The words “continuous” and “continual” are so similar in appearance and sound that many people use them as if they were synonymous. But in truth, the subtle distinction between the two sheds important light on our understanding of brand.
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Marketers love comparisons. Especially copywriters. It seems every product advertised is the best product anyone could buy. It’s the “fastest car,” the “toughest truck,” the “whitest smile,” the “easiest decision,” the “smoothest ride…” Such claims are enticing; they promise to exceed our expectations.
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Check your wallet. What percent of the dollar bills in your wallet are over 24 months old? If the answer is more than 50%, you’re the exception.
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Many have heard the name Ron Shapiro. A world-renown expert in negotiation, Mr. Shapiro is a distinguished graduate of the Harvard Law School. He has negotiated agreements in the corporate, government and nonprofit sectors. He has successfully represented many of the world’s greatest athletes, including Cal Ripken Jr., Brooks Robinson, Eddy Murray, Jim Palmer and Joe Mauer. And his books have appeared on the best-seller lists of the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and Business Week magazine.
Recently, we had the privilege of chatting with Mr. Shapiro about the impact negotiation can have on brand – organizational brand as well as personal brand. These are his comments.
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We need a new word for “brand.” That would help clear up the confusion so many people have about the process of branding. It’s really not the customers’ fault; it’s the fault of marketing professionals who use the term so loosely. And the error is rooted deep in our culture.
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