Six terribly boring ways to make your brand sizzle.

Simple brand strategies often neglected by even the most earnest marketers.

Screen Shot 2018-11-28 at 8.16.58 PMCo-written by David Wenger and Dave Shaw in 2003. Still relevant today.

There are a thousand theories for how to strengthen your brand, and most of them have worked at one time for some company, or they wouldn’t have found their way into someone’s book on brand building.

But how much of what you read in the marketing press is really applicable to your industry, particularly if you are a technology or manufacturing company? Can the lessons learned from Starbucks brew success in the oil and gas equipment business, for example? The answer is both yes and no.

Over the years we’ve consulted with dozens of companies, such as JSR Micro, KLA-Tencor and Samsung Austin Semiconductor, that operate well beyond the “fun zone” of brand marketing. Our approach is based on integrated marketing—the principle that “everything communicates.” Continue reading “Six terribly boring ways to make your brand sizzle.”

Adding F-A-B to your brand – translating features to advantages to benefits

Take time to find out what people really find fascinating (hint: it isn’t you).

sheep-2372148_1920Brands are often perceived in human-like terms. You would think most brand communicators would realize this, but it is surprising how often sales organizations exhibit the worst instincts of human behavior as they search for sales messages with consumer appeal. Continue reading “Adding F-A-B to your brand – translating features to advantages to benefits”