tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-201149062024-03-07T23:27:45.947-05:00Strategic Design | marketing & branding thoughts by Nick RiceDynamic marketing, branding & design strategies that span the gap between business & creative.Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.comBlogger106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-80437390946127909862006-12-11T14:56:00.000-05:002006-12-11T15:04:20.997-05:00The leap of faith (moving to Wordpress)...Well, after a year of blogging I've decided to switch platforms to Wordpress. There are a lot of cool features and much easier management as the site grows. Unfortunately I lose all of my comments, my Technorati rank (which isn't huge, but hey it's better than nothing) and I have to ask a lot of people to update their blogroll.<br /><br />So please join me as we move to:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nick-rice.com">http://www.nick-rice.com</a><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote>R<span style="font-size:100%;">SS Feed: </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.nick-rice.com/?feed=rss2" class="a">http://www.nick-rice.com/?feed=rss2</a><br /><br />FeedBurner Feed: </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/StrategicDesign" class="a">http://feeds.feedburner.com/StrategicDesign</a></span> (<span style="font-size:100%;">stays the same YEAH!)</span>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-70067698567916043452006-12-05T12:32:00.000-05:002006-12-05T12:41:21.539-05:00Best of 2006 follow upI mentioned <a href="http://nickrice.blogspot.com/2006/11/best-of-2006.html">David Armano's push to capture the best of 2006</a> (from a social media perspective) the other day. <br /><br />He's compiled his report and <a href="http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2006/12/2006_in_your_wo.html">it's available</a> on his blog. I opened it up and lo and behold, there was part of my comment to him on page four.<br /><br />David is really making a dent in one of the <a href="http://www.digitas.com/">largest marketing companies</a> around. And his good work has not gone unnoticed, a few months back he was promoted to VP. So now that he has greater reach and visibility, I'm looking forward to seeing him influence and shape new media . I hope he doesn't get too bogged down in the management aspect of his new role. Thanks David.Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-72178078566594974382006-12-01T07:38:00.000-05:002006-12-01T16:11:35.013-05:00An employee's confusion<p><span style="font-size:85%;">I read this on <a href="http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/003455.html">Hugh's manifesto request</a> and had to pass it on...</span><br /></p><p></p><p></p><blockquote><p>Anna Farmery of <a target="_blank" href="http://theengagingbrand.typepad.com/">The Engaging Brand</a> blog sent me in this manifesto:<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: bold;">If... a brand starts inside, an employee's confusion</span></p> <blockquote><strong style="font-weight: bold;"></strong> <span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>1. If you believe in the strategy, why can't you explain it? <p> 2. If talent is important, why is promotion based on your social circle?</p> <p> 3. If we are entrepreneurial, why do we make decisions by consensus?<br /><br />4. If values are important enough to put on a card, why are they not applicable to leaders?<br /><br />5. If the future is important, why do we spend time in meetings looking at the past?</p> <p> 6. If you embrace talent why, do you only speak to me about my weaknesses?</p> <p> 7. If we aim for a USP why, are encouraged to produce sameness?</p> <p> 8. If we believe in diversity, why are you all 40+, white and male?</p> <p> 9. If we need to cut development and R&D to hit budget, how can you afford a two-day team bonding session in a 5-star hotel?</p> <p> 10. If it is us that interact with customers, why don't you see we should feel the brand values first?</p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><p></p></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><p></p></blockquote></blockquote>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-92010452480645280112006-11-30T08:36:00.000-05:002006-11-30T08:42:52.011-05:00Best of 2006For those of you not familiar with <a href="http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/">David Armano</a>, you should definitely check him out. He's a rising star in the blogging space and one of my few daily reads.<br /><br />He's started a great thread on the <a href="http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2006/11/2006_in_picture.html">biggest marketing/advertising impact in 2006</a>. Most of it is centered on web 2.0-type things, but that's where the entire industry is moving anyway. This thread was just covered in <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/NussbaumOnDesign/">BusinessWeek </a>and it's still picking up steam.<br /><br />You'll see my responses around comment #15 or so...<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">technorati tags ></span> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/marketing">marketing</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/2006">2006</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/businessweek">businessweek</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/david+armano">david armano</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/impact">impact</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/trends">trends</a></span>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-21548980282077708842006-11-29T09:17:00.000-05:002006-11-29T11:46:31.485-05:00Best ROI for marketing dollarsAccording to the latest <a href="http://directmag.com/disciplines/email/marketing_email_tops_roi/">DMA Power of Direct</a> report, email marketing tops all marketing efforts from an ROI point of view. As of right now, email marketing will give you the biggest bang for your buck with a return of $57.25 for every $1.00 you spend. Compare that to $7.09 for print catalogs and $22.52 for non-email internet marketing.<br /><br />Yet for most organizations, email marketing gets little funding compared to traditional advertising and print materials. Unless you're in the catalog business, those other mediums offer little in regards to measuring a return on your investment. And with markets collapsing and prices falling, businesses are looking for every dollar to show a measurable return - and a quick return at that.<br /><br />In 2006, marketers will spend only $400M on email marketing. Compare that to spending $20B for print catalogs. Those #'s are radically different, but you have to dig in a little deeper to understand them. Let's compare the two.<br /><br />From a cost point of view, print is a nightmare. The time is takes to layout and design a 75 page catalog is huge. It is an all consuming task for your designers to get the artwork ready for the next catalog. They spend months preparing. And once the files are ready to go to the printer, you have exorbitant printing and distribution costs. Hopefully you sleep well at night knowing that as soon as each page is printed, it's potentially out of date due to pricing or technical product changes.<br /><br />From a personalization point of view, catalogs fail miserably. About the only level of personalization on a catalog is the little promo code or coupon that prints with the shipping address. Other than that, everyone gets the same book.<br /><br />On the other hand, people love to keep catalogs around for a long time. Some catalogs are so powerful; people keep them out on their coffee tables to impress friends. They're easy to take with you on a trip or share with a friend. They are a great way to build a brand because you can tell more of your story. You're not locked into a small window within Microsoft Outlook.<br /><br />While print catalogs have a lower ROI than emails, it is predicted to increase by 2007 while email ROI is predicted to drop.<br /><br />Email and internet marketing are infinitely more measurable and customizable than print. But they are the newest kids on the block and lots of organizations still do not know how to handle them properly. Don't mistake the ease of email marketing with simplicity. It's still take a lot of work to manage lists and create offers that appeal to your target audience without being seen as a spammer. And there are technical barriers like server blocks and email filters that have to be worked through as well. With catalogs it's pretty easy, drop it in the mail and it arrives. Hopefully calls start coming into your order center. With email, you can see exactly who opened it, how long they spent reading it, which links they clicked on, and whether they forwarded it to a friend. Unfortunately spammers are making a bad name for the entire market.<br /><br />So, I wouldn't stop what you're doing just yet. If you have a booming catalog business, start to think about augmenting that with a email component. And if you've dabbled with email, try to get more serious about it by taking advantage of the variable data and trackable nature of the medium. Email is a great way to communicate with your audience; you just have to respect their time and inbox.<br /><br />Like all good marketing initiatives offer value first and your customers will respond.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">technorati tags ></span> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/email">email</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/marketing">marketing</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/print">print</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/advertising">advertising</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/roi">ROI</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/internet">internet</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/measure">measure</a></span>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-2705675699742719312006-11-24T22:31:00.000-05:002006-11-27T13:50:22.306-05:00Creativity or a slow death?<span style="font-size:85%;">Submitted to <a href="http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/cat_manifesto.html">Hugh</a> as a mini-manifesto...</span><br /><br />I read somewhere that the best test for creativity in business was simply to ask “are you creative?” So I tried it. And for the majority of people it seemingly proved true. The people that we all see as creative (designers, PowerPoint gurus, out of the box thinkers) said yes; and the planners, project managers, sales people said no. So I naively believed it to be true.<br /><br />Watching my two year old daughter run around and play reminds me that we’re all creative. We all have boundless imaginations. We always have. Unfortunately our educational system has progressively worked that aspect our being out of our nature. No educational system on the planet puts as much emphasis on creativity as they do logic. Think about the number of math and science classes you took versus the arts and humanities. Not that logic is bad. In fact, it’s a critical element of life. I just believe that we are over-balanced on logic compared to creativity.<br /><br />I believe the lack of creativity is slowly killing business. That lack is driving everything to a commodity price-driven market. It's creating an environment that puts cost cutting before customer satisfaction. Without creative thinking how will the engineering team discover the next breakthrough product? How will the marketing team develop messaging that stands above a crowded market place.<br /><br />Creativity isn’t solely the realm of designers and ad agencies. It shouldn't be associated with art. It does not equal wild and crazy. It doesn’t equal foolishness. And being "creative" not a job title.<br /><br />When you hear “out of the box thinking”; that’s the call to creativity. It’s your management team asking you to come up with a new approach. It’s daring to think differently. It’s not copying the competition. And after all, when you boil it down isn’t creative thinking what we’re paid to do? If everyone has the same view, the same ideas, the same approach, and the same results why are we all still here?<br /><br />To succeed in business is to be creative in your role. Growth demands creativity. It will separate you from the competition. As humans we’re trained to only notice what’s different in our environment. Therefore, standing out is the best way to raise awareness.The lack of creativity across the board is not only hurting your brand, it's ultimately hurting your profitability. And it’s hurting your employees.<br /><br />Creativity isn’t a special gift - we’re all born with it. It never leaves, it’s just hiding behind years of logic. I challenge you to find time to let the two year old inside of you come out and play. Your employees, customers, and shareholders will thank you.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">technorati tags ></span> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/creativity">creativity</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/gaping+void">gaping void</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/business">business</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/marketing">marketing</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/growth">growth</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/strategies">strategies</a></span>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-90873196693584083242006-11-23T11:39:00.000-05:002006-11-23T11:40:50.877-05:00Typical client presentationI've been on both sides of the client/agency fence during my career. Now that I'm solely on the agency side, I really appreciate this more than ever...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.riceplayground.com/blog_images/dilbert200611195192.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.riceplayground.com/blog_images/dilbert200611195192.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-38613101335131340942006-11-21T15:37:00.000-05:002006-11-21T15:39:15.244-05:00How NOT to judge creative...From <a href="http://thebrandbuilder.blogspot.com/">Olivier Blanchard</a>...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2509/579/400/picture_2_7.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2509/579/400/picture_2_7.png" alt="" border="0" /></a>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-84706145356341387222006-10-27T11:07:00.000-04:002006-10-27T11:11:12.403-04:00Two things that kill creativityFrom <a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/10/the_two_things_.html">Seth Godin</a>...<br /><br /><div class="entry-body"> <p></p><blockquote><p>The first is fear. </p> <ul><li>The fear that you'll have to implement whatever you dream up.</li><li>The fear that you will fail.</li><li>The fear that you will do something stupid and be ridiculed by your peers for decades.</li><li>The fear that you'll get fired.</li><li>The fear that there will be an unanticipated backlash associated with your idea.</li><li>The fear of change.</li><li>The fear of missing out on the thing you won't be able to do if you do this.</li></ul> <p>The second is a lack of imagination.</p> <p>I believe that every single person I've met in this profession is capable of astounding creativity. That you, and everyone else for that matter, is able to dream up something radical and viral and yes, remarkable. So why doesn't it happen more often? Sure, fear is a big part, but it's also a lack of imagination.</p> <p>Basically, most people don't believe something better can occur. They believe that the status quo is also the best they can do. So they don't look. They don't push. They don't ask, "what else?" and "what now?" They settle.</p> <p>Fear is an emotion and it's impossible to counter an emotion with logic. So you need to mount emotional arguments for why your fear of the new is the thing you truly need to fear.</p> <p>As for the second issue, just knowing it exists ought to be enough. Once you realize you're settling, it may just be enough to get you wondering... wondering whether maybe, just maybe, something better is behind curtain number 2.</p></blockquote><p></p> </div><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">technorati tags ></span> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/marketing">marketing</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/strategy">strategy</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/creativity">creativity</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/fear">fear</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/imagination">imagination</a></span>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-8080074816636415792006-10-18T20:12:00.000-04:002006-10-18T20:15:09.312-04:00Quick updateI wanted to let you guys know that our son came through his heart surgery great yesterday. I'm keeping another blog for updates on him. You can find out more at: <a href="http://www.riceplayground.com/blog">riceplayground.com</a><br /><br />Thank you for all of your prayers and support. He'll need a few more to come through the recovery process. It's going to take a while. But once he's well, there should be no side effects or long term issues.Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-18332376475906540622006-10-14T13:23:00.000-04:002006-10-14T13:32:13.172-04:00Blogging on hold...We've had good news and bad news in the family. First off, my wife and I welcomed a new baby boy into the family on Oct. 10. The bad news is that he was born with a heart defect and is waiting for surgery to repair it. It's a very fixable condition with little to no side effects after he makes it through the surgery.<br /><br />For those of you that are medically-inclined, he has <a href="http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/heart-encyclopedia/anomalies/transposition.htm">Transposition of the Great Arteries</a> - not a walk in the park but a common heart condition. We are at the Cincinnati Childrens Hospital and are very impressed with the staff here. They are wonderful and are some of the best in this business.<br /><br />So please keep him (and us) in your thoughts and prayers for the next few weeks.<br /><br /><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3546/2455/400/IMG_3105.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br /><br />We just want to get our little guy home safe and sound.Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-77445473318778785692006-09-30T14:43:00.000-04:002006-09-30T14:46:24.037-04:00SmallBusinessBranding.com Growth<a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/">SBB.com</a> is really beginning to take off. Our readership is increasing almost daily and we just redesigned the site to stay current. Here are some of the latest posts by author:<br /><br /><p>Nick Rice</p><ul><li><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/555/lead-generation-techniques/">Lead Generation Techniques & Hierarchy</a><br /></li></ul><ul><li><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/541/the-value-of-customer-service-in-an-emergency/">The Value of Customer Service in an Emergency</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/532/the-call-for-project-management/">The Call for Project Management </a></li><br /><li><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/526/branding-essence/">What is the Essence of Branding</a></li></ul><br /><p>Kammie Kobyleski</p><ul><li><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/550/online-networking-how-to-woo-your-crew/">Online Networking & How to Woo Your Crew</a><br /></li></ul><ul><li><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/544/writing-for-wom-branding-the-croc-hunter-way/">Writing for WOM & Branding the Croc Hunter Way</a> </li><br /><li><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/531/creative-leadership/">Creative Leadership - Juicy Food for the Brand Soul </a></li><br /><li><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/525/savvy-marketing-or-sour-grapes/">Savvy Marketing or Sour Grapes</a></li><br /></ul>Robert Kingston<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/543/advertising-targeting-sources/">Sensational Sources to Send Out your Message</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/540/advertising-targeting-marketing/">Making Ads to Sing to your Target Market</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/536/big-brand-undergoes-re-branding-campaign/">Big Brand Undergoes Re-Branding Campaign</a></li><br /><li> <a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/535/how-effective-is-your-advertising/">How Effective is Your Advertising?</a> </li><br /></ul>Brad Williamson<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/548/entrepreneur-ignorance/">Do You Suffer from Entrepreneurial Ignorance?</a></li><br /><li> <a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/537/scam-artist-sales-secrets/">Sales Secrets from a Scam Artist</a></li><br /><li><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/530/narrow-minded-branding/"> Why it Pays to be Narrow Minded in Business</a></li><br /><li> <a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/528/all-customers-are-liars/">All Customers are Liars</a> </li><br /></ul><p>Jeff Barson</p><ul><li><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/534/75-posts-on-what-it-means-to-be-an-entrepreneur/">75 Posts on what it means to be an Entrepreneur</a></li><br /></ul><p>Danielle Rodgers</p><ul><li><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/545/creating-something-from-nothing/">Creating Something from Nothing</a></li><br /><li> <a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/538/i-am-invincible-apparently/">I am Invincible... Apparently</a></li></ul><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">technorati tags > </span><a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/small">small</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/business">business</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/branding">branding</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/marketing">marketing</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/strategy">strategy</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/techniques">techniques</a></span>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-3753186744885182052006-09-20T21:21:00.000-04:002006-09-20T22:29:35.963-04:00What are you the best at?There's a big push towards niche marketing. <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/smallis">Here</a>, <a href="http://erniemosteller.typepad.com/tangeloideas/2006/09/the_cobblers_ki.html">Here</a>, <a href="http://www.ecomresourcecenter.com/ecom_connection/0801_02.html">Here</a>. As more and more markets commoditize, brand becomes a critical factor. And in most large cash cow commodity markets, there are only two or three major players. Everybody else is left picking at single digit marketshare with little to no growth opportunities.<br /><br />So you have basically two options for growth. One, you can launch a break-through product or service in your category. Think bagless vacuum cleaners. When there were only bagged vacuums, everybody was pretty much equal. Then the bagless came out in Japan and revolutionized the market - and put most of the aftermarket bag suppliers out of business. It was a game changer. Before that product came out people just assumed you needed a bag to catch the dust.<br /><br />The second method is to be seen as "head and shoulders" better than anything else in the market. Think <a href="http://www.dyson.com/default.asp">Dyson</a>. Until that brand was launched there was little growth or movement in vacuum cleaners. Now Dyson is stealing share from everyone. They really didn't invent anything new or revolutionary. They've done a great job of promoting the things people really care about - weak vacuums that lose suction and pass a lot of dust through back to the carpet. And they've done it with stylish advertising and marketing. They look high tech, expensive, and worth it. The funny thing with Dyson is that he was not trained as an engineer, but as an industrial designer. He's turned a stale market on its end and is raking in the profits.<br /><br />More and more firms are moving to a niche marketing strategy. They want to be seen as the best provider of a very specific offering. The <a href="http://www.thelongtail.com/">Long Tail theory</a> tells us that a lot of small providers with very passionate customers can be as powerful as one or two large providers - that they control more of the marketplace than previously realized. The hard part is getting them organized and focused towards a common goal.<br /><br />Very few firms in the world can be a Wal*Mart (in fact no one can). The average retailer cannot compete with Wal*Mart. So my advice is to not compete at all. You can make a lot of money offering the high-end products that they cannot. You can make a lot of money providing products that are above Target. So why should it surprise or anger people when Wal*Mart puts small Mom & Pop's out of business. They simply need to adapt with unique offerings. They'll be more profitable and sustain future growth. In theory, Mom & Pop shops have the advantage of convenience. They should be closer to their customers and they definitely have potential for much better customer service.<br /><br />So, you will be relegated to commodity status if you cannot easily answer and defend what you are the best at. Start planning now how your products and services can change the game or stand out from the competition. Once you can easily answer the question, your audience will begin to find you. People are always looking for specialists to solve their problems. Being recognized as an expert makes your marketing efforts a lot easier. <a href="http://www.gitomer.com/">Jeffrey Gitomer </a>said it best, "No one wants to be sold, but everyone likes to buy." Being seen as a specialist creates a buying environment, not a sales situation. Even after you are seen as a specialist, you still need to market. Marketing gives you the ability to even further refine your customer set and profitability criteria. It's about creating more demand than capacity. It's about creating choices.<br /><br />What do you do better than anyone?<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">technorati tags ></span> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/marketing">marketing</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/strategy">strategy</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/niche">niche</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/small">small</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/big">big</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/long+tail">long tail</a></span>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-56920443678945856632006-09-19T16:26:00.000-04:002006-09-19T16:29:30.288-04:00A little news, a few jabs, and a lot of laughsI was recently turned on to <a href="http://www.zefrank.com/theshow/">Ze Frank and the Show</a>. You should check him out. He does a daily video blog of current events with more than a touch of humor. He cracks me up and everyone that works hard deserves a little break.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">technorati tags ></span> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/ze+frank">ze frank</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/humor">humor</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/laugh">laugh</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/break">break</a></span>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-24673118888981472252006-09-17T18:34:00.000-04:002006-09-17T19:12:55.255-04:00Email makes it too easyThere are so many things I love about communicating via email:<br /><ul><li>low effort</li><li>trackable</li><li>easy to revise in order to get "perfect"</li><li>immediate</li><li>available 24/7</li><li>not restricted by time zones<br /></li><li>impersonal</li><li>searchable</li><li>you know when the recipient receives/opens it<br /></li><li>the list goes on...</li></ul>Unfortunately, email is a poor way to build relationships. We all know that business is built upon relationships - especially in my role as a business developer. No one wants an account executive that stays in the office all day. They want their acct exec to be in front of them. Unfortunately, half of my job is project management. That requires the exact opposite. Good PM's are always in the office. They are always in touch with what their teams are supposed to be working on and where they are supposed to be in relation to the status of the project.<br /><br />Email makes it too easy. It's too easy to confuse the quantity of communication with the quality. When it comes to quality, nothing is better than face to face. When you're in person, there's no guessing about the other person's reaction to your words, presentation, or comments. Yes, it takes more time to be face to face; but how much time is wasted trying to interpret an email reply? How much time is wasted before you pick up the phone?<br /><br />I know it's just basic blocking and tackling. But that's the point.<br /><br />Seth Godin's post about <a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/09/look_me_in_the_.html">looking me in the eye </a>prompted me to write about email. He gave a challenge, for one week try to do as much in person as possible. I'm going to try. Are you?<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">technorati tags ></span> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/email">email</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/in+person">in person</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/communication">communication</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/sales">sales, </a><a href="http://www.technorati.com/project">project</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/management">management</a></span>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-40797317501062447902006-09-14T19:24:00.000-04:002006-09-14T19:48:11.702-04:00Physician, heal thyself...After eleven years in business, my firm just brought in our first management consultant. We've been growing steadily for the last few years, but have too much of our revenue coming from a single client (an all too common occurance in agencies btw). We know that and are taking a proactive approach to solving that. And part of that approach is me - Mr. New Business Development. I'm the first employee with a dedicated % of time going towards finding new accounts. So far we have grown entirely from referral business. Not too shabby for an $8M company. It says a lot about our CEO and the quality of work and service we deliver.<br /><br />Currently we position ourselves like 99% of the marketing communication firms out there. Which is: we do good work, we have a proven process to ensure good work, we provide great customer service, and we generate a positive ROI/value for our clients. Everybody says that, whether it's true or not. Most importantly, those are reasons clients STAY, not reasons to BECOME a client.<br /><br />Try this simple test for positioning; what's the answer when a client asks point blank "why should I choose you over so and so?" If you have a hard time answering or the answer is one of the statements in the paragraph above; your positioning stinks.<br /><br />The funny part of this is how painful the process is to go through when you try to do it to yourself. We've hit the same dead end many many times over the last 18 months when we've tried to hone our own message and value prop. We do this very well for our clients - even they would say so. <span style="font-weight: bold;">It just proves that you cannot operate on yourself. You need an external, non-biased, honest point of view to take a true look at your systems, your competition, your offerings, and your value.</span><br /><br />Like all consulting engagements, a few bombs were dropped, a few people were irritated, a few gems were exposed. And like normal, it will take a little while to digest the entire experience.<br /><br />It is a very good exercise for me personally. It gave me a different view of how I am potentially received by my clients. As a consultant, there are times to be brutally honest and times to keep comments to yourself. You cannot alienate your client along the way. Expectations need to be set up front (and agreed upon in writing), long before you come onsite. It's a big step for business (especially small business owners) to admit they need help. You aren't there to stroke egos, but you cannot call their baby ugly all day either.<br /><br />When it's all said and done, we should have a clear vision for where we are headed, who specifically we'll target, and how we will position ourselves better than the competition in that space. We should have a plan to grow profitably. And there's not much sweeter in business than profitable growth - it's the best way to get rid of issues!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">technorati tags ></span> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/marketing">marketing</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/management">management</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/consultant">consultant</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/profit">profit</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/company">company</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/growth">growth</a></span>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-30817605680439188832006-09-06T12:51:00.000-04:002006-09-06T12:57:40.683-04:00Marcom VocabularyHad to pass on a great marketing communications primer from <a href="http://erniemosteller.typepad.com/tangeloideas/2006/09/for_reasons_tha.html">Ernie Mosteller</a>. Being on the same page with regards to vocabulary is one of the most effective ways to ensure that your projects come in on strategy, time, and budget. Ernie does a great job of boiling down the basics...<br /><br /><strong></strong><blockquote><strong>Brand.</strong> Your brand is your personality, as determined by how the world sees you. How you want to be seen can affect how the world sees you, but it doesn't define it. The world gets to define its own take on you. Lots of things go into what the world sees of you. Your brand = (what you want it to be) + 2(X) what the world says it is. The world's actual view of you is at least twice as important as your desired view of you. As the world's view of you becomes more negative, X gets larger. As it becomes more positive, X shrinks.<br /><br /><strong>Design.</strong> Design is not your brand. But it can affect your brand. Design is the clothes you wear in order to attempt to affect the world's perception of your personality. It may also be the car you drive, or the house you live in. It's your outward, visual, projection to the world. It may or may not have anything at all to do with who you really are -- though good design is always based on what's inside. Design can, and should, touch everything you do that the world sees. Which, basically, is everything.<br /><br /><strong>Advertising.</strong> Advertising is not your brand. Advertising is what you say about yourself in order to attempt to affect the world's perception of your personality. What you say can also be defined as: how you act in public. Which is, everywhere. What you say about yourself is greatly affected by how you say it, because how you say it determines whether people will hear and/or listen. Whispering in the middle of an NFL stadium doesn't have the same effect as shouting in church. If I were you, I wouldn't do either. Advertising, by the way, is no longer defined as the placement of a pre-determined message in a purchased medium. Advertising is any piece of communications with an agenda. <p><strong>Public Relations.</strong> PR is not your brand. PR is an active attempt to get other people to say something positive about you, without directly paying them to do so. Because this definition is so broad, and so clearly goes light years beyond churning out a press release, you can safely assume that I believe PR is pretty much anything, and is an integral, specialized component of quality advertising. PR is also the component you need to turn to for crisis management, assuming you're managing the crisis honestly. Because almost anything else has a real chance of making things worse.</p> <p><strong>Collateral.</strong> Collateral is not your brand. Collateral is reference material for people who have already expressed an interest in your brand. Whether it's a business card or brochure, collateral has almost no ability to create interest in you. Its function is to enhance interest, and provide information, for those who have already decided (if even in a small way) to check you out. Most websites function as collateral, though they are capable of a lot more.</p> <p><strong>Concept.</strong> A concept is no longer simply a storyboard, or a headline/visual relationship. A concept is an idea designed to encourage a specific action from the person who interacts with it. A concept could be an event, a direct mail piece, a Super Bowl commercial, a You Tube video, a boy band, or a newspaper ad. The key to making a concept work is to focus your attention on the desired action from the viewer, and simplify that action to its most basic element. A concept doesn't sell a car. A salesman sells a car. But the right concept can get someone to talk to a salesman. Or click a link. Or remember the car you have for sale, the next time they think about buying one. Good concepts surprise people. Great concepts hold their attention. Effective concepts are very specific, and very simplistic, about what they want to achieve.</p></blockquote><p></p><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">technorati tags ></span> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/ernie+mosteller">ernie mosteller</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/marketing">marketing</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/communication">communication</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/vocabulary">vocabulary</a></span>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-59277285322431269362006-09-03T13:42:00.000-04:002006-09-03T14:28:24.455-04:00What it takes to win<a href="http://www.cre8tivegroup.com">My firm</a> recently lost a big deal. We were one of three agencies to bid on a year long integrated media & advertising contract worth well into the six figures. Now this isn't a sob story or anything close, we win and lose bids all the time. But it did get me to thinking about was what it takes to win an advertising contract as a small agency (which is pretty much a constant thought as a business developer).<br /><br />All three firms are small agencies (significantly less than 50 people - but more than 10). And we had a little bit of an inside track in that we have a personal relationship with the decision maker that no one else does to our knowledge. That relationship offered some advice on what the first agency presented to her. It was all about what the decision maker liked and what she expected to see but didn't. And like normal, we learned about the first firm too late to change our presentation.<br /><br />But here's the rub. During the initial meetings, our executive made it very clear that she was looking for ideas and visionary direction. She even twice mentioned that she didn't want to have our best designers put a lot of time into concepts. During our initial internal brainstorming sessions, I fought to present two concepts to our client. These weren't two different look and feels as much as they were a proposed identity mark and a website mockup. We decided it would be best to show that we could generate quality ideas that met all of the goals of the project and that we would save the other mediums (radio & TV) until after we won the bid. That way we wouldn't waste a lot of time on scripts and storyboards because those are always subject to heavy revisions.<br /><br />Apparently the firm that was awarded the project came up with full storyboards for at least two TV spots and a couple of radio script ideas. They presented the exact opposite mediums as we did. In fact, to my knowledge they didn't do any work on the brand identity itself. Now I'm not saying we're right and they're wrong - especially since they won the business. But it is funny how an executive (with a lot of advertising experience) was swayed by storyboards and scripts. I think part of it's due to the fact that business execs don't view script writing and story board illustrations as requiring as much effort as graphic design, video, or web work. It's easy to look at a story board sketch and know that it's not the final deliverable. When you do website concepts, even though they are probably Photoshop files, they look just like the final website. A lot of executives that I've seen can't grasp the void between polished mock ups and the final deliverable. They do not understand the level of effort required from a programming, testing, and troubleshooting point of view. They only see the surface. And for some reason they don't seem to think that the time copywriters and illustrators put into sketches cost as much to the agency.<br /><br />I think a lot of it stems from each firms internal DNA. We are basically an interactive firm with a long history of film/video. While the other agency is group of ex-ad agency guys that spun off and started their own firm. Traditional ad agencies are solely focused on coming up with a break-through idea. If they can sell the idea to their client, they find the right production team to execute it. Interactive firms, on the other hand, do most of their production in-house. They come up with the idea and produce the deliverables themselves. A lot also depends on the size of the project. We would have done a lot more if the project was seven or eight figures instead of six.<br /><br />So looking back, what would I do differently? I would probably leverage our relationship more to truly find out what would have impressed her and her team. We did what we do naturally. We focused on the deliverables that made the most sense to us. We were looking at the foundation (brand identity and website) and the other firm was looking at the paint and carpet. We focused on long term branding and information delivery while they focused on short term awareness. Both are important. In the end, I think both firms missed opportunities. If we can find a way to work together, the client will get the best of both worlds. That's the best way to win - meet the business objectives and keep client satisfaction high.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192); font-weight: bold;">technorati tags > </span><a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/advertising">advertising</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/branding">branding</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/strategy">strategy</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/business">business</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/development">development</a></span>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-45444110943203581962006-08-30T17:10:00.000-04:002006-08-30T17:17:48.274-04:00A few great adsFound these <a href="http://sherbsblog.com/photos/cleveradvertising.php">great ads</a> on Sherbs Blog.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">technorati tags ></span> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/advertising">advertising</a></span>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-78704662356277758302006-08-30T09:19:00.000-04:002006-08-30T09:39:07.413-04:00The effect collateral and manuals have on purchase, loyalty, and the user experience<a href="http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2006/08/why_marketing_s.html">Kathy Sierra has a great post</a> on how much time, effort, and branding is put into creating pre-sales materials while post-sales material like user manuals is pure function.<br /><br />I find it interesting how corporations are structured to support this mismatch. Marketing handles the glossy slick brochures and outer packaging, while either engineering or Pubs handles the user manuals, set up guides, packing materials, and quick reference sheets in most companies. Very few companies put a lot of thought into creating an experience that is reflective of the brand after a user buys their widget. I know we talk a lot about Apple in the design and user experience space, but they truly do take every opportunity to create loyal customers. Everything from pre-sales collateral to unpacking the device to installing the software and using it has been thought through from the point of view of a normal user not an engineer buried deep within a company that sees these products every day. That creates passionate users. Passion breeds loyalty. And loyal users are a key component of keeping the doors open and the lights on long term.<br /><br />Here's a great quote from Kathy:<br /><blockquote>As a <i>potential</i> customer, I'll find your attention to user learning a lot more convincing than your attention to new sales. Rather than using your brochure to show how much YOU kick ass, I'd much rather see no-marketing-spin hard evidence of how you're going to help ME kick ass.</blockquote>Kathy reminds us that users don't care about your features. They only care about how improve their daily life. When a user sees your product as an enabler to getting more done or doing things better, they become loyal. If you concentrate your efforts on generating loyal customers, you'll quickly discover that you need to focus more on the activities that happen post-sale. If you offer generous support, information, and ease of use as soon as they open the box you will create loyal users.<br /><br />Obviously you have to get people to buy your products first so I'm not saying shift all of your resources. The glossy slick brochures, have their place. And are very effective at what they're designed to do. I'm just saying put more thought into how you can improve the user experience throughout the life of your product not just pre-sale.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">technorati tags ></span> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/presales">presales</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/post">post</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/sales">sales</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/collateral">collateral</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/user">user</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/experience">experience</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/customer">customer</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/loyalty">loyalty</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/marketing">marketing</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/publications">publications</a></span>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-64606648750190622092006-08-28T10:47:00.000-04:002006-08-28T12:19:28.353-04:00Seth Godin, David Armano, Cre8tive GroupA <a href="http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2006/08/a_simple_philos.html">recent post</a> by <a href="http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/">David Armano (Logic+Emotion)</a> got me fired up about my company's value proposition. I've stayed away from this blog being a <a href="http://www.cre8tivegroup.com/">Cre8tive Group</a> corporate pitch, but I also call out good work when I see it.<br /><br />For the last two years we've used a combination of "Balance" and "You know it when you see it" as our external value propositions. Both <a href="http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2006/08/a_simple_philos.html">David </a>and <a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/05/marketing_potho.html">Seth Godin</a> have covered these topics recently. So mainly, I'm just pumped that my firm is thinking two years ahead of these industry heavyweights that we all look to as new media leaders.<br /><br />Here is how we have tied the two thoughts together:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://web.qx.net/nrice/images/cre8tive_group_it.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://web.qx.net/nrice/images/cre8tive_group_it.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">(image source: <a href="http://web.qx.net/nrice/images/cre8tive_group_it.jpg">http://web.qx.net/nrice/images/cre8tive_group_it.jpg</a>)</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Seth takes a different approach. He doesn't believe people know it when they see it. I partly agree because the vast majority of people are not visionary thinkers. They have a hard time seeing something that is outside of their box. Over the years we've become pretty good at reading between the lines with our clients. Once we understand their business, their audience and their goals; we don't need to be told exactly what to do. By balancing those tensions above, we often have clients look up during an engagement and say "that's it, you nailed it". That's what we mean when we say "you know it when you see it". Most clients seem to like and appreciate that approach. And even if they cannot "see it", they like to think that they can.<br /><br />Like a lot of small firms, we are constantly trying to separate ourselves from the competition. One of the biggest things that set us apart is the fact that we only work with 8 clients at a time. That's how much we value quality over quantity. It's about giving our clients the level of service and thought required to make a difference. We've also leveraged the 8 symbol across a lot of our communication touches. It's a unique way to bring consistency to our materials.<br /><br />We're betting on the fact that great experiences along with a consistent image & promise will improve our brand.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">technorati tags ></span> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/seth+godin">seth godin</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/david+armano">david armano</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/logic">logic</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/emotion">emotion</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/value">value</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/proposition">proposition</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/marketing">marketing</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/strategy">strategy</a></span><br /></div></div><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-1156546232438149342006-08-25T18:24:00.000-04:002006-08-25T18:50:32.506-04:00Is B2B marketing different than B2C?No small question to tackle! Over my career I've held marketing position in both B2C and B2B. And while I personally didn't approach each role differently, a lot of people did. I typically work under the general principles of:<br /><ol><li>Figure out what the target audience is looking for</li><li>Build your service or product (and your collateral) around meeting that need</li><li>Test, test, test</li><li>Refine and launch</li><li>Test, test, test</li><li>Refine and re-launch, rinse and repeat<br /></li></ol>I know that's just Marketing 101, but it's amazing how many people skip a lot of those steps. In organizations that are not customer-centric, you're forced to sale what you've got. Sometimes those products are big hits and sometimes they're not; regardless it's risky. You may not have the luxury of testing or refining.<br /><br />The idea of business customers needing something that retail consumers didn't was always foreign to me. Obviously it takes different types of messaging, packaging, promotions and payment structure for a B2B audience, but that's not a big deal. That's just good segmentation or targeting. Different audiences should receive relevant messaging. Products targeted at everyone rarely make a difference to anyone.<br /><br />And obviously different marketing mediums reach the different audiences more effectively. It's hard to market to top tier business executives with 30 second TV spots. They're too broad and expensive to reach such a small audience. Rebates don't work well in large organizations. If you've ever worked in a Fortune 500 business, you know how big of a pain it would be to process a rebate coupon with your procurement department much less American Express. Tech-heavy spec sheets or pricing schedules do not appeal to the general public. But, I contend that the thought process is the same. The deliverables, mediums and tactics may differ but you still need to determine the best message that will get this user to buy - and buy now.<br /><br />It's about getting them over the hump as quickly as possible. You have to show them what problem your particular offering solves, why you are the provider of choice, and why they should act now. Those foundations should be the core of any marketing initiative.<br /><br /><a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/">Seth Godin</a> said it best, "Business to business marketing is just marketing to consumers who happen to have a corporation pay for what they buy."<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">technorati tags ></span> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/B2B">B2B</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/b2c">B2C</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/business">business</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/consumer">consumer</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/marketing">marketing</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/strategy">strategy</a>, </span>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-1156193978495534312006-08-21T16:47:00.000-04:002006-08-21T17:01:56.286-04:00How to hit a moving target<a href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_34/b3998423.htm">Great article</a> in BusinessWeek today. We all know how hard it is to innovate consistently. Yet some companies do it all the time; Disney, Apple, Starbucks, Target, Amazon, Land's End, Catepillar, etc...<br /><br />How do they do it? Here are the keys to beating the competition:<br /><ol><li>Experiment fearlessly</li><li>Don't just get bigger, get unique</li><li>Why compete? Create new markets</li><li>Obsess about customers, not rivals</li><li>Give as good as you get</li><li>Get personal</li><li>Stay hungry</li></ol><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">technorati tags ></span> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/innovation">innovation</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/competition">competition</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/strategy">strategy</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/market+share">market share</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/business+week">business week</a><a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/business+week"></a></span>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-1156034729041610272006-08-19T20:40:00.000-04:002006-08-26T22:38:45.353-04:00Best blogs in Branding<a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/">Small Business Branding and Marketing</a> was named on the <a href="http://www.trademarkblog.ca/branding-blogs-list/">Canadian Trademark blog</a> as one of the branding blogs they're tracking.<br /><br />I'm proud to contribute to a site that's so well respected. Keep your eyes open for some major changes we have coming in the next few months.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">technorati tags ></span> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/small+business">small business</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/branding">branding</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/marketing">marketing</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/branding+blogs">branding blogs</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/small+business+branding">small business branding</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/small+business+marketing">small business marketing</a></span>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20114906.post-1155906108237261152006-08-18T08:58:00.000-04:002006-08-20T10:17:31.096-04:00My posts on Small Business Branding & MarketingWith vacation winding down, here are my posts from my other blog, <a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/">Small Business Branding & Marketing</a>...<br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/519/the-power-of-the-white-envelope/">The Power of the White Envelope</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/508/the-role-of-creativity-in-business/">Role of Creativity in Business<br /><br /><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/503/how-to-succeed-with-direct-marketing/">How to Succeed with Direct Marketing<br /></a></a></span><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/503/how-to-succeed-with-direct-marketing/"></a><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/503/how-to-succeed-with-direct-marketing/"><br /><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/505/lead-generation-strategy-for-your-small-business/">Lead Generation Strategy for Small Business</a></a><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/505/lead-generation-strategy-for-your-small-business/"><br /><br /><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/494/5-tips-for-getting-the-biggest-bang-for-your-buck/">5 Tips for Getting the Biggest Bang for your Buck</a><br /></a><a href="http://www.smallbusinessbranding.com/505/lead-generation-strategy-for-your-small-business/"><br /></a>Let me know your thoughts.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">technorati tags ></span> <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/small+business">small business</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/smb">smb</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/branding">branding</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/marketing">marketing</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/strategy">strategy</a>, <a href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/nick+rice">nick rice</a></span>Nick Ricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11599347267568934745noreply@blogger.com0