Raquel writes in her just released ebook, Five Steps to Telling Your Most Engaging Stories, that “love” gets a bad rap. Same goes for the word “emotion.” When someone says they were emotional, tears and tissues come to mind. And maybe weakness. No one wants to be associated with weakness.

Emotion makes you human

When you were in preschool or your child was in preschool, did you practice making faces showing different emotions? My sons and I have practiced our happy, surprised, fierce and scared expressions. Keeping this very elementary, basic definition of emotion in mind helps us see how evoking emotion can mean many things. It also points out how basic and human emotions are.

Emotion closes deals

People make buying decisions based on feelings and emotions. Geoffrey James discusses this in a recent Inc. article. He says that sales are made because of a change in a customer’s emotional state. No matter how compelling your argument is at a logical level, it’s the heart you have to convince.

“The emotional change you’re seeking in your customer will probably result from the expression of new information and the reframing of old information,” James says.

Tap into the emotion

Every good story evokes some emotion, and that includes brand and business-related stories. If you aren’t evoking emotion in how you communicate who and what your brand or business is, your story needs work. Here is an exercise to help you land on the right emotion for your brand story:

Q. What is your brand’s “only”? What is the one thing your company focuses on to do as well as it can be done? What is the one thing you do that no one else comes close to doing as well as you? How are your culture, client interactions and processes different from anyone else’s?

A. How does that “only” make your audience feel? Do your personal relationships with clients make them feel powerful, at ease, catered to or special in some way? Does your service make your customers feel responsible, smart or protected? Tap into those feelings and create a narrative around them. Turn a feeling into a case study, a blog post or a brand message. Don’t let these emotions live just with your audience. Embrace them and communicate them to tell your story.

Beware emotional clichés

When you’re working on the emotion in your story, beware the pitfalls of stereotypes. Just because you’re in the business of car insurance doesn’t mean you have to evoke a “fear of not being covered in case of an accident” or “happiness that you aren’t paying too much for insurance.” You might tap into pride or calm or some other emotion that rings truer to who you are and separates you from your competition.

Use Raquel’s ebook to help you tell your most engaging story, one that will bring about an emotional change in your audience.

404 error. This is the technical code for what happens when someone tries to get to a page on your site that doesn’t exist. It could have been a typo or maybe they clicked a 10-year-old link to a page that isn’t on your site anymore.

What happens when a 404 error comes up on you site? Do you guide your well-intentioned web visitor through the experience or do you make them feel stupid?

Most default 404 pages are designed to give a web developer the information they need to troubleshoot the problem. If all of your customers are web developers, that’s great! Otherwise your going to make your web visitors feel confused. Regardless of whose fault the error is, it feels like your entire site (and by extension your entire organization) is in some small way flawed.

The worst part is showing someone a little personality with your 404 page is easy. Take a look at Silver Square’s 404 page.

Best practices on display

• Explain what might have happened so visitors aren’t confused
• Suggest possible content to go to next
• Show a little personality
• Mention 404 on there somewhere so web developers can still diagnose the technical problem

Need some more inspiration? Check out 35 funny 404 error pages from Mashable, then ask us about creating a 404 page that fits your brand story.

When we record the Marketing Brainpower podcasts, we are not reading from a script. That’s by design, and while we do plan ahead points that we want to address on a given topic, when it’s time to record we just talk. The organic narrative structure makes the podcast more fun to record, and hopefully more fun to listen to.

But that means sometimes in the process of discussing building personas for your brand, we end up on a tangent about astrological signs. Surprisingly we were able to create a segue (albeit a loose one) back to marketing.

Topics Covered:

• What’s a persona and how does it help you understand your customers?
• How to create personas from your existing clients
• What attributes are helpful to define in your personas
• How many personas can/should you have?

Resources Mentioned:

• Masters of Business Online – annual conference for marketing and tech where we ran a workshop on content marketing last year
• Harley Davidson – example of a company with a clearly established brand persona that permeates everything they do as a company

Why the change? A big reason is timing. If we stuck with the traditional format we’d be announcing the final two brands and commencing the final round of voting on Friday. A lot of people are leaving early for spring break, and we want to make sure that everyone has a chance to vote. (If we advance our bracketology next year to the point where you can fill out your own bracket and compete against your friends and loved ones, rest assured that we will stick to the traditional head-to-head match-ups.) To make sure everyone who wants to has a chance voting for this final round is open through the end of day Monday, April 2.

The action has been particularly close in the non-profit division where the results of your votes below will determine whether the 8-seeded IMA or the 11-seeded Children’s Museum is going to advance to the final four. Check out the full bracket.

The Best Chocolate in Town vs. Silver in the City

Whether you are heading into town or into the city, you’re going to find some delightful treats.

The Rathskeller vs. St. Elmo’s

These downtown dining heavyweights are slugging it out for a trip to the final four.

Eli Lilly vs. Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Both are nationally recognized brands, but which of these juggernauts is recognized locally?

Indianapolis Museum of Art vs. The Children’s Museum

Popular spots for both tourists and Indianapolis natives, who has a bigger foothold?

Voting for this round will be open through Saturday, so be sure to vote to keep your favorite brands in the hunt for the championship.

Mass Ave Toys vs. The Best Chocolate in Town

These are both great options to give yourself a little reward. Go on. You deserve it.

Ossip vs. Silver in the City

From trinkets and knick-knacks you just have to see to the professionals that can help you see them.

Scotty’s Brewhouse vs. The Rathskeller

What are you drinking?

St. Elmo’s vs. Bazbeaux

A logo with a smiling face doesn’t alway works, but both of these culinary stops pull it off well enough to make it to our sweet sixteen.

Eli Lilly vs. ExactTarget

People who have never set foot in Indiana know both of these two powerhouses. Tough match-up.

Marsh vs. Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Each with many decades of investing in their respective brands, who’s done the most to stay on the minds of consumers today?

Indianapolis Museum of Art vs. Indiana Repertory Theatre

Two cultural staples enter. One cultural staple leaves. It’s about to get Thunderdome up in here.

The Children’s Museum vs. Riley Hospital for Children

The future of Indianapolis looks much better with these two organizations healing the bodies and stretching the minds of tomorrow’s leaders.

We’ve learned a few lessons from this first round. One is that we need to give the tournament a more consistent title. So this is round 2 of the Indianapolis Brand Tournament. Apparently calling Round 1 Can’t Get Enough March Madness is not descriptive enough to explain what we’re doing here.

Another lesson is that people really want to see the entire field in the traditional bracket format that we’ve all come to know and love. Fair enough. We’re keeping the simple format for voting that we used last round, but we can certainly show you where all the teams are. Here’s the official bracket.

We also learned that we didn’t explain to anyone viewing this blog post via the RSS feed that they will need to click through to the full post in order to vote. Voting is incredibly simple; you just click on the brand you think is stronger in each match up and hit the vote button. But you do have to come to the web page to do it. This is just a technical constraint at this point.

We’re roughly timing these rounds so that voting will end on April 2, the night of the championship game in the NCAA tournament. That means we need to speed things up, though, so voting for round 2 will be over at the end of the day on Wednesday, March 21.

Retail Division

Mass Ave Toys vs. Three Dog Bakery

Round 2 kicks off with a tough match up between two brands that provide a lot of joy to Indianapolis.

Good Earth vs. The Best Chocolate in Town

You’ve got to eat. Now do you want to be naughty or nice?

Ossip vs. Just Pop In

Fans of the cinema will have a tough call between being able to clearly see the screen and munching on some delicious popcorn.

The Yoga Center vs. Silver in the City

It’s a good idea to properly align your funny bone.

Restaurant Division

Yats vs. Scotty’s Brewhouse

Certainly two of the most popular eateries in the local social media space, who’s got the strength IRL.

IRL is chat-speak for “in real life”

Kona Jack’s vs. The Rathskeller

Kona Jack provided the biggest upset of round 1, but are their bracket busting ways a match for the Rathskeller?

Brugge vs. St. Elmo’s

It’s red text on a black background against… well… you know.

Zest vs. Bazbeaux

If your rule of thumb in tournament voting is to pick the team with a ‘Z’ in their name, let the head scratching begin.

Business Division

Eli Lilly vs. Indianapolis Monthly

Lilly is going to be tough to beat. Does Indianapolis Monthly have the slingshot to topple Goliath?

IU Health vs. ExactTarget

ExactTarget is very well known in business circles, but they’re going toe-to-toe with a brand that has a big budget and markets to pretty much everyone in Indianapolis

Marsh vs. Simon Property

Almost everyone in the city spends time regularly in a Marsh Supermarket and a property (likely a mall) owned by Simon.

Conseco vs. Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Local sports fans are familiar with both of these brands, but which one is going to get their vote?

Non-profit Division

Just another reminder here as we look at the non-profit division. The purpose of the tournament is to compare how successful organizations have been at increasing brand awareness in the Indianapolis community. The tournament is in no way about comparing the mission or accomplishments of any of the brands mentioned.

Gleaners Food Bank vs. Indianapolis Museum of Art

Two organizations that clearly do a lot for the people of Indianapolis.

Conner Prairie vs. Indiana Repertory Theatre

Wonderful to have these brands working hard to bring culture to our community.

The Children’s Museum vs. Heartland Film Festival

These contenders prove challenging yourself to learn and grow can be entertaining and fun.

Planned Parenthood of Indiana vs. Riley Hospital for Children

Providing crucial resources and services for families these are both important names in Indianapolis.

Since we are a marketing firm, we think (a lot) about messaging and brand penetration. We decided it would be fun to see how some of the strongest local brands in Indianapolis stack up against each other.

IMPORTANT: This is not about the size, revenue, community impact, or mission of any of these organizations. We’re just looking at how successful they have been in building their brand in Indy.

The rules are simple: who do you think is more well known for what they do? If you’ve only heard of one of the two organizations matched up against each other, it’s probably pretty easy for you to decide who you think has done a better job of getting their brand out there. If you don’t know how to answer you can always skip.

Are we doing this scientifically? Oh, yeah. This is super scientific. We asked literally tens of Indianapolis natives to rank local brands to help us seed the bracket. And the outcome will be decided based on the votes of the readers of our blog. With a sample group like that, how could their possibly be any upsets?

Retail Division

Mass Ave Toys vs. J. Benzal

Tough match up with two brands that have distinctive – but wildly different – audiences and styles.

Three Dog Bakery vs. Big Hat Books

Do you curl up with a good book or give a treat to man’s best friend?

Good Earth vs. Surroundings

Nourishment for you body is pitted against nourishment for the collector’s soul.

The Best Chocolate in Town vs. Sage Boutique

How do you decide where your retail therapy dollars go?

Ossip vs. French Pharmacie

Appropriate tag line for either: Wait until you see how good you look!

Just Pop In vs. Rusted Moon Outfitters

Jazz up your trail mix with some caramel corn.

Global Gifts vs. The Yoga Center

You can feel good about bringing balance to your body or your local economy.

Silver in the City vs. Pillow Talk

Between these two stores you should be able to find a gift for almost anyone.

Restaurant Division

Yats vs. Jockamo

Delicious casual dining pitted against delicious casual dining. Tough choice.

Scotty’s Brewhouse vs. Bub’s

If these guys teamed up you could have an ice cream beer float with your burger… maybe it’s better if they don’t work together.

Three Wise Men vs. Kona Jack’s

If you like a drink with your meal, you’re in luck.

The Rathskeller vs. The Flying Cupcake

I know it’s tough to tell these places apart at a glance, but if you really dig into the details you can find a few differences.

Brugge vs. Huddles

With the different dips for your fries and toppings for your ice cream, both contenders offer a unique experience with every visit.

St. Elmo’s vs. Pizzology

When you land that big account, reward yourself with a night of fine dining at one of these eateries.

Goose the Market vs. Zest

What’s today’s special?

Bazbeaux vs. Broad Ripple Brewpub

There’s a battle in the Ripple.

Business Division

Eli Lilly vs. First Person Advisors

Several of your neighbors likely work for one of these two companies.

Slingshot SEO vs. Indianapolis Monthly

Do you get more of your news online or from the news stand?

IU Health vs. Apparatus

They’re both great in their respective fields, but who is great at establishing their brand.

ExactTarget vs. Bowen

Building businesses online vs. building businesses in the brick and mortar world.

Marsh vs. Shiel Sexton

The folks who built the grocery store or the folks who got food to the builders. Classic chicken or egg.

Simon Property vs. Formstack

I promise it’s a coincidence that we have all these online/offline match ups.

Inside Indiana Business vs. Conseco

Let’s talk about money.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway vs. AIT Laboratories

Which organization has what it takes to pass this test?

Non-profit Division

I feel compelled again to stress as we look at the non-profit division that we are absolutely in no way comparing the merit of these organizations. We are strictly looking at how successful they have been at establishing brand awareness. Alright, carry on.

Gleaners Food Bank vs. The Julian Center

Two great organizations for helping people out in a tough spot.

Indianapolis Museum of Art vs. Girls Inc. of Indianapolis

Fun fact: most young girls are wonderful artists. Is this true? I have no idea, but yes. Yes, it is true.

Conner Prairie vs. Indianapolis Urban League

We have fantastic local resources for understanding our history and not repeating the mistakes of the past.

Indiana Repertory Theatre vs. Girls Rock! Indy

Some of the best live entertainers of today and some of the best live entertainers of tomorrow.

Indianapolis Zoo vs. The Children’s Museum

Whichever way you vote, you’re picking an organization that makes a lot of kids (and parents) very happy.

Heartland Film Festival vs. School on Wheels

Bringing culture and education to Hoosiers young and old.

Planned Parenthood of Indiana vs. Coburn Place

I can’t imagine how many families have been helped by these two organizations.

Riley Hospital for Children vs. Keep Indianapolis Beautiful

Organizations like these don’t exist unless the local populace cares about the community and the people in it.

NIGHTCLUBS, MORGUES, HOSPITALS

(A comedy with Steve Martin.)

THE WIZARD OF AUSCHWITZ

(A concentration camp film with a feel-good ending.)

AUSCHWITZ AND ME!

(A musical. The follow-up to Springtime for Hitler?)

SHARP SHADOW ON THE WALL

(Arty noir film set in the 1940s with not a lot happening.)

The titles are intriguing and quirky, but they have no legs to stand on. They are simply interesting titles. Shaun’s post reminded me of what could be called “Taglines in search of a brand.” Unfortunately, these taglines do exist, finding themselves attached to brands in ill-conceived, arranged marriages. The real love connection between tagline and brand isn’t there.

Writers and marketers have to keep their eye on the brand ball. Too often, cleverness, creativity or oversimplification gets in the way of a tagline’s objective. That objective should be, at least in part, to let the consumer know what your brand delivers. Can you tell what kinds of companies these taglines are associated with or what they really deliver? (answers below):

• Thrive
• Your potential Our passion
• It’s time for clarity

A handful of brand taglines that I think really hit the nail on the head:

• American Dairy Association: Behold the power of cheese
• Bayer Aspirin: Bayer works wonders
• Bounty: The quicker picker-upper
• Delta Airlines: We love to fly and it shows
• FannieMae: Our business is the American dream
• Lay’s Potato Chips: Betcha can’t eat just one
• New York State Division of Tourism: I love New York
• Visine: Visine gets the red out

I probably didn’t even need to include the company names above. These taglines aren’t in search of a brand. The connection between the brand and what it delivers is clear. Take a look at your own tagline, if you have one. Is it a string of words put together to tell your audience what you can do for them or does it just sound cool? Is the tagline memorable and clear, or is it overcomplicated, relying too much on mystery to intrigue your audience? (Lose the mystery. Give them an answer.)

Check out Lists of Note. It’s always a fun read. And without further adieu on those three not-so-successful taglines (answers):

• Kaiser Permanente: Thrive
• Microsoft: Your potential Our passion
• KPMG: It’s time for clarity (Oh, the irony!)

We all carry within us a personal brand. We may not think of ourselves like this, but it’s true. How you look, how you carry yourself, what type of clothing you wear, your tone, how often you decide to speak and even what words you use relate to your personal brand. (There are many tests out there that can run through your attributions and kick out a personality test if you want to dive deeper into this.)

Really, though, I’m here to give you some tips to help you make a wise Valentine’s Day gift selection. I struggle with this myself – what to get the people you love. Hopefully, these three tips will help you narrow down your ideas:

1. Don’t get caught up in the commercialism. I don’t want flowers on Valentine’s Day. I’ll take them any other regular day, but not February 14th. Just because a sexy lady on a commercial says send them doesn’t mean this will bode well for your sweetheart. Think about her personal brand and then decide if flowers still make sense. And gals, sending your guy a bouquet may seem like a good idea, but unless you write a personal, romantic note to go with it this may not make the splash you were hoping for.
2. Same goes for chocolate. Especially if he/she has a new year’s resolution to improve their health… 2-3 extraordinary dark chocolate pieces is just enough.
3. Money doesn’t count. Make sure your gift is special, not expensive.

Your partner is special and this day should reflect that, but do it in your way, for their personality and style.

With Legacy Fire Inspection we wanted to create a brand that feels trusted and welcoming, while incorporating icons that symbolize a fire inspection.  The ‘L’ in the center of the logo is constructed with a pipe feel, representing the water sprinkler pipes.  The subtle texture gives off a worn look, representing the number of years it takes to leave a legacy.

Are you proud of your brand design?  Is it time for an update?

Some of my favorite brands are: Lululemon, Apple, The North Face, and Starbucks.

I can relate to these brands because I can find myself in their story.

When you sit down to craft your brand, it’s important to think about the elements of what you do that people can relate to, understand and participate in. If someone cannot find themselves in your brand, they won’t connect. Helping me put myself in your story will connect me to your brand, possibly for a very long time.

For example, let’s dive into Lululemon. I have only recently become to know (and love) this brand, but it was a short ride for me to get to know them and find myself in their work. How they talk, how they design, their color choices and their mindset are all top reasons for pulling me into their trenches, but their main attraction was their philosophy. Their story.

“Live the sweat life” and “Gear to get you there” are two simple sentences that just scream at me. I want to push myself to live the good life, which for me includes sweating, and hey, let’s look good while we’re sweating, right?

One way they share their story is through their Manifesto, which is a collection of sayings such as: Do one thing a day that scares you; Stress is related to 99% of all illness; and Children are the orgasm of life. They walk this walk through their education and community work, and help you get started with goals and a simple yoga practice.

I see myself in this company’s story, and, I am inspired by what they do and how I can be because of them. Sounds crazy, but it’s true; for me and millions of other women and men who have helped them become one of the fastest growing health communities with a retail presence. They’re getting it right.

Making this same experience happen for your company is possible. Just make sure your desired audience can see themselves in your story.

Looking back at our pace a year from today, or even six months ago, we were running super fast. Life in our lane is typically fast no matter how you swing it, but, we can work to control the crazies. I think we have accomplished a more controlled pace by adding two uber creatives (did you meet Matt and Emily?) and giving ourselves a couple extra hours a week to just sit and talk about ideas. Do you know how much joy that brings us? Wow.

I was reading an article about James Dyson, the creator of that well-known Dyson vacuum. Did you know he tried 5,127 prototypes before he succeeded? I bet he had a ton of fun working on all those “tries” to get to where he knew he needed to be. I look at how I run my life today and like to think each of my days includes about 100 tries of some type. These daily workouts put me in a good place to really turn on the ideas when I need to. Here is a bit of what I do:

1. Reading. I read constantly. I will read just about anything because I am always curious. I just want to know… about everything. This gets me in trouble sometimes with asking 101 questions, but I am genuine in my quest to learn more.
2. Exercising. If you read this blog regularly you’re probably getting sick of seeing this, but, for me, it’s key to my creativity. I have so many ideas while I’m out walking my dogs that I have started voice recording what I think about. Yeah. Go ahead and make fun of me.
3. Believe. This one is also key because you must believe you’re creative, believe you’ll have a great idea, believe in possibilities. One of my favorite quotes is from Chihuly: Energy, confidence and focus, these are the things you need to be creative. Confidence is a belief. If you have trouble with this one, talk to yourself in the positive phrase you’re struggling with and it will turn around for you.
4. Create. I’ve started painting again and am reminded what a joy this is. I keep evolving my technique – right now I basically use my canvas like one large finger painting project, but it works for me and I love it. My kids help select colors and where I place them. It’s insanely fun and gives me an outlet to turn my right brain on full force.

Please share some of your tips for boosting your creative habits and spirit. I would enjoy learning them (I’m curious about that too) and sharing with our blog readers. In the meantime, go be creative!

Ogilvy-ChatThreads released a study last week basically saying social media is increasing sales. The study took 404 individuals and monitored their touchpoints to fast food restaurants. “Individuals exposed to social content are significantly more likely to increase their spending and consumption than those who aren’t exposed,” was the one sentence summary.

I can relate to this study. When I’m thinking about where to go, whether that’s to eat or shop, I turn to Twitter and Yelp. These two social platforms give me the information I need, quickly, to decide where to go. I typically use Twitter as a group forum and throw out questions like:  “What’s good for dinner tonight” or “Where are the food trucks” and I get answers.

When I use Yelp, I often click the nearby feature to see if there is something new I’ve been missing. If I’m not familiar with the new place, I read the reviews and these sway my decision to take action or to skip to the next thing.

While my gut and personal habits already told me social media is changing the way we find, shop and buy, it’s nice someone took the time to actually monitor and report back via a study. Someone’s gotta keep those marketing firms in line.

When the last few versions of the iPhone were unveiled, Steve Jobs would stand in front of a crowd of ravenous fans with still more people hanging on his every word through a video stream. He’d announce the new capabilities of this generation of iPhone, and even people who didn’t completely understand the significance believed that it was important because Steve told them so. Very few people were listening to him many years earlier when he was starting out, but the number of people following him as the voice of his industry grew throughout his entire professional career.

Was he more enthusiastic when he was presenting the iPhone 4 than he was presenting the first iPhone? It doesn’t seem that way. It seems he was just as passionate about the products he championed in his youth as the products he championed the last few years. The real difference is that he had developed his brand. There’s a process behind establishing credibility in your industry. It requires expertise, consistency, and time. The more you have of any two of those, the less you need of the third. If you have all three in abundance, your success is almost inevitable.

By building his brand Jobs had trained people what to expect from him. They knew he had the answers. They knew he was going to tell them the future. They knew he would give them something that made their life easier and more fun. Jobs was just as brilliant and innovative when he was young, but people didn’t know that. It wasn’t until later in life when he was able to leverage the brand he had built as the man who could put tomorrow in our hands that the masses were lining up to hear him explain where he had taken the industry. Expertise. Consistency. Time.

If you want to have the type of influence on your industry that Steve Jobs had in all of the industries he touched, establish a good marketing foundation with a vision, a key message, and a brand. It may seem like there’s a lot of energy spent up front laying the groundwork, but this is the process that works.

The first thing most people see that provides any detailed information about your business is your website.

Maybe they met you briefly at a networking event, and they want to follow-up. Maybe they want to get a little background information on you before a face-to-face meeting. Maybe they’ve just heard your name, and they want to find out who you are. Or maybe they went to Google and typed in your industry and your city, and that’s how they found you.

So most people will come to your site and after a few minutes decide they have a pretty good understanding of who you are, what services you offer, and (perhaps most importantly) at what level you can provide those services. They decide all of this without you having spent even 60 seconds in front of them.

This begs the question how much time and money do you spend on your sales process. Quite a few prospects won’t even get to that phase. Since just about every single prospect you might meet is going to view your website then, how much time and money should you invest there?

Georgia Street is “the” street that’s getting a full makeover for the 2012 Super Bowl that’s coming to town in about five months. It will be one happening street for sure. I am personally excited to experience our town in all its glory on the days approaching the big event. I already love our downtown and the continued growth in energy and events; this will only add to the experience.

That’s where my support ends. As I went public with on the show, I don’t believe we need to spend the extra time, money and effort necessary to rename this street. It’s the street’s name that will live with us long after the football event is over. I simply don’t believe it’s an important element to the big picture. Actually, I don’t even think it’s a huge issue to the small picture.

So what’s your take? Love it, leave it, hate it or make it? Chime in!

Oprah has the world’s best brand.

Yep, there you go. I arrived on Oprah’s brand as the best and I have a few reasons for thinking this I’ll share below. I would love to hear who you believe has the best brand and why, too.

1. She speaks to a variety of people. Most men won’t admit it, but they like Oprah. I’m not saying a lot of men read or follow her, but most of them like her for what she has done with her brand and business. Most women also love Oprah, in fact, I would guess the vast majority of women age 27-45 could tell you at least a few things that’s going on with Oprah’s brand right now, today. This is a powerful thing to reach so many people in such a deep way. Just take the women and you’ll find a mix of professionals, SAHMs (Stay at Home Moms), and every sub category within those two. She is able to speak to each of us on a level that resonates with us. That’s amazing.
2. She knows how to use media. Ok, you’re thinking, duh. Come on, Raquel. But stay with me here… do you know how difficult it is to successfully and effectively find the right people to help you pull off a success print magazine these days? Let alone launch your own (ha….OWN) network with original shows and guests? It takes a village. Then, to use modern technology and social channels to push it all out… yes, this is unique. Not only because she does it all well, but she gets engagement and results in each of those mediums. I personally relate to her magazine more than her shows or online avenues. I like the articles, I love the one page bios, I always look to see what she recommends on the reading list and I love (LOVE!) the design. The page layouts are stellar. Her iPad app is one of the best I’ve used, which isn’t saying a whole lot since I’m not way into my apps, but I’ve probably seen and used more than the average.
3. She gets people to buy. If you were an author a handful of years back, you were doing all you could to get Oprah to list your work on her list. You knew that would make you into a literary star overnight. Today, it’s pretty much still the same but at a slower pace, and add home decor, handbags, skincare products… just make a list and she’s recommended it somewhere within her world, and people have bought it in droves.
4. She gets you to care. We know about the Angel Network and her charity work; let’s put that aside just for a minute. Her role in the 2008 Presidential Election helped Obama get over the edge. Her ability to bring light to an otherwise less appealing issue is unmatched. I would like to see her use more of her power for good within America and get us all started on mini campaigns right in our own backyards, but right now she seems more focused in other parts of the world (which is still good – don’t get me wrong).
5. She builds you up. With an audience of women for women with women, it seems more the norm for us to be hard on each other than helpful. Oprah helps build us up, helps us see the good in other women, and helps us find it within ourselves to be better. When you help someone make themselves better or get themselves in a better place, you’re a friend for life. Oprah’s made a lot of friends.

These are just a few reasons I am naming Oprah as the best brand. My other notable best brands for consideration I can narrow down to two:  Starbucks and Apple. Who would you give the nod to? Why?

1. Write out your goals. During your initial meeting, don’t begin the conversation by saying what you think you need. Discuss your goals and what you would like to achieve.

For instance, you started a new service at your business and you are absolutely sure you need a brochure that is 8.5 x 11 that has a picture of a telephone operator on the front. You sit down and immediately jump into how you want it to look and begin with size, colors, and “maybe a fancy font”. However, this isn’t the best route and is ineffective. Talk with your designer about the goals of this new service and what you want your audience to know. Perhaps they will suggest a video from the CEO talking about how this new service will improve customer service by streamlining the companies processes.

2. Try to limit or omit your personal opinions during the design process. This is an extremely important step that is often overlooked. It’s not about what you prefer and what you think looks good. It’s about designing an effective piece that is going to emotionally connect to your audience, and their style may very well be different than yours.

3. Know your audience. You can’t say everyone, and I plead with you to NOT say everyone. In a perfect world, we’d all like to say that our product or service is for everyone, but we don’t live in a perfect world. You need to be specific.

For example, in my spare time, I create handbags (yes, I’m quite talented). My bags are made with Italian leather, marine canvas, and nickel hardware that have a price point between $75 and $350 each. The bags have an urban style that sometimes have seams on the outside of the bags. I could say based on that limited information that my intended audience are females, between the ages of 30 to 50 with an income of around $45,000 to $75,000. She lives in the city, listens to the top hits on the radio, goes shopping at Farmers Markets and supports local artists.

With that information, we can craft a message and a communication channel that is specific to that particular audience. If you don’t know who your intended audience is, you might have a little work that needs to be done before a designer can jump in to designing something for you or your business.

4. Research goes a long way. You might need something as soon as yesterday, but you also can’t downplay the research that goes into design. Though many designers will try and work within any given deadline or timeframe, in order to get the most bang for your buck and for your piece to have a long shelf life with minimal changes, you need to let this part of the process take its course. Designers just don’t make things look pretty. Believe it or not, there are strategic plans to everything we design… from the business card all the way to the advertising campaign.

Being the sucker I am for great design, I instantly picked-up the package. That very second my hand touched that label that wrapped so perfectly around that clear bottle, I was SOLD.

It was all in the paper. It was thin, smooth, and had a satin finish. This bottle of hand soap screamed clean, crisp, refreshing and environmentally conscious. I didn’t have to read anything, I just knew it was everything I would need in a hand soap.

Now, I don’t expect all consumers to respond in the same obsessive way I do about paper, however, I do expect you to keep in mind the message you’re sending when you make a paper selection. There are millions of paper options out there. Consider your company and the message you’re trying to convey as you make this very important, and often overlooked, decision.

After I made my hand soap purchase, I couldn’t help myself, I immediately pulled up the company’s website. Sure enough, their tagline read, “Beautifully Clean • Elegantly Green.”

Just as I had expected.

In short: “When everybody zigs, zag”. In the fast paced world of the internet and social media, the number of new businesses popping up are increasing at a gun-shot rate. It’s up to the customers to decide if your brand will survive or not. Therefore, a customer must have a clear understanding about your product, service, and company. It doesn’t matter what you say your company is or what you think your company is about. It’s about your customer, how they perceive you, and what they say about you.

Neumeier goes on to state that the competition isn’t really other companies, but market clutter. You can’t fight clutter with more clutter so your best chance of survival is being so radically different that it gives your customers something to remember.

If you aren’t sure where to begin and how to find your “zag”, Neumeier gives plenty of tools and exercises that you can do along the way to help guide you to where you need to be. One of the first exercises that you do: writing your business’ obituary. Seem crazy? It’s really not. It clears out all the uncertainty and the “foggy stuff” that occurs in the beginning or even towards the middle of creating or re-developing your brand and helps you write out what you wished your business was about. What did people say about you? How much money did your business walk away with after it closed? Does it have a legacy? Writing this down will really help define what you want your brand to be and the goals you have for your business.

If you have a business or are a part of a business that you want to help grow, this book is a great tool to have in your back pocket. It is a very easy to read, inviting book about branding and can help you whether you are exploring ideas for your clients or need to critique your own branding. You will read it once and then again for reference. Neumeier has two other books out that I’ve already purchased. I’ll be sure to report back once I’ve read them.

Enjoy!

When president and founder Jeff Leffew came to Silver Square with his company’s recently updated identity, we were moved by the meaning behind their logomark. Servant HR strives to be in the shadows of its clients. The staff are never seeking the spotlight. They are doing all the behind-the-scenes work, holding up the arms of others in a supportive role. We felt this icon perfectly represented their role as an outsourced human resources provider.

The main challenge Servant HR had was communicating all the services they offered and stressing the importance of the integration among all of them. We addressed these obstacles first by incorporating some new design elements into their brand. A repeating pentagon pattern was created to represent the five service areas that make up Servant HR. First, and most commonly requested, payroll, benefits, workers comp, unemployment issues and HR. These five areas are shown by the points of the pentagon and the lines that connect them work together to create a complete shape.

Jeff and Servant HR felt it was important to promote their strong foundation to glorify God in all they do — a value supported by client feedback Silver Square heard during our research phase. Servant HR’s tagline, “Creating Freedom to Focus,” also stood out as a memorable phrase to include in their brand. We did this by including the mission on business cards. This tab shows up throughout their identity system as well as on their website and e-newsletters. It’s become a strong icon that supports their brand and lets clients and prospective clients know what’s at the heart of Servant HR.

While developing the Servant HR website, our goal was to let people know exactly what Servant HR does right from the homepage. We tackled this challenge by displaying a guide that we have developed that guests can download right from the slide deck. This guide asks business owners tough HR questions and lets them decide if they’d be a good fit for Servant HR. Another way we chose to communicate what Servant HR does is by showing recent blog posts and their Twitter feed on the homepage. Here you’re able to read about HR recommendations, tips, latest news…etc. Lastly, we’ve included testimonials accompanied by a headshot that says a little something about how the Servant HR staff have helped one of their clients. We felt this specific element complemented their brand by placing their clients in the spotlight.

By expanding on the Servant HR brand, we’ve placed a strong focus on the heart of the company and helped it reach its full potential in communicating its mission. It’s a great example of how a business can make its values a differentiating and attractive part of its overall brand.

There are so many fun ways to get into the spirit of the holidays! It’s the best time to be creative and decide how you want to give thanks, share thoughts of peace and celebrate the year. Why not put some thought into this and make it an expeirence for your receipients?

Last year, one of our clients hit a home run with their audience by creating a custom card that took a look back at who they were when they were little, compared to who they are today. “Our clients just loved this. I had many people call and tell me they just kept flipping it back and forth, back and forth,” said Adam Decker, CPA, Partner at Veros Partners. “It was a big hit and a fun way to share our holiday greetings.”

The idea with their card was to let the clients see their photos when they were about 5 to 8 years old, then see if they guessed correctly on the inside to their photo of today. There is something about all those old photo faces greeting you with a holiday message that makes you take a look inside and smile.

We had a lot of fun helping Veros Partners come up with a unique holiday message. Let us help you make an impact this year.

Raymond and I found a full-page ad for phone service that featured two iPhones with black screens. A story about British television and Max Headroom showed not a TV, but Max’s mug on an iPhone screen. And a third appearance illustrated the many formats you can use to enjoy magazine content. The full-page ad included an iPad, an iPhone and that old-school paper magazine. All three of these instances appeared in one magazine issue.

I recently interviewed the CEO of one of the world’s most recognized brands. The biggest long-term goal she has for her company is to become a brand like Apple, with a devoted following and a reputation unlike any other brand. That brand is a mix of company culture, products and services provided, community involvement, its people, its consumers and more. Apple, indeed, is much more than a computer maker.

Realizing how, in Wired magazine at least, the iPhone is being presented like a canvas for content, one that everyone can relate to and one that appeals to readers from an editor’s and an advertiser’s perspective, is fascinating for anyone involved in marketing or business in general. Something to think about as you read this on your iPhone.

We designed a very fresh, and easy to read, logomark for Ryan’s brand which speaks directly to his target audience. The modern type face represents his mission to stay on top of trends. The blades of grass reversed out of the “o” in the word “Two” relate directly to Ryan’s passion for the environment. The Two-21 identity system is clean with earth tones and solid blocks of color. It was important for Ryan to include his mission on the business card to show people what he stands for and what his goals are. “Creative Content. Sustainability Advocacy. Communication Strategy.” are represented in a firm stamp-like font to show strength and determination.

With a solid communications background it was important for Ryan to have all his social media links easily accessible on every page of his website. To connect with his passion for sustainability and the environment we used recycled paper as the background behind the main navigation and the blades of grass were used as a design element to pull people into the page. As an active individual in health and environmental issues around Indianapolis, we felt it was important for Ryan to place a face with the voice of Two-21 which was why we’ve included his headshot on the homepage. You’ll also notice a section titled, “Like-minded” when you come to the site. Here is where Ryan has compiled a list of organizations, people, and businesses that he relates to and admires for their great work. We are very excited for Ryan to have a brand that promotes his passion, a website to showcase his writing, and a place for people to hear his voice.